Biglaw’s M&A Party Hit $4.6 Trillion, And Kirkland Still Drank Everyone Else’s Champagne – Above the Law

A brand new report confirms what M&A associates already knew of their bones: the mergers and acquisitions market wasn’t simply scorching final yr, it was record-setting. In line with information launched this week by the London Inventory Change Group, 2025 featured the most-ever M&A mega-deals, with 68 transactions clocking in at $10 billion or extra. Globally, M&A worth hit a staggering $4.6 trillion, representing a 49% improve over 2024.

And in case you’re questioning who made out like bandits on this frenzy of consolidation, effectively, let’s simply say the same old suspects didn’t precisely miss the get together.

Sitting comfortably atop the rankings as soon as once more is Kirkland & Ellis, which served as principal adviser on $829 billion value of offers. Kirkland was joined within the stratosphere by Latham & Watkins, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, and Skadden Arps, every advising on $600 billion or extra in transactions final yr.

Michael Weisser, a personal fairness companion at Kirkland, put it bluntly to Reuters, “There’s little question that the authorized market has form of bifurcated and there’s a flight to the highest.” So… in case you’re not already elite, good luck getting invited to the desk.

Latham’s Alex Kelly echoed the purpose, predicting the stratification will solely deepen. As offers develop “in quantity, complexity and geographic attain,” purchasers are more and more counting on a smaller and smaller cadre of corporations to get the job carried out.

Goodwin Procter took the No. 1 spot for variety of offers, advising on a whopping 945 transactions value $123 billion. Vice chair Stuart Cable advised Reuters there’s “no purpose to be something aside from extremely optimistic” about 2026.

In the meantime, Wachtell’s Adam Emmerich and Jacob Kling advised that even this banner yr would possibly simply be a warm-up act. “We’re neck deep in ongoing offers, and the pipeline is bulging as effectively,” they mentioned. Which might be thrilling information in case you’re a companion… and a scheduling nightmare in case you’re an affiliate with a trip request pending.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Legislation, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Considering Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the most effective, so please join along with her. Be happy to e-mail her with any suggestions, questions, or feedback and observe her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].