Sullivan & Cromwell topped the global M&A legal advisor rankings by deal value in 2021 amid a record-breaking year for deal-making, according to Refinitiv’s Global M&A full year review.

The Wall Street firm advised on 251 deals worth more than $662bn, propelling it to the top spot from third place last year, holding off Latham & Watkins in second place, which worked on 943 deals worth $604bn. That is the second year in a row that the Los Angeles-based firm has finished in the runner-up spot.

Global M&A activity reached $5.9tr, smashing through the previous full year record of $4.2tr set in 2015. The boom in M&A deals came as markets bounced back from a slowdown in the first half of 2020 as uncertainty around the Covid-19 pandemic caused transactions to grind to a halt. Last year’s record-breaking total was 64% higher than the value of deals announced in 2020. 

Chicago-based Kirkland & Ellis ranked third by deal value, up from sixth in 2020 having worked on 977 deals worth $572bn. Davis Polk & Wardwell—2020’s top ranked firm—finished in fourth spot, advising on 238 deals worth just short of $530bn. White & Case completed the top five by deal value, working on 516 deals worth almost $513bn. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was the highest ranked non-US firm, slipping from fifth in 2020 to 11th having advised on 347 deals worth $369bn. Other international firms in the top 25 included Herbert Smith Freehills, climbing 12 places to 12th, Allen & Overy (17th) and Clifford Chance (20th).

The number of M&A deals clocked in at more than 63,000, the largest haul since Refinitiv records began in 1980 and 24% more than were announced in 2020.

Goodwin Procter topped the legal advisor league tables by number of deals, advising on 1,083 transactions (worth almost $177bn) and switching places with Kirkland, which dropped to second. Latham was a non-mover in third spot, with DLA Piper also holding on to fourth place having advised on 857 deals (worth just shy of $157bn). Silicon Valley-firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was fifth—up from 31st spot in 2020—having advised on 587 deals (worth $110bn). That was driven by a record-breaking year for tech M&A. Tech deals accounted for a fifth of overall deal value, coming in at a record $1.1tr, with the number of deals more than a third higher than in 2020.

Refinitiv: Global Announced Deals by Value 2021

Refinitiv: Global Announced Deals by Volume 2021