Sullivan & Cromwell and Kirkland & Ellis led legal advisory activity in technology, media, and telecom (TMT) mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for the first three quarters (Q1-Q3) of 2026, according to GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database.
By deal value, Sullivan & Cromwell ranked first, having advised on transactions totalling $124.8bn during the period.
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Kirkland & Ellis led by deal volume, advising on 116 TMT transactions in the nine-month timeframe.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison ranked second by value, having advised on $111.3bn worth of transactions.
Kirkland & Ellis ranked third in value with $97.2bn, followed by White & Case with $90.2bn and Latham & Watkins with $78.2bn.
For deal volume, Latham & Watkins followed Kirkland & Ellis with 112 deals, while Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised on 74 transactions, DLA Piper on 55, and White & Case on 44.
GlobalData lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose said: “Kirkland & Ellis improved its ranking by volume from second during Q1-Q3 2025 to the top spot, supported by a marginal improvement in deal volume.
“Some big-ticket deals advised by the firm helped it occupy the third position by value as well. During Q1-Q3 2026, it advised on $8bn deals that also included the $60bn deal for acquisition of Cursor by SpaceX.
“Meanwhile, Sullivan & Cromwell’s ranking rose from fourth position during Q1-Q3 2025 to the top position by value, despite a 4.6% decline in its total advised deal value.
“During Q1-Q3 2026, Sullivan & Cromwell advised on $10bn deals that included three mega deals valued more than $10bn, which helped it secure the top spot by value. It also held the eighth position by volume during Q1-Q3 2026.”
GlobalData’s league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firm websites and other reliable sources available in the secondary domain. A dedicated team of analysts monitors all these sources to gather in-depth details for each deal, including adviser names.
To ensure further robustness to the data, the company also seeks submissions of deals from leading advisers.
