Several major law firms saw the total value of the deals they advise on plummet by hundreds of billions of dollars last year, according to early M&A league tables data from Refinitiv.
That includes Kirkland & Ellis. Perennially in the top five in deal value, Kirkland dropped to No. 9 in the 2022 rankings, Refinitiv said. It occupied the No. 3 spot in 2021. The firm saw about a 51% decline, from almost $600 billion worth of deals touched to under $300 billion in 2022. It was the biggest percentage drop among those in the top 15 rankings, slightly outpacing the 50% drop that Weil, Gotshal & Manges saw. The latter firm moved from No. 11 to No. 15 in the latest rankings.
