As 2021 continues to set records in the M&A world, and law firms struggle to keep up with the demand, we can add another gold medal to the year: the largest first half in deal value and volume since records have been kept.

According to financial data tracking company Refinitiv, global deal value surpassed $2.8 trillion in the first six months of this year. SPACs, for 30 years an afterthought in fueling big M&A numbers, accounted for 14% of that overall value, or $392 billion. That was spread over an eye-popping 201 SPAC mergers thus far in 2021.