While not static, over the course of a long year, many of the same law firms lead financial and market data company Refinitiv’s league tables on deal value and volume year after year: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Kirkland & Ellis; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and Davis Polk & Wardwell being consistent stalwarts in both value and volume. 

But 2020 is not a normal year, and the downturn in activity, 21% year over year through Q3 worldwide, and the absence of many larger deals in the $5 billion to $10 billion range, down 37% year over year, has opened the door for some newcomers in the M&A league tables for law firms.