In one of the slowest years in recent deal activity, Kirkland & Ellis won the top spot of the 2023 league tables, reclaiming the role for mergers and acquisitions deal value that Simpson Thacher & Bartlett held for 2022. Goodwin Procter once again led Big Law in the number of deals, while Shearman & Sterling saw the largest jump in rank among the top 25 firms for value and Weil, Gotshal & Manges saw the largest drop. 

Kirkland led all firms in principal announced deal value, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group on Thursday, with $397 billion in value across 644 deals. Kirkland was No. 4 in 2022.