Latham & Watkins and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer jumped to the top of the global M&A legal adviser rankings in the first half of 2020, amid a steep fall in deal activity worldwide.

Latham & Watkins, which was in the tenth spot in the first half of 2019, took the crown in the first half of 2020 having advised on a total of 177 global deals worth $132.5 billion, according to data from Mergermarket.