Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has dominated the European and UK M&A rankings by deal value and volume for the first half of 2014, amid a 56% year-on-year uptick in global deal-making.

Figures from Legal Week‘s exclusive data provider, Mergermarket, show that Freshfields advised on 96 deals in Europe worth $239bn (£139bn) over the six-month period, including Medtronic’s $45.9bn (£26.8bn) proposed takeover of Covidien.