Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom was the number one legal adviser globally in 2018 according to GlobalData’s top legal advisers 2018 ranking.

The New York-based international firm led the list in terms of the value of deals advised on in 2018 having worked on 189 deals with a total value of $546.9bn in the period. This included the second biggest transaction of the year, Cigna’s acquisition of Express Scripts for $67bn.

GlobalData uses its tracking of worldwide mergers and acquisitions, private equity/venture capital deals and asset transaction activity to compile the league table.

The ranking compliments GlobalData’s list of financial advisers which advised on worldwide deals in 2018. 

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom saw a 28% rise in the value of deals advised on during 2018, but a 10.8% decline in volume compared with 2017.

US-based law firms hold the top eight spots in terms of total value of deals advised on in 2018.

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The only non-US advisers listed in the top ten were UK-based Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters LLP which occupied places nine and ten respectively.

(league table uses $bns)

GlobalData’s league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firms and other reliable sources. A dedicated team of analysts monitors these sources to gather in-depth details for each deal, including adviser names and deal values.

To ensure further robustness to the data, the company also seeks submissions from leading advisers, through adviser submission forms on GlobalData.