Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, along with Kirkland & Ellis, topped the legal adviser rankings in oil and gas sector mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for the first quarter of 2026 (Q1 2026), according to the latest GlobalData league tables.
Skadden topped the table by deal value, while Kirkland & Ellis led the chart in terms of deal volume.
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According to GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database, Skadden advised on deals totalling $65.2bn.
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson secured second place for deal value, advising on $64.2bn, closely followed by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher with $58.2bn, Latham & Watkins with $14.3bn, and Vinson & Elkins with $11.6bn in advised transactions.
Meanwhile, in terms of deal volume, Kirkland & Ellis led by handling eight transactions. Latham & Watkins took the second spot with seven transactions.
Vinson & Elkins ranked third with six deals, while Skadden, along with White & Case, followed, each advising on four deals.
GlobalData lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose said: “Kirkland & Ellis was the top adviser by volume in Q1 2025 and retained its leadership position by this metric in Q1 2026 as well, despite a year-on-year drop in the total number of deals advised by it. Apart from leading by volume, it also occupied the sixth position by value in Q1 2026.
“Meanwhile, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom registered a massive jump in the total value of deals advised by it during Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, and resultantly its ranking by value also took a leap from 24th position to the top spot.
“Of the four deals advised by it during Q1 2026, two were billion-dollar deals that also included a very high-value deal worth more than $50bn. Involvement in these big-ticket deals helped Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom register a massive jump in terms of value.”
GlobalData’s league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firm websites and other reliable sources available in the secondary domain. A dedicated team of analysts monitors all these sources to gather in-depth details for each deal, including adviser names.
To ensure further robustness of the data, the company also seeks submissions of deals from leading advisers.
