US law firms make gains in UK's mergers market
U.S. law firms took a greater share of the mergers and acquisitions market in the United Kingdom in 2024, according to data that was published Wednesday. (Image from Shutterstock)
U.S. law firms took a greater share of the mergers and acquisitions market in the United Kingdom in 2024, according to data that was published Wednesday.
Citing data from the London Stock Exchange, Law.com reports that Latham & Watkins was the top legal adviser for mergers and acquisitions in the United Kingdom, completing 116 deals with an overall value of $66.2 billion last year. According to Law.com, this is the first time that the firm—which ranked third in 2023—topped the United Kingdom’s mergers and acquisitions rankings and secured 20.4% of the market.
Sam Neuhouse, the global vice chair of Latham & Watkins’ mergers and acquisitions practice, told Law.com that the firm’s top spot reflects “years of building a quality team, our bench strength and our leading position in the market.”
“We’re relentlessly ambitious about our future,” Neuhouse added.
Kirkland & Ellis also made significant headway in the United Kingdom’s mergers and acquisitions market, Law.com reports. This year, the firm moved into fifth place and secured 11.9% of the market.
According to Law.com, other U.S. firms have expanded their presence in the United Kingdom’s mergers and acquisitions market in recent years. In 2022, only seven of the top 20 mergers and acquisitions advisers were firms with headquarters in the United States. Last year, 14 of the top 20 were U.S.-based.
This includes Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; and Ropes & Gray.
Roger Johnson, the global co-chair of mergers and acquisitions at Paul Weiss, told Law.com that the firm now has more than 200 lawyers who practice English law in London.
“This enables our clients to benefit from the leading lawyers across the two main global financial hubs, London and New York, for their most complex cross-border deals,” said Johnson, the co-head of Paul Weiss’ London office.
