Uría Menéndez tops H1 2026 by value (Mergermarket)

In the first half of 2026, Uría Menéndez secured the top spot in the Spanish legal advisers ranking by deal value, while Cuatrecasas emerged as the most active adviser by number of transactions, according to Mergermarket data. Uría advised on 49 deals with a combined value of EUR 23.689bn, making it the leading firm in the market by aggregate value over the period. The half-year figures largely confirm the picture already seen in the first quarter. The market remains split between value leadership, driven by a smaller number of high-ticket mandates, and volume leadership, where Spanish firms continue to dominate. Compared with Q1, however, the ranking shows a broader consolidation of activity: Uría Menéndez retained its lead by value, Cuatrecasas stayed ahead by deal count, while firms such as Deloitte Legal, PwC Legal and Pérez-Llorca strengthened their position over the second quarter.

It was followed by Deloitte Legal, which ranked second with EUR 13.484bn across 33 deals, and PwC Legal (UK), which took third place with EUR 11.9bn from 28 transactions. Cuatrecasas ranked fourth by value, with EUR 10.786bn across 67 deals, standing out above all for the volume of mandates handled.

The rest of the top ten confirms the extent to which large-cap transactions continued to shape the value table. Davis Polk & Wardwell and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz ranked fifth and sixth respectively, both with EUR 10.372bn generated from a single deal. Linklaters followed in seventh place with EUR 9.801bn across 19 deals, while Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison ranked eighth with EUR 9.384bn from five transactions. Kirkland & Ellis placed ninth with EUR 7.568bn across three deals, and Latham & Watkins completed the top ten with EUR 7.089bn from eight deals.

Further down the table, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett ranked eleventh with EUR 6.759bn from three transactions, ahead of Pérez-Llorca, which placed twelfth by value with EUR 6.26bn across 53 deals. EY Law followed in thirteenth position with EUR 6.031bn from 11 deals.

KPMG Abogados ranked fourteenth with EUR 3.259bn across 24 transactions, narrowly ahead of Garrigues, fifteenth with EUR 3.251bn from 32 deals. Clifford Chance took sixteenth place with EUR 3.139bn across eight transactions, followed by Ashurst Perkins Coie in seventeenth with EUR 2.885bn from 14 deals.

The lower end of the top 20 by value was completed by Baker McKenzie, eighteenth with EUR 2.664bn from 15 transactions, while Barbosa Müssnich & Aragão and DSK Legal ranked nineteenth and twentieth respectively, both with EUR 2.005bn generated from a single deal.

Spain legal advisers by deal value — H1 2026

Source: Mergermarket

By deal volume

Mergermarket’s H1 2026 ranking by deal volume places Cuatrecasas first, with 67 transactions worth a combined EUR 10.786bn. Pérez-Llorca followed in second place with 53 deals valued at EUR 6.26bn, while Uría Menéndez ranked third by volume with 49 transactions, adding depth to its first-place finish by value.

This also confirms one of the main trends already visible in the first-quarter ranking: Cuatrecasas and Pérez-Llorca remain the two most active advisers by number of mandates, while Uría combines a high deal count with the highest aggregate value in the market.

Deloitte Legal placed fourth by number of deals, with 33 transactions and an aggregate value of EUR 13.484bn, followed by Garrigues, fifth with 32 deals worth EUR 3.251bn. PwC Legal (UK) ranked sixth with 28 transactions valued at EUR 11.9bn, while KPMG Abogados took seventh place with 24 deals and EUR 3.259bn in value.

DWF Group ranked eighth with 21 deals worth EUR 248m, and Linklaters ninth with 19 transactions and EUR 9.801bn in aggregate value. DLA Piper completed the top ten by deal count with 17 transactions worth EUR 1.173bn.

Further down the volume ranking, Baker McKenzie placed eleventh with 15 deals valued at EUR 2.664bn. Ashurst Perkins Coie and Gómez-Acebo & Pombo ranked twelfth and thirteenth respectively, each with 14 transactions, although with very different aggregate values: EUR 2.885bn for Ashurst Perkins Coie and EUR 367m for Gómez-Acebo & Pombo.

CMS ranked fourteenth with 13 deals worth EUR 42m, followed by Addleshaw Goddard, fifteenth with 12 transactions valued at EUR 745m. EY Law and Broseta ranked sixteenth and seventeenth respectively, both with 11 deals. EY’s transactions reached a combined value of EUR 6.031bn, while Broseta’s stood at EUR 30m.

The top 20 by deal volume was completed by Pinsent Masons, eighteenth with nine deals worth EUR 293m, and by Latham & Watkins and Clifford Chance, which ranked nineteenth and twentieth respectively, each with eight transactions. Latham’s deals reached EUR 7.089bn in aggregate value, while Clifford Chance recorded EUR 3.139bn.

The H1 2026 rankings therefore point to continuity rather than a reversal of the first-quarter trend: Uría Menéndez remains the leading adviser by aggregate deal value, Cuatrecasas confirms its position as the busiest firm in the market, and Pérez-Llorca consolidates its role as one of the most active players in Spanish M&A.

Spain legal advisers by deal count — H1 2026

Source: Mergermarket