Uría Menéndez tops Q1 2026 by value (Mergermarket)
In the first quarter of 2026, Uría Menéndez secured the top spot in the legal advisers ranking by deal value, while Cuatrecasas emerged as the most active adviser by number of transactions, according to Mergermarket data. The firm advised on 21 deals with a combined value of EUR 17.521bn, making it the leading player in the market over the period.
It was followed by Deloitte Legal, ranked second with EUR 11.115bn across six deals, while Davis Polk & Wardwell and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz took third and fourth place respectively, both with EUR 10.522bn generated from a single deal each. This underlines the extent to which large-cap transactions shaped the value ranking.
Rounding out the top five was Cuatrecasas, with EUR 7.1bn across 37 deals, standing out above all for the volume of mandates handled. The rest of the top ten was made up of Latham & Watkins with EUR 6.759bn across four deals, Linklaters with EUR 6.3bn across nine deals, PwC Legal (UK) with EUR 6.155bn across 14 deals, EY Law with EUR 5.889bn across six deals, and Kirkland & Ellis with EUR 5.748bn across two deals.
Further down the table, Paul Weiss and Simpson Thacher each recorded EUR 5.559bn from a single deal, reinforcing the picture of a quarter in which a handful of very large transactions had an outsized effect on league table positions. Among the more active advisers were also Perez-Llorca, ranked thirteenth by value with 29 deals, KPMG Abogados with 14 deals, Ashurst with seven, and Garrigues, which placed sixteenth by value with 24 deals.
By deal volume
Mergermarket’s Q1 2026 ranking by deal volume places Cuatrecasas first, with 37 deals worth EUR 7.1bn. Perez-Llorca followed in second with 29 transactions valued at EUR 3.276bn, while Garrigues ranked third with 24 deals worth EUR 1.455bn.
Uría Menéndez placed fourth by volume with 21 deals, adding depth to its first-place finish by value. PwC Legal (UK) and KPMG Abogados shared the next positions, each reporting 14 transactions, although with markedly different aggregate values of EUR 6.155bn and EUR 2.536bn respectively.
The next tier included Linklaters and Baker & McKenzie, both on nine deals, followed by Ashurst, DLA Piper and CMS, each with seven transactions. Deloitte Legal, EY Law and Pinsent Masons all recorded six deals during the quarter.
The lower end of the top 20 by volume included Addleshaw Goddard, Gómez-Acebo & Pombo and Broseta Abogados, all on five transactions, while Latham & Watkins, Clifford Chance and Hogan Lovells each posted four deals.
The Q1 2026 rankings therefore point to a familiar split in the legal advisory market: Uría Menéndez led the quarter by aggregate value, while Cuatrecasas emerged as the most active adviser by number of transactions.
