Ranked by the deal record.
Not by votes, fees or referees.
Free league tables of law firms and lawyers, counted from published 2026 deal records. Every rank links to the deals behind it, so a sceptical managing partner can check any table in five minutes. Free to enter. Free to display. Results on 15 January 2027.
- 2,265
- 2026 deals already on record
- 118
- firms with 2026 deals
- 1,423
- with a disclosed value
- $0
- to enter or display
- ·
- nominations so far
Three steps, and the record does the rest
- 1 · Your deals count already
- Every 2026 deal on DealDatabase is included automatically. 2,265 are on record today, from announcements published on Legal Desire.
- 2 · Nominate what is missing
- Send the 2026 deals we do not have yet, each with a public source. It is free, takes a few minutes, and each verified deal is also published on DealDatabase.
- 3 · Check, then publish
- Ranked firms see their draft position on 4 January 2027 and can challenge any credit for seven days. Results go live on 15 January.
22 rankings in the first edition
Firms are ranked by deal count, with a second ranking by disclosed deal value. A table is published only if at least 10 firms qualify, so nobody wins a category of three. Places 1 to 3 are Leading, places 4 to 10 are Ranked.
By practice
- M&A712 on record
- Private Equity156 on record
- Banking and Finance206 on record
- Capital Markets: Equity441 on record
- Capital Markets: Debt259 on record
- Project Finance and Infrastructure82 on record
- Restructuring24 on record
- Venture and Growth167 on record
- Real Estate66 on record
By region
- Global
- Europe
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Middle East
- Asia-Pacific
- Africa
By sector
- Energy and Renewables
- Technology
- Healthcare and Life Sciences
- Financial Services
Lawyers
- Top Dealmakers
Named lawyers on the most 2026 deals, by practice - Rising Dealmakers
Associates and senior associates named on the most 2026 deals
"On record" counts are 2026 deals already in DealDatabase for that practice. They are not rankings, which are only produced after nominations close.
How many of your 2026 deals are already on record?
Type your firm's name. You will see the 2026 deals DealDatabase already holds for it. Anything missing, nominate it.
Open to inspection, end to end
| DealDatabase League Tables | Survey-based directories | Data terminals | Paid-entry awards | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basis of rank | Counted deal records | Submissions, referees, interviews | Deal data | Judging panels |
| Can you check a rank? | Yes, every deal is linked | No | Behind a paywall | No |
| Cost to enter | Free | Free, with heavy prep | Free | Entry fees or dinner tables |
| Cost to display the result | Free, no licence | Often free | Not offered | Logo licences are common |
| Mid-market and smaller firms | Included | Selective | Often value thresholds | Depends on entries |
Free, and checkable in one click
- Web badge in light and dark, stating the table, region and year, linked to a verification page.
- Digital certificate with a unique number and a QR code to that page.
- Verification page on dealdatabase.co showing the rank and every deal behind it.
- Coverage in the results report and the Legal Desire results issue.
- Lawyer certificates for every named lawyer in the Top Dealmakers tables.
Printed certificates, trophies, enhanced profiles and DealDatabase Pro are available to ranked firms on request. None of them affect rank. Ask about them.
- 14 years
- publishing on the legal industry
- 1M+
- monthly readers of Legal Desire
- 20,000+
- stories published
- 12,000+
- deals and transactions covered
- 10,976
- deals on DealDatabase
- 33,393
- lawyers named on deal teams
Read by founders, law firm partners, general counsel, practising lawyers and business development teams worldwide.
Put your brand in front of the firms doing the deals
Category sponsorships, a title partnership, the results report and the Legal Desire results issue are open to legal tech, data room, recruitment, translation and other professional services brands. Law firms cannot sponsor, so the rankings stay clean.
Firewall. No payment of any kind, whether sponsorship, subscription, profile, certificate or advertising, affects eligibility, credit or rank. Sponsors are never law firms, and commercial staff never see draft tables.
Frequently asked
What are the DealDatabase League Tables 2026?
Free rankings of law firms and lawyers by the deals they advised on in 2026, counted from published deal records. Every rank links to the deals behind it, so anyone can check it. Results are published on 15 January 2027 on dealdatabase.co and Legal Desire.
Does it cost anything to enter or to display a badge?
No. Entering is free, being ranked is free, and the web badge and digital certificate are free. There is no licence fee to use the badge on your website, in pitches or in print.
How are firms ranked?
By deal count in each table, with a separate ranking by disclosed deal value where values were made public. No judges, no surveys and no votes. Undisclosed values count for volume and are never estimated.
Our deals are already on DealDatabase. Do we need to nominate?
No. Every 2026 deal already on DealDatabase counts automatically. Nominate the deals that are missing, or confirm the categories you want to be considered for.
What counts as evidence?
A public source for each deal: your press release, an exchange filing, a client announcement or a Legal Desire report. Confidential deals cannot be ranked, because nobody else could check them.
Which deals are eligible?
Deals announced between 1 January and 31 December 2026, where your firm advised a principal party such as the buyer, seller, target, issuer, lender, borrower or sponsor. Lawyers are credited when they are named on the public record of the deal.
Can sponsors or subscribers rank higher?
No. Sponsors are never law firms, commercial staff never see draft tables, and no payment of any kind affects eligibility, credit or rank. The rule is printed on every table and badge page.
What if a table looks wrong?
Every ranked firm receives its draft position and deal list on 4 January 2027 and has seven days to challenge any credit with evidence. Anyone named in a deal can also ask for a correction at any time.
Who runs the League Tables?
DealDatabase, published by Legal Desire Media. Legal Desire has published on the legal industry for 14 years and has covered more than 12,000 deals and transactions.
Anything else: write to anuj@legaldesire.com.