Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, with 60 deals worth $144.4 billion over the past year, led the latest Mergermarket league table compiled for Legal Week, followed by Slaughter and May, Herbert Smith Freehills, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Linklaters.

It marks a shift from last year, in which US-based Kirkland & Ellis, Davis Polk & Wardwell, and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom topped the UK table.

However, US firms continued to dominate the global rankings, with only Freshfields and Allen & Overy making the top 10.