DealDatabase, the deal record published by Legal Desire, has opened nominations for the first DealDatabase League Tables, ranking law firms and lawyers by the deals they advised on in 2026. The tables are counted from published deal records, with no judges, surveys or votes, and every rank links to the deals behind it. Entry is free, and so is the badge. Nominations close on 31 December 2026 and results are published on 15 January 2027.
What is being ranked
The first edition has 22 tables:
- Practice: M&A, Private Equity, Banking and Finance, Capital Markets (equity), Capital Markets (debt), Project Finance and Infrastructure, Restructuring, Venture and Growth, and Real Estate.
- Region: Global, Europe, United Kingdom, United States, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa.
- Sector: Energy and Renewables, Technology, Healthcare and Life Sciences, and Financial Services.
- Lawyers: Top Dealmakers, the lawyers named on the most 2026 deals in each practice, and Rising Dealmakers, for associates and senior associates.
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. Places one to three are marked Leading and four to ten Ranked.
How a deal counts
A deal is eligible if it was announced between 1 January and 31 December 2026, the firm advised a principal party such as the buyer, seller, target, issuer, lender, borrower or sponsor, and there is a public source for it. Values count only where they were disclosed, converted to US dollars on the announcement date, and are never estimated. Every table is labelled “by published deal activity”, because it counts announced deals, not the whole market.
More than 2,200 deals from 2026 are already on DealDatabase and count automatically. Firms can check how many of theirs are on record, and nominate the ones that are missing, on the League Tables page.
A chance to check before results go live
Every ranked firm receives its draft position, and the deals behind it, on 4 January 2027. Firms then have seven days to challenge any credit with evidence, and every challenge and outcome is logged. Anyone named in a deal can also request a correction at any time.
Free to enter, free to display
There is no entry fee and no licence fee for the badge. Every ranked firm and lawyer receives a web badge, a digital certificate with a unique number, and a verification page on DealDatabase showing the rank and the deals behind it.
Sponsorship of individual tables, a title partnership and the results report is open to legal tech, data room, recruitment and other professional services brands, but not to law firms. The programme’s firewall rule is printed on every table: no payment of any kind affects eligibility, credit or rank, and commercial staff never see draft tables.
Key dates
- 31 December 2026: nominations close
- 4 January 2027: draft tables sent to ranked firms
- 11 January 2027: challenge window closes
- 15 January 2027: results published on DealDatabase and Legal Desire
Nominate at dealdatabase.co/league-tables/nominate. The full rules are in the methodology. Questions go to anuj@legaldesire.com.
Frequently asked questions
Does it cost anything to enter? No. Entering, being ranked and displaying the badge are all free.
Do firms need to nominate deals already on DealDatabase? No. Those count automatically. Nominate only the 2026 deals that are missing.
Can sponsors rank higher? No. Sponsors are never law firms, and no payment affects eligibility, credit or rank.
When are the results? 15 January 2027, on dealdatabase.co and legaldesire.com.
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