Unpredictability strikes back on the 2016 M&A market. IFLR1000’s annual rankings identify the law firms that have laid the foundations for next year’s deal activity

As 2015 marked a record year for M&A transactions and hailed the return of the megamerger, in January 2016 many commentators and industry insiders were looking ahead with optimism to what could be achieved. They were however greeted by an M&A hangover and significant drop in deal value.

The most striking figure of all (from Dealogic) was the $606.4 billion in M&A deals withdrawn in the first half of 2016 alone, more than doubling the 2015 figure of $233.3 billion. Dealogic data up to December 2016 showed a clear drop in overall deal value (more so than volume) globally. While full year 2015 reached $3.96 trillion, 2016 to December was a third lower at $2.91 trillion....