Valeo M&A Hourly Rate Report - Deals to Increase Q4 2025 to Q1 2026
The Valeo 2022 - 2025 M&A Law Firm Hourly Rate Report TM details the hourly rates of the pre-eminent Deal Law Firms in the US. Hourly rates in the M&A market are the perennial leaders due to the nature of deals - legal fees paid in-full when the merger completes so no lengthy billing process, both sides want the deal done and are therefore non-adversarial and legal fees can be capitalized not expensed.
The deal landscape remains uncertain but one thing that is certain - private and corporate cash levels are at an all-time high, waiting to be deployed. We expect that deployment to happen in one year or less. Using state of the art software and AI, the Legal Pricing Platform identifies, parses and uploads hourly rates that are publicly disclosed of attorneys and support staff at over 2,900 law firms representing over 20,000 companies in 63 countries with rates denominated in 12 currencies. Secondary public records research is performed to complete detailed engagement profiles of the attorneys and companies involved. Through this process the Platform is able to provide actionable and monetizable data to our client community - large law firms, corporations and consulting firms to make:
- Direct comparisons between attorneys and firms (as opposed to general averages of a collection of various firms' rates as found in surveys, e-billing services or online auction sites) and
- Important pricing and strategy decisions enterprise-wide or engagement-by-engagement for litigation, transactional, advisory and regulatory matters.
In the Legal Pricing Platform, all hourly rates, hours and fees for each individual attorney are cited as to the source. For example, the citation for a court filing includes case name, case number, court, case filing date, filing number, filing description, attorney and support staff listed by full name, client name, hourly rate of each timekeeper, hours billed, total hours and the time period in which the work was performed. As mentioned, further secondary research is required to confirm experience levels (graduation and bar licensure years), bar state (in the United States) or bar country (outside of the United States), practice area(s) and primary industry of the client.
All data for the analytical reports, such as the Valeo 2022-2025 M&A Law Firm Hourly Rate Report TM, is downloaded from the Platform and rates are detailed as Average Billed Rates by Annual Revenue Rankings (AMLAW 10, 50, etc.), Firm, Position (Senior Partner - 25 years or more since Graduation Year, Partner - 24 years or less, Counsel, Senior Associate - 5 years or more, Associate - 4 years or less and Support Staff), Practice(s) and Rate Years. Some rate year fields were estimated.
In order to provide this detailed level of clarity and transparency, the Platform finds rate information in 1) public records in US Federal Courts - SCOTUS, Appellate Courts including the Federal Circuit, District Courts, Bankruptcy Courts, Tax Court and Others 2) publicly available budgets from municipalities, districts (school, water, environmental and others), counties and states where attorneys were hired to perform legal work for the public entity 3) registrations such SEC records and other publicly disclosed departmental or agency filings.
Since the publisher researches, reviews and analyzes only publicly available information and cites the source of the information, the United States federal and state court systems easily recognize and accept the validity and veracity of the data in court. The data has been used and cited in several hundred United States federal and state court cases including the Supreme Court of the United States (Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley Publishing), Federal District Courts (The United States v. Apple), Appellate Courts including the Federal Circuit, Federal Bankruptcy (AMR Corporation, Chapter 11 bankruptcy case) and Adversary proceedings and major state courts mainly in California, Texas and New York.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary and Research and Reporting Methodology
Section 1: Rates by AMLAW Group & Practice Area
- AMLAW 10
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- AMLAW 25
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- AMLAW 50
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- AMLAW 51-100
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- AMLAW 100
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- AMLAW 101-200
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- AMLAW 200
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
Section 2: Rates by Law Firm & Practice Area
- #1 Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #2 Latham & Watkins LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #3 DLA Piper LLP (US)
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #4 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #5 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #6 Sidley Austin LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #7 Ropes & Gray LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #8 Baker McKenzie
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #9 White & Case LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- Private Equity
- #19 Goodwin Procter LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #10 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #11 Hogan Lovells LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #12 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #13 Jones Day
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #14 Dentons
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #15 Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #16 Greenberg Traurig LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #17 Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #18 Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #20 Norton Rose Fulbright
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #21 King & Spalding LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #22 Paul Hastings LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #23 McDermott Will & Emery LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #24 Cooley LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #25 Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #26 Holland & Knight LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #27 Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #28 Mayer Brown LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #29 Milbank LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #30 Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #31 Covington & Burling LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #32 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #33 Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #34 Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #35 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #36 Dechert LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #37 Reed Smith LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #38 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #39 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #40 Morrison & Foerster LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #41 Proskauer Rose LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #42 Squire Patton Boggs
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #43 Alston & Bird LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #44 K&L Gates LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #45 Foley & Lardner LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #46 Winston & Strawn LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #47 Perkins Coie LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #48 Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #49 Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #50 Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #51 Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #52 Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #53 Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #54 McGuireWoods LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #55 O'Melveny & Myers LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #56 Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #57 Baker & Hostetler LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #58 Vinson & Elkins LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #59 Polsinelli PC
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #60 Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #63 Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #64 Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #65 Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #67 Baker Botts LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #68 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #69 Fenwick & West LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #70 Fox Rothschild LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #71 Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #72 Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #73 Barnes & Thornburg LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #74 Blank Rome LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #75 Littler Mendelson P.C.
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #76 Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #77 Cozen O'Connor
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #78 Husch Blackwell LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #79 Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #82 Duane Morris LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #83 Jenner & Block LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #86 Haynes and Boone, LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #87 ArentFox Schiff LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #89 Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #90 Nixon Peabody LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #91 Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #92 Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #93 Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #94 Akerman LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #96 Ballard Spahr LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #97 Steptoe LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #99 Locke Lord LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #101 Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #102 Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #106 Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #108 Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #109 Jackson Walker LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #110 Lowenstein Sandler PC
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #111 Loeb & Loeb LLP
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #113 Holland & Hart LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #114 Clark Hill PLC
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #115 Fisher & Phillips LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #116 Quarles & Brady LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #117 Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #118 Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #120 Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #122 Bracewell LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #123 Dickinson Wright PLLC
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #126 Honigman LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #127 Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #129 Buchalter, APC
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #130 Kutak Rock LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #131 Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #132 Foley Hoag LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #133 Spencer Fane LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #134 Stinson LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #140 McCarter & English, LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #142 Thompson Coburn LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #144 Thompson Hine LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #145 Ice Miller LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #146 Brown Rudnick LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #147 Stoel Rives LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #149 Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #151 Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #152 Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #153 Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #154 Burr & Forman LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #155 Butler Snow LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #158 Dykema Gossett P.L.L.C.
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #160 Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #161 Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #165 Day Pitney LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #166 Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #168 Shutts & Bowen LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #169 Pryor Cashman LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #175 Seward & Kissel LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- Private Equity
- #176 Cole Schotz P.C.
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #177 Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #178 Fennemore Craig, P.C.
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #179 Greenspoon Marder LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #183 Adams and Reese LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #184 Offit Kurman, P.A.
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #186 Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #188 Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #194 UB Greensfelder LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- #196 Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Capital Markets
- #197 Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- #200 Herrick Feinstein LLP
- Mergers & Acquisitions
Samples
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Companies Mentioned
- Adams and Reese LLP
- Akerman LLP
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
- Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
- Alston & Bird LLP
- ArentFox Schiff LLP
- Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
- Baker & Hostetler LLP
- Baker Botts LLP
- Baker McKenzie
- Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
- Ballard Spahr LLP
- Barnes & Thornburg LLP
- Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
- Blank Rome LLP
- Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
- Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC
- Bracewell LLP
- Brown Rudnick LLP
- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
- Buchalter, APC
- Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
- Burr & Forman LLP
- Butler Snow LLP
- Clark Hill PLC
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
- Cole Schotz P.C.
- Cooley LLP
- Covington & Burling LLP
- Cozen O'Connor
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
- Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
- Day Pitney LLP
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
- Dechert LLP
- Dentons
- Dickinson Wright PLLC
- Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
- DLA Piper LLP (US)
- Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- Duane Morris LLP
- Dykema Gossett P.L.L.C.
- Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
- Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
- Fennemore Craig, P.C.
- Fenwick & West LLP
- Fisher & Phillips LLP
- Foley & Lardner LLP
- Foley Hoag LLP
- Fox Rothschild LLP
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
- Goodwin Procter LLP
- Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
- Greenberg Traurig LLP
- Greenspoon Marder LLP
- Haynes and Boone, LLP
- Herrick Feinstein LLP
- Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
- Hogan Lovells LLP
- Holland & Hart LLP
- Holland & Knight LLP
- Honigman LLP
- Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
- Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
- Husch Blackwell LLP
- Ice Miller LLP
- Jackson Walker LLP
- Jenner & Block LLP
- Jones Day
- K&L Gates LLP
- Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
- Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
- King & Spalding LLP
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
- Kutak Rock LLP
- Latham & Watkins LLP
- Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
- Littler Mendelson P.C.
- Locke Lord LLP
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
- Lowenstein Sandler PC
- Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
- Mayer Brown LLP
- McCarter & English, LLP
- McDermott Will & Emery LLP
- McGuireWoods LLP
- Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
- Milbank LLP
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
- Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
- Morrison & Foerster LLP
- Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
- Nixon Peabody LLP
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- O'Melveny & Myers LLP
- Offit Kurman, P.A.
- Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
- Paul Hastings LLP
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
- Perkins Coie LLP
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
- Polsinelli PC
- Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP
- Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
- Proskauer Rose LLP
- Pryor Cashman LLP
- Quarles & Brady LLP
- Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
- Reed Smith LLP
- Ropes & Gray LLP
- Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
- Seward & Kissel LLP
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
- Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP
- Shutts & Bowen LLP
- Sidley Austin LLP
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
- Spencer Fane LLP
- Squire Patton Boggs
- Steptoe LLP
- Stinson LLP
- Stoel Rives LLP
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
- Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
- Thompson Coburn LLP
- Thompson Hine LLP
- Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
- UB Greensfelder LLP
- Vinson & Elkins LLP
- Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
- White & Case LLP
- Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC
- Winston & Strawn LLP
- Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
