Clayton UTZ and Cassels Brock & Blackwell have emerged as the leading mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers by value and volume, respectively, in the metals and mining sector during the first half of 2025 (H1 2025), according to the latest league table published by GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

As per GlobalData’s Deals Database, Clayton UTZ secured the top spot with $5.5bn in advised deals.

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King & Wood Mallesons followed closely by advising on $5.3bn worth of deals, while Herbert Smith Freehills, Blake Cassels & Graydon and Borden Ladner Gervais advised on $3.6bn, $3.3bn and $2.5bn worth of deals, respectively.

GlobalData lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose said: “Clayton UTZ was not among the top ten by value in H1 2024. However, its involvement in the $5.3bn deal for the acquisition of 40% stake in Rhodes Ridge Iron Ore Project by Mitsui in February this year paved the way for it to top the chart by value in H1 2025.

“Meanwhile, Cassels Brock & Blackwell’s ranking by volume improved from the second position to the top position. Apart from leading by volume, it also held the eighth position in terms of value in H1 2025.”

Cassels Brock & Blackwell led by deal volume, with advisory on eight transactions.

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In terms of deal volume, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin came second in the ranking with six deals.

Blake Cassels & Graydon with five, Stikeman Elliott with four and Herbert Smith Freehills with three deals rounded out the top five advisory companies by volume.

GlobalData’s league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firm websites and other reliable sources available on the secondary domain. A dedicated team of analysts monitors all these sources to gather in-depth details for each deal, including adviser names.

To ensure further robustness to the data, the company also seeks submissions of deals from leading advisers.

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