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Corporate Deal Tracker
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Simpson Thacher made its expansion to Dallas official by hiring Ryan Cox (right). He will serve as head of the firm’s Hybrid Capital practice and co-managing partner of the office alongside Dave Nemecek, who moved from Kirkland in February.
CDT DATABASE YEAR-TO-DATE TRANSACTION TOTALS
AUG. 2, 2026
DEAL COUNT
840
DEAL VALUE
$957.4B
AUG. 2, 2025
DEAL COUNT
993
DEAL VALUE
$804.3B

Texas’ M&A MVPs: Meet the Dealmakers Dominating at the All-Star Break

The Corporate Deal Tracker’s first-half firm rankings made one thing clear: a handful of law firms are dominating M&A from every angle, whether the deal is in Houston, Silicon Valley or halfway around the world.

New data from the CDT identifies a cadre of Texas‑based M&A lawyers who clearly stand apart from the pack, but that only tells part of the story as the leaderboards are a cross-section of activity, from smaller to core middle-market transactions to megadeals.

Jeff Schnick

Texas’ First-Half Fab Five: These Firms Are Leading the M&A Break

In the first half of the year, dealmaking has been defined by an unmistakable top tier of law firms that dominate the M&A stats from every angle. Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Gibson Dunn, Vinson & Elkins and Sidley Austin are the only firms that land in the top 10 on all four core measures of The Texas Lawbook’s exclusive Corporate Deal Tracker for 1H 2026 M&A: overall Texas‑led deal count and value, as well as Texas‑related deal count and value.

These five firms and their Texas lawyers formed the “starting lineup” for buyers and sellers who needed wraparound services, expertise and scale.

What sets the Texas Fab Five apart is that each arrives from a slightly different angle.

Per usual, Kirkland and Latham anchor the high‑volume end of the spectrum, running enormous books of Texas‑related deals.

Gibson Dunn dominates the top of the value leaderboard, with transactions that generate staggering amounts (thanks, SpaceX!).

Vinson & Elkins and Sidley provide the bridge between those extremes with deal counts that show substantial total value and a strong share of Texas‑led work.

The megadeals have gotten a lot of love as of late, but Texas lawyers at these firms are also delivering consistent core middle‑market activity, too.

What does the starting lineup look like?

Jeff Schnick

Megadeals on Top, Middle Market Grind Below: Inside Texas’ 1H Deal Sheet

With 799 deals in just the first six months of this year, and nearly a trillion dollars in value attached to those transactions, Texas lawyers advised on everything from data centers to drill pads. At the center of it all sits the Texas Triangle of Austin, Dallas and Houston, where energy, software and finance grab the headlines.

Jeff Schnick

Longtime Houston Energy Partner Laterals to Troutman 

Mac Marshall, an energy partner, has joined Troutman Pepper Locke in Houston from Norton Rose Fulbright. He will focus his practice on upstream and midstream energy transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures, commercial agreements and energy financings. 

Elle Grinnell

Y’all Street Rising: Texas Matching Its Economic Muscle With Market Depth

Against the backdrop of SpaceX’s long-awaited public debut last month and a potential reopening of the IPO window in capital markets, Texas is testing whether its economic strength can be matched by financial market depth.

The Texas Lawbook caught up with Carlos Pena of Texas Capital to discuss how extended private lifecycles, the evolving IPO windows and Texas’ legal and governance frameworks are reshaping capital formation.

Jeff Schnick

Data/Rankings Stories

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