Having edged out its competitors throughout the year on transactional work, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom placed first in three separate, year-end global M&A rankings based on deal value.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton ranked the second highest on the lists put out by Mergermarket, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg this week. Placing third were Sullivan & Cromwell for Mergermarket; Weil Gotshal & Manges for Thomson Reuters; and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett for Bloomberg.

Year-end deal value for Skadden came in at $594 billion, according to the Mergermarket report, marking a nearly 160 percent increase over 2013, when the firm ranked seventh on the Mergermarket and Reuters lists, and ninth on Bloomberg's list. Davis Polk & Wardwell claimed the top spot in 2013 on the Mergermarket and Reuters lists, while Simpson Thacher held the number one ranking for Bloomberg.