Despite early uncertainty about market volatility, global M&A activity is up 2 percent compared to last year, totaling $1.6 trillion for the first half of 2017, according to league tables released by Bloomberg LP and Thomson Reuters Corp.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom topped league tables when measured by number of deals by value during the first half of 2017. The firm's lead roles on deals like Intel Corp.'s $15.3 billion sale to Mobileye NV and Becton, Dickinson & Co.'s $24 billion buy of C.R. Bard Inc. helped it rack up transactional work totaling nearly $167 billion during the first two quarters, according to Thomson Reuters.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton was a close No. 2 to Skadden in the Thomson Reuters rankings with nearly $162 billion in deals over the past six months. Bloomberg had Cleary Gottlieb, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Kirkland & Ellis and Sullivan & Cromwell all trailing Skadden in the deal value tables, which as previously noted by The American Lawyer can be an imprecise method of measuring M&A prowess.