Freshfields has beaten rivals Slaughter
and May and Linklaters to first place in
the rankings for UK mergers and acquisitions in 1998.

The firm acted on 36 deals altogether for either financial advisers or companies in UK public takeovers, with a total value of £26.7m, according to Acquisitions Monthly magazine.

High-value deals included acting for Scottish Power in
its £4.2bn takeover of US generator Pacificorps, and advising US oil firm Amoco in its £67.5bn merger with the UK's BP.

However, Slaughters confirmed its position as the first choice for corporate Britain, advising companies on 32 deals, with a value of £20.2bn.

Freshfields ranked fourth with 19 deals, after Linklaters and Clifford Chance.

Allen & Overy, SJ Berwin & Co and Theodore Goddard fell furthest in the rankings.

A&O partner Alan Paul attributed his firm's drop to conflicts of interest and working on deals that failed to get off the ground.

SJ Berwin and Theodore Goddard enjoyed a record year in 1997 due to their work on the £9.8bn merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan to form Diageo.

Birmingham's Wragge & Co reappeared in the top 20 after a two-year absence. David Vaugham, head of the firm's public company group, said: "1998 was the busiest year on record for us".

With the exception of New York's Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, London offices of US firms have yet again failed to register in the top 20.

Skaddens' partner Bruce Buck, head of the firms 29-lawyer London office, credited his firm's success to "hard work, not magic".