New York leader Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has topped the US M&A rankings for the third quarter of 2006, as Wall Street lawyers predict a record year for US M&A.

Following a blockbuster quarter that has seen both the biggest leveraged buy-out and the biggest management buy-out ever, Skadden has now advised on 170 deals totalling $425bn (£218bn) this year, edging ahead of Wall Street rival Sullivan & Cromwell, which bagged $411bn (£227bn) worth of deals, according to figures from Mergermarket.

At 4,284, the volume of ranked deals announced so far this year is only slightly up by 4,207 for the same period last year, but the combined value of those deals has jumped by 25% from $1.002trn (£536bn) to $1.248trn (£667bn).

Both Skadden and Sullivan posted triple-digit growth in the total value of M&A deals they advised on compared with the third quarter last year. Skadden's value of deals is up 132.3%, while Sullivan posted an increase of 143%.

Notable roles for Skadden, which has advised on four of the five biggest deals this quarter, include advising a Blackstone-led consortium on its $17.6bn (£9bn) buy-out of mobile phone chip maker Freescale Semiconductor.

In July, New York heavyweights Sullivan, Shearman & Sterling and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett all bagged significant roles on the $33bn (£18bn) buy-out of Tennessee-based hospital chain HCA, the largest-ever private equity-backed acquisition.

This was followed by the largest management buy-out ever in August, as Weil Gotshal & Manges and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz advised on the $22bn (£11.6bn) buy-out of energy giant Kinder Morgan.

Weil Gotshal is advising Kinder, while Wachtell is advising the acquiring consortium.

Skadden M&A partner Frank Gittes said: "The market has been really active and it looks like we are heading for a record year in M&A."

In deal volume, Cleveland giant Jones Day and Los Angeles leader Latham & Watkins outperformed many of their New York counterparts, bagging roles on 170 and 147 deals respectively.