Consolidation in the internet sector has gifted major mandates to a raft of firms in the past week, with Google acquiring video-sharing website YouTube and Carphone Warehouse buying AOL UK in deals totalling more than £1bn in value.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett bagged the coveted lead role advising Google on its $1.65bn (£887m) acquisition of internet phenomenon YouTube, with Palo Alto partners Richard Capelouto and Kirsten Jensen advising.

The deal is significant for the New York firm as Google is well known for using Silicon Valley giant Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The West Coast firm counts Google as one of its top clients and was lead counsel on the internet company's much-vaunted $2.7bn (£1.4bn) float two years ago.

However, Wilson Sonsini acted for another long-term client, YouTube, on this deal. San Fran-cisco-based corporate partner Michael Ringler and Palo Alto corporate partner John Sheridan led the team advising YouTube. It is currently unclear which firm will now get the future work for Google.

Meanwhile, in the UK, DLA Piper, Osborne Clarke (OC) and Herbert Smith all won roles on the £370m acquisition of Time Warner's AOL UK internet business by Carphone Warehouse.

DLA Piper grabbed the main corporate instruction for Carphone Warehouse – acting alongside OC, which is advising the telecoms company on competition and commercial aspects of the acquisition.

Manchester corporate partner James Kerrigan is leading the team for DLA Piper. OC partner Angus Finnegan is advising on commercial and regulatory matters alongside competition head Simon Neill.

Herbert Smith is acting for regular client Time Warner, with corporate partner Nick Elverston leading the team, supported by corporate partner Gavin Davies. The deal, like the $580m (£312m) acquisition of MySpace by News International last year, are the latest evidence of sky-high valuations of internet companies.

User-generated content like YouTube and MySpace also create more intellectual property issues, while the fact viewers have greater choice in what they watch can create financing issues as generating investor interest is more difficult.

SJ Berwin media partner Tim Johnson said: "These deals are high-profile indications of the way business is going. We would expect to see increasing work coming from the internet as the new means of audiovisual delivery."