Slaughter and May has risen to the top spot in Asian M&A rankings for the past year, after advising on some of the biggest deals in the region.

The UK-centric magic circle firm advised on 30 deals worth $27.3bn (£14.1bn) during 2006. The performance took the firm to the top of the Thomson Financial league table for M&A in Asia, excluding Japan. In 2005, the firm was ranked 21st. Headline Asian instructions for Slaughters included advising steel producer Corus on its £4.3bn sale to Tata Steel UK.

New York's Shearman & Sterling came in second place with 12 deals worth $23.6bn (£12.2bn). Linklaters came third after advising on 73 deals worth $23.4bn (£12.1bn). Baker & McKenzie fell to fourth position from first place in 2005, but still managed 56 deals worth $21.7bn (£11.2bn).

Slaughters Hong Kong managing partner Richard Thornhill said: "Many of these rankings are affected by a small amount of high-value transactions. But there has been a greater emphasis on M&A in Asia last year and we are getting a good share in that market."

Linklaters Greater China managing partner Zili Shao added: "We have made a lot of adjustments to our practice. We used to be focused on the IPO market but, over the past two years, we have made a big push into M&A." The rankings come as top UK and US firms rush to gain greater share of emerging Asian markets.