Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have emerged as the top US law firms in European M&A over the last three years, according to research produced for Legal Week that show the pair have worked on the highest value of deals over the period.

Sullivan ranked first in the value tables for UK and Europe, according to figures compiled by Legal Week's data partner Mergermarket. The New York firm has advised on 173 European deals worth a total value of E839.7bn (£603bn) since November 2004 and 60 deals worth a total of E244bn (£175.3bn) in the UK.

New York rival Skadden came second in both the European and UK value tables after advising on 264 European deals worth a combined value of E692.5bn (£497bn) and 109 UK deals worth E188bn (£135.3bn).

The two firms saw their positions boosted by roles on deals including Barclays' unsuccessful E67.5bn (£48.5bn) bid for ABN Amro earlier this year and, during last year, Gaz de France's bid for Suez and E.ON's bid for Endesa.

The tables tracked all M&A deals of more than E5m (£3.6m). The rankings also highlight the strong performance of White & Case, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Latham & Watkins.

White & Case topped the table by volume, traditionally a more accurate indicator of local law prowess in Europe, and finished fifth by value, working on 484 deals worth E317bn (£228bn).

In European rankings, Cleary came third by value and fourth by volume, while Latham featured within the top six firms by value and volume in both the UK and Europe.

Other strong performers included Baker & McKenzie and Jones Day, which feature in the top three firms on UK and European deals by volume.