Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has dominated the European and UK M&A rankings by deal value and volume for the first half of 2014, amid a 56% year-on-year uptick in global deal-making.

Figures from Legal Week's exclusive data provider, Mergermarket, show that Freshfields advised on 96 deals in Europe worth $239bn (£139bn) over the six-month period, including Medtronic's $45.9bn (£26.8bn) proposed takeover of Covidien.

In the UK the firm landed roles on 45 deals worth $73.3bn (£42.7bn), including the $14.5bn (£8.5bn) joint venture between pharma giants Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline. It placed second behind Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in the global deal value rankings. Skadden advised on 99 deals worth $331.4bn (£193bn).

Kirkland & Ellis took the number one spot by global deal volume after acting on 163 deals worth $111.5bn (£65bn).

Globally, M&A value for the first half of this year has grown to $1,571.2bn (£915bn), a 56% increase on the same point last year.

The surge in M&A value contrasts with scepticism from deal-makers that a robust revival could be on the cards this time last year. Boardroom confidence has clearly intensified in several sectors, particularly healthcare, and value would have been even higher if talks between Pfizer and AstraZeneca had not collapsed. 

However, corporate lawyers have shown a restrained attitude to suggestions of a return to activity levels seen in the boom years preceding the recession. 

"M&A activity picked up in the last quarter of 2013, even though the market figures for 2013 as a whole remained pretty depressed, and that continued into the first half of 2014," says Slaughter and May corporate partner Andrew Jolly. "I would say it is measured, rather than unsustainably hectic or excitable, and so I am cautiously optimistic that the next half of the year will continue to see M&A pick up."

Slaughters was one of the high-climbers in the UK value rankings after acting on 21 deals worth $30.7bn (£17.9bn), sitting behind Freshfields, Linklaters and Skadden, which occupy the top three places. 

At $945.2bn (£550.4bn), the second quarter of 2014 globally was the highest in deal value since Q2 2007, when levels hit $1,277bn (£744bn), and up on $626bn (£365bn) in Q1 2014.

M&A has made a strong comeback in Europe, with deals worth $453.6bn (£264bn) in the highest-valued half-year since H2 2008, which recorded a value of $504.5bn (£294bn). 

In the US H1 value stood at $694.6bn (£404.5bn), up 98.3% on the first half of 2013, while Asia-Pacific reached the highest value levels on Mergermarket record with deals worth $286.7bn (£167bn).

Meanwhile, the value of cross-border deals between regions during the first six months of the year was up 82% on 2013, worth $371.5bn (£216.5bn).

In particular, the value of Europe's inbound deals for Q2 increased by 103.8% to $95.8bn (£55.8bn), while France and the UK each logged just over a quarter of inbound deals on the continent in H1.

"The big factor characterising global M&A in 2014 is politics," comments Jones Day European M&A partner Ferdinand Mason, who says deals are becoming more complex and resource-intensive for firms and their clients. "A political roadmap is now part of any major transaction."  

On the whole, lawyers are predicting that the uptick will continue into the second half, although the potency of the upsurge in activity in recent months may prove short-lived.

"After a very busy start to 2014, I think the pace of activity has checked a little recently – market volatility in certain sectors and investor fatigue are among the reasons given," says Davis Polk & Wardwell corporate partner Simon Witty (pictured right). "That said, people remain optimistic about activity levels in the fourth quarter."

Click here for a round-up of the top M&A deals for the first half of 2014.

• For more, see Leading lights – as the market rebounds, the magic circle is front and centre