Private credit law firm league tables H1 26

Peter Benson and Ben Hopkins13 Aug 2026 | Europe, US | 3 minute read

It is August and that means it’s time for the first half of 9fin’s 2026 private credit law firm league tables. The rankings are back and they are bigger than ever across both the US and Europe.

Globally, Latham & Watkins retained its top spot with 204 deal involvements in the first half of 2026 across both regions. The firm led in the US with 167 total deals and in Europe with 37 total deals.

New entrant Proskauer Rose took second place overall across both regions, being involved in 163 deals. Proskauer also led in global and US lender counsel rankings, with 162 and 148 respectively as lender counsel. Milbank led this category in Europe.

For borrower counsel rankings, Kirkland & Ellis led all of the combined, US, and European rankings. The firm were involved in 108 deals as borrower counsel globally, 85 in the US and 23 in Europe.

Paul Hastings and Davis Polk & Wardwell rounded out the global top five, in third and fifth respectively with 160 and 100 deals overall. Paul Hastings remained in third across the overall and lender counsel in both the combined and US rankings as well.

In Europe, the top three in...

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League Tables

Private Credit

European private credit league tables Q3 26

The European private credit deal rankings for Q3 26 are in, with Ares returning to the top spot recording 42 deals. Muzinich, Barings, Eurazeo, Investec and Partners Group round out the top five for the quarter. On an LTM basis, Ares again ranks first, followed by Muzinich, Eurazeo CVI and Investec.

European private credit league tables Q2 26

The European private credit deal rankings for Q2 26 are in, with Ares still leading the overall deal count for the last 12 months. However, Muzinich has risen to take the quarterly top spot, the first time that the New York-based firm has been pipped to that crown.

US private credit league tables Q2 26

The US private credit deal rankings for Q2 26 are now live, with Audax returning to the top of the quarterly rankings for the first time since Q3 25. Its 62 deals are also the most 9fin has tracked from a single firm in a quarter since we started the league tables at the beginning of 2025.

Private credit league tables Q1 26 — US and Europe

9fin's private credit deal rankings for Q1 26 are now live. In the US, Churchill took the top spot with 53 deals in Q1, followed by MidCap Financial and Audax. In Europe Ares once again led overall at 26 deals, with Apollo and CVI coming in second and third respectively.

Private credit law firm league tables H2 and FY 25

The 2025 Private Credit Law Firm League Tables compile full-year and H2 activity across the global market, highlighting clear leaders by firm, region, and mandate type. Paul Hastings tops the rankings overall, leading both full-year and second-half tables, while Davis Polk, Latham & Watkins, Milbank, and Kirkland & Ellis round out the most active firms globally.

10 Feb 2026

| Europe

| US