Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Kirkland & Ellis
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 1,517
- Gross Revenues: $1,937,500,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $1,275,000
- Profits Per Partner: $3,250,000
- Year Over Year Change: no change
It’s only fitting, perhaps, that a firm with a knack for getting in the newspapers – representing clients like BP p.l.c. in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill litigation, and counting well-known figures like Robert Bork and Kenneth Starr among its alumni made its name defending the press. While Kirkland & Ellis’s modern namesakes, Weymouth Kirkland and Howard Ellis, didn’t join the firm until six years after its founding in 1909, they burnished the firm’s reputation representing the Chicago Tribune (published by firm cofounder Robert McCormick) and other newspapers in landmark free speech cases, and pioneering the concept of “fair comment.” While Kirkland & Ellis may not be known for its international footprint – in early 2011 it counted just four overseas locations among its ten offices – it is recognized for its take-no-prisoners litigation style and success. It was recognized in three consecutive Litigation Department of the Year competitions by The American Lawyer, winning the title once (2008) and taking an honorable mention twice (2010 and 2012).
Kirkland can also be a very profitable place to work for its partners. In 2011 the firm ranked sixth in profits per partner, just crossing the $3 million mark – a marked jump from its 2010 figure of nearly $2.5 million.
Overall, Kirkland ranked sixth in gross revenues in 2011, seeing a 14 percent spike in revenues from the previous year. Arguably, one of the factors that has helped Kirkland adapt to – and ultimately thrive in – a changed economic climate is its longtime embrace of alternative fees. For more than two decades, while many other firms resisted any move away from the billable hour, Kirkland has taken cases under contingency, fixed-fee, holdback/success fee, and other non-traditional arrangements.
Yet weathering the recession did not come without costs. Like many of its brethren, Kirkland laid off attorneys at the height of the downturn (its lawyer count of 1,379 on the 2011 Am Law 100 list was a drop from 1,411 the year before). Morale, too, suffered, at least among the more junior lawyers.
Kirkland ranked 117th on The American Lawyer-s 2010 Midlevel Associates Survey, which was conducted when firms were feeling the full impact of the recession. That improved markedly, however, on the 2011 survey, with Kirkland coming in at eighty-first – a sign that a firm known for remaking itself in the face of change is adapting once again.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 5 | no change | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 5 | no change | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 13 | no change | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 25 | 2 | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 55 | 15 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 40 | 10 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 81 | 36 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 58 | 8 | Summer programs |
In the News
White & Case, Fox Rothschild Steer Coda Into Chapter 11
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : May 2, 2013
The two firms are advising Coda Holdings, a struggling Los Angeles-based electric car manufacturer, as it drove into bankruptcy this week in Delaware. Coda joins the ranks of other ailing green auto industry players, including Fisker Automotive, which recently hired Kirkland & Ellis as restructuring counsel.
Looking for Top Law Firms' Compliance Programs
Sue Reisinger : Corporate Counsel : May 2, 2013
In light of our recent looks at corporate compliance programs, CorpCounsel.com thought it would be enlightening to check out how top law firms handle compliance issues. The results were surprising.
Top Firms Mostly Mum on Question of Compliance Programs
Sue Reisinger : Corporate Counsel : May 1, 2013
In light of our recent looks at corporate compliance programs, CorpCounsel.com thought it would be enlightening to check out how top law firms handle compliance issues. The results were surprising.
Seeds of a Settlement
Anne Stuart : The American Lawyer : May 1, 2013
A decade after Monsanto licensed its soybean patents to DuPont, the two companies signed a second licensing deal. In between came bitter court fights, an embarrassing sanctions order, and a record-setting jury verdict.
Conscientious Objector
Brian Zabcik : The American Lawyer : May 1, 2013
Ted Frank has made it his mission to challenge plaintiffs attorneys' fees in class action settlements.
Looking for Top Law Firms' Compliance Programs
Sue Reisinger : Corporate Counsel : May 1, 2013
In light of our recent looks at corporate compliance programs, CorpCounsel.com thought it would be enlightening to check out how top law firms handle compliance issues. The results were surprising.
Deals & Suits
: Corporate Counsel : May 1, 2013
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : April 30, 2013
Katten Muchin Rosenman hires eight attorneys in its new Houston office; Husch Blackwell brings aboard a business litigation partner in Chicago; and Morrison & Foerster welcomes back a partner in Hong Kong. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
Law Firm's Arguments 'Not Enough' to Show Cybersquatting
Christine Simmons : New York Law Journal : April 30, 2013
The Gioconda Law Group, a Manhattan boutique that represents luxury designers in counterfeiting suits and cybersquatting cases, brought suit against a Canadian programmer, alleging he had registered a domain name which was a slight misspelling of the firm's domain "to intentionally intercept" the firm's messages.
Come 2019, Any Debt Ex-Dewey Chair Owes Firm Vanishes
Sara Randazzo : The Am Law Daily : April 30, 2013
Roundly cast as the chief culprit in Dewey & LeBoeuf's collapse, Steven Davis agreed last week to pay the bankrupt firm's estate $511,145 as part of a broader settlement that protects him against potential mismanagement claims. Thanks to a key clause contained in that settlement, though, it's possible Davis could end up not paying the estate a penny.
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