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Kirkland & Ellis LLP
No. of offices21[1]
No. of attorneys3,514 (2024)[2]
No. of employees5,721 (2021)[3]
Key peopleJon A. Ballis,[4] chairman, global management executive committee
RevenueUS$7.2 billion (2023)[5]
Profit per equity partnerUS$7.9 million (2023)[5]
Date founded1909; 115 years ago (1909)
FounderRobert R. McCormick
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitekirkland.com

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys.[6] It was the first law firm in the world to reach US$7 billion in annual revenue.[7]

Many attorneys from the firm have served as federal officials or judges, including United States Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Attorneys General William Barr and Robert Bork.[8][9]

History

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London office at 30 St Mary Axe, popularly known as the Gherkin

In 1909, two attorneys, Stuart G. Shepard and Robert R. McCormick, formed the Chicago-based partnership that would eventually become Kirkland & Ellis. McCormick was the grandson of Joseph Medill, who had founded the Chicago Tribune. McCormick became president of the Tribune Company in 1914 and, in 1925, sole publisher of the Tribune.[10]

Weymouth Kirkland and his associate Howard Ellis joined the firm in 1915. Kirkland served as chief counsel to the Tribune and other newspapers in various free speech and defamation cases, including Near v. Minnesota. In 1938, Kirkland and Ellis hired young trial lawyer Hammond Chaffetz from the U.S. Department of Justice. Chaffetz spent six decades with the firm, during which it grew to about 780 lawyers, making it one of the 30 largest in the country.[11] Kirkland & Ellis has 20 offices in six countries.[12]

In 2020, "Kirkland, along with some other out-of-town firms like Sidley Austin and Latham & Watkins," have been reported in media as using "aggressive lateral recruiting to draw from New York's dealmaking talent pool."[13][14] The firm earned just under $5 billion in revenue in 2020.[5] The increase came from heightened demand, induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

As of 2022, Kirkland & Ellis claimed 490 equity partners and 763 non-equity partners. The firm saw over $6 billion in annual gross revenues, which was the most of any law firm that year.[16]

Rankings

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The American Lawyer ranked Kirkland & Ellis as the 2018 Law Firm of the Year.[17] "Mergers & Acquisitions" ranked Kirkland & Ellis as the 2019 Law Firm of the Year for advising on 400 U.S. based-deals (more than twice that of the firm ranked second), and for advising on the largest number of global deals, in each case, in 2019.[18] As of 2021, Am Law lists Kirkland & Ellis as the largest law firm in the United States by gross revenue and third greatest in profits per equity partner.[19] Kirkland & Ellis was ranked second in the 2017 ATL Power 100 law firm rankings.[20] Vault ranked Kirkland & Ellis as the most prestigious firm in Chicago and the number-one firm in the U.S. for private equity, restructuring and business outlook in 2018.[21]

Notable clients and cases

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Pro bono work

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The firm represented separated families, asylum seekers and other migrants, and nationwide class of immigrant teens held in ICE detention centers, in opposition to Trump administration family separation policy.[40][41]

Kirkland attorney Michael D. Jones represented alumni and supporters of Maryland’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in a 15-year legal battle against the State of Maryland.[42] The case, brought in federal court, claimed that the state had systemically underfunded the schools for decades.[43] The matter was finally settled in 2021 when lawmakers approved $577 million in extra funding for the HBCUs in future state budgets.[44] As part of the settlement, the state of Maryland agreed to pay $22 million in legal fees and costs, with $12.5 million going to Kirkland & Ellis. The remaining $9.5 million went to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, which also provided legal representation for plaintiffs in the lawsuit.[45] Kirkland’s $12.5 million portion of the fees was later donated by the firm[46] to a series of organizations that benefitted HBCUs and promoted civil rights.[45] The allocation of fees included: $5 million to the Center for Racial Justice at Dillard University in New Orleans; $3 million to Morgan State University’s Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights in Education; $2 million for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law; $1 million to the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education; $600,000 to Howard University’s Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center; $600,000 to the Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education; and $250,000 to the African Methodist Episcopal Church Second District.[45]

Notable attorneys and alumni

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Notable alumni of the firm include, among others, more than two dozen attorneys who resigned when appointed to roles in government.[47] Alumni include:

Endowed professorships

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The firm has endowed professorships in its name at four law schools: Harvard Law School,[86] Northwestern University School of Law,[87] University of Michigan Law School,[88][89] and the University of Chicago Law School.[90]

See also

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References

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Notes

  1. ^ "Kirkland & Ellis LLP". Law.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "Kirkland & Ellis LLP". Law.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "Kirkland & Ellis Company Profile". Craft.co. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  4. ^ "Kirkland & Ellis names new chairman". Crain's Chicago Business. December 10, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Kirkland & Ellis LLP". Law.com. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  6. ^ "Kirkland's Reign Continues as Firm Hits $4 Billion in Revenue". Law.com. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "Kirkland Crosses $7B Mark, With Steady And Countercyclical Business Drivers". Law.com. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "Judge Kavanaugh on law and religion issues". SCOTUSblog. July 30, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  9. ^ "Kirkland & Ellis' Bill Barr Confirmed as Attorney General". National Law Journal. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  10. ^ "Robert R. McCormick Biography", First Division Museum. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Johnston, David Cay (January 17, 2001). "H. E. Chaffetz, 93, Lawyer On Antitrust and Price Fixing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  12. ^ "Kirkland & Ellis". Forbes. November 23, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  13. ^ "Wall Street 'Nightmare' Alive as Kirkland Poaches From Wachtell". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  14. ^ Stewart, James B. (April 26, 2018). "$11 Million a Year for a Law Partner? Bidding War Grows at Top-Tier Firms". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  15. ^ Beioley, Kate; Massoudi, Arash. "Kirkland & Ellis revenue set to surge to $5bn on private equity deals". Financial Times. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  16. ^ Sloan, Karen (October 5, 2022). "Kirkland promotes record new partner class despite industry slowdown". Reuters. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  17. ^ Seal, Ben (December 5, 2018). "Kirkland & Ellis Named Law Firm of the Year at American Lawyer Industry Awards". The American Lawyer. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  18. ^ Seal, Ben (April 2, 2020). "Kirkland & Ellis wins Law Firm of the Year for closing 400 U.S. PE deals". The Middle Market. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  19. ^ "Against All Odds, The Am Law 100 Were Stunningly Successful in 2020". Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  20. ^ Shepherd, David Lat, Elie Mystal, Staci Zaretsky, Kashmir Hill, Marin, Mark Herrmann, Jay. "The ATL 2017 Power 100 Law Firm Rankings". Above the Law. Retrieved December 13, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "Kirkland & Ellis LLP". Vault. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  22. ^ Janofsky, Michael (August 16, 2005). "U.S. tobacco firms heading back to court (Published 2005)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  23. ^ Crotty, William J. (August 6, 2001). The State of Democracy in America. Georgetown University Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-58901-468-8.
  24. ^ Munk, Nina (October 13, 2009). Fools Rush In: Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner. Zondervan. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-06-174374-0.
  25. ^ Erman, Michael; Banerjee, Ankur (January 3, 2019). "Bristol-Myers to buy Celgene for $74 billion in largest biopharma deal". Reuters.
  26. ^ Tribe, Meghan (June 25, 2019). "Kirkland, Wachtell Advise On AbbVie's $63B Merger With Allergan". Bloomberg.
  27. ^ "The Deal Awards New York 2020 Winners". Reuters. January 3, 2019.
  28. ^ Daga, Anshuman; Contractor, Sabahatjahan (June 3, 2019). "Blackstone in record $18.7 billion deal to buy U.S. warehouse assets from GLP". Reuters.
  29. ^ Thompson, Richard (February 22, 2013). "Meet the lead attorneys involved in the BP oil spill trial". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on February 26, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  30. ^ Ruddick, Graham (September 23, 2015). "Volkswagen hires BP oil spill lawyers to defend emissions cases". The Guardian. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  31. ^ a b c d "Litigation Powerhouse: Kirkland & Ellis LLP". Law360. July 29, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  32. ^ "Litigation Powerhouse: Kirkland & Ellis LLP". Law360. July 29, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  33. ^ Raymond, Adam K. (July 16, 2019). "Lawyer: Epstein's Abuse Continued While He Was on Work Release From Jail". Intelligencer.
  34. ^ Doe v. United States of America, 411 F. Supp. 3d 3121 (S.D. Fl. 2019).
  35. ^ Brown, Julie K. (November 28, 2018). "How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  36. ^ Stokes, Samantha (June 10, 2019). "Kirkland Secures $56M in Fees for Toys R Us Bankruptcy". The American Lawyer. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  37. ^ Langner, Christopher; Tu, Lianting (November 26, 2015). "China Fishery Bonds Plunge as HSBC Seeks to Wind Up Company". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  38. ^ Sweeney, Annie (October 26, 2020). "Fired Buffalo police officer who contends she stopped another cop from choking a man finds new support — in Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  39. ^ "Boeing's former chief technical pilot on 737 MAX indicted on fraud charges". The Seattle Times. October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  40. ^ Kanno-Youngs, Zolan (April 23, 2020). "As Coronavirus Threatens, Teenage Migrants 'Age Out' Into ICE Jails Those initially detained by the government's Office of Refugee Resettlement are being held until their 18th birthday, then transferred to ICE custody". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  41. ^ Moore, Robert (May 29, 2019). "'He Started Calling Me Papa Again': A Separated Migrant Father and Son Reunite After 378 Days Apart". Texas Monthly. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  42. ^ Todd, Ross (November 18, 2021). "Kirkland Donates $12.5M in Legal Fees from Maryland HBCU Case to Schools and Civil Rights Orgs". Litigation Daily | The American Lawyer. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  43. ^ "Hogan signs off on $577 million for Maryland's historically Black colleges and universities". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  44. ^ "Maryland finalizes $577M settlement for HBCU federal lawsuit". AP NEWS. April 28, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  45. ^ a b c "Law firm that won settlement in Md. HBCU case donating $12.5 million in fees". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  46. ^ "Law firm donates HBCU suit fees to schools, nonprofits". AP NEWS. November 19, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  47. ^ "Kirkland & Ellis LLP", ProPublica. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  48. ^ Salam, Maya (April 27, 2017). "Senate Confirms R. Alexander Acosta as Labor Secretary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  49. ^ "Secretary of Health and Human Services: Who Is Alex Azar?". AllGov. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  50. ^ Johnston, David (November 21, 1991). "Barr Is Confirmed on Voice Vote As 77th Attorney General of U.S." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  51. ^ Landler, Mark; Haberman, Maggie (March 22, 2018). "Trump Chooses Bolton for 3rd Security Adviser as Shake-Up Continues". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  52. ^ "Kirkland & Ellis Fondly Remembers Former Partner Robert Bork | News | Kirkland & Ellis LLP". www.kirkland.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  53. ^ "Bress confirmation" (PDF). Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  54. ^ Murphy, H. Lee. "Ruben Castillo Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  55. ^ a b Farias, Cristian (October 17, 2018). "With Legal Storm Looming, Pat Cipollone May Be Perfect for White House Counsel". Intelligencer. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  56. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration". whitehouse.gov (Press release). June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017 – via National Archives.
  57. ^ Benner, Katie (January 23, 2021). "Trump and Justice Dept. Lawyer Said to Have Plotted to Oust Acting Attorney General". The New York Times.
  58. ^ Benner, Katie (October 7, 2021). "Report Cites New Details of Trump Pressure on Justice Dept. Over Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  59. ^ "Solicitor General: Paul D. Clement". www.justice.gov. October 23, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  60. ^ Gerstein, Josh (June 23, 2022). "Firm splits with lawyers who won gun rights case at Supreme Court". Politico.com. Politico. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  61. ^ Murphy, Paul Clement and Erin (June 23, 2022). "Opinion | The Law Firm That Got Tired of Winning". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  62. ^ "Paul D. Clement, Appellate Lawyer". Clement & Murphy. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  63. ^ Flint, Joe (September 17, 2018). "Viet Dinh to Become Chief Legal Officer of the New Fox". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  64. ^ Palazzolo, Joe (September 12, 2016). "Kirkland & Ellis to Absorb Bancroft". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  65. ^ "Chief Architect of Patriot Act to Quit". Los Angeles Times. May 14, 2003. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  66. ^ "Controversial law professor John Eastman retires from Chapman University". Orange County Register. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  67. ^ "Claremont Institute | Recovering the American Idea". www.claremont.org. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  68. ^ "Mark Filip, P.C. | Lawyers | Kirkland & Ellis LLP". www.kirkland.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  69. ^ a b "Brett Kavanaugh Is a Mensch". National Review. August 29, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  70. ^ Weiser, Benjamin (January 5, 2018). "Ex-S.E.C. Official, Robert Khuzami, Joins Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  71. ^ "Deutsche Bank Appoints Robert Khuzami General Counsel for The Americas". www.businesswire.com. January 13, 2004. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  72. ^ Petrella, Dan (September 11, 2019). "Former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan joining law firm Kirkland & Ellis as litigation partner". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  73. ^ "U.S. Ambassador to Mexico - Christopher Landau". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico. August 16, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  74. ^ "Lefkowitz, Jay". 2001-2009.state.gov. Department Of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Electronic Information. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  75. ^ Sfondeles, Tina (September 11, 2019). "Former AG Lisa Madigan joins Kirkland & Ellis". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  76. ^ Petrella, Dan (September 11, 2019). "Former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan joining law firm Kirkland & Ellis as litigation partner". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  77. ^ Paybarah, Azi (December 9, 2008). "Spitzer Aide to Join Spitzer Prosecutor at Kirkland & Ellis". Observer. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  78. ^ "President Dallin H. Oaks". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  79. ^ "U.S. Senate confirms Jeffrey Rosen as No. 2 Justice Department official". Reuters. May 17, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  80. ^ Perez, Evan (January 20, 2021). "Trump's acting attorney general leaves without creating controversial special counsels". CNN. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  81. ^ "Nathan A. Sales". United States Department of State. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  82. ^ "2007 New York, Summer Associates: Rebecca Sherrill" (PDF). Kirkland & Ellis. 2007.
  83. ^ "John Bolton joins Ken Starr at Kirkland & Ellis". ThinkProgress. March 11, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  84. ^ Bravin, Jess (December 2, 2019). "Supreme Court Appears Unlikely to Expand Gun Rights in New York Case". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  85. ^ Bogardus, Kevin; Cama, Timothy (March 22, 2021). "White HOuse: Biden's climate deputy has fossil fuel ties". www.eenews.net. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  86. ^ "Klarman, taking Kirkland & Ellis Chair, examines 'Racial Equality in American History' (video) – Harvard Law Today". Harvard Law Today. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  87. ^ "Permanent". northwestern.edu. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  88. ^ "Chicago firm endows Law School professorship". umich.edu. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  89. ^ "Clark, Sherman J. – University of Michigan Law School". umich.edu. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  90. ^ "Eric Posner". uchicago.edu. May 27, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2015.

Further reading

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