Kirkland & Ellis
A guide to the law firm Kirkland & Ellis: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Last updated:
December 10, 2024
A guide to the law firm Kirkland & Ellis: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Kirkland & Ellis is the world’s largest law firm by revenue.
Founded in Chicago in 1909 by Robert McCormick, heir to the Chicago Tribune, the firm takes its name from two partners behind its early growth: Weymouth Kirkland, a talented trial lawyer; and Howard Ellis, his associate.
Today, the firm has more than 4,000 lawyers across 21 offices worldwide. As of 2024, its gross revenue stands at $7.2 billion - comfortably the most of any law firm in the world.
Among Kirkland’s fastest-growing offices is its London office, which celebrated its 30th birthday in 2024.
Riding the private equity boom, the firm’s London operation has ballooned in recent years, now boasting over 500 lawyers.
This growth has stemmed largely from its talent acquisition strategy. Kirkland has consistently targeted partners from London’s elite (particularly A&O Shearman, Linklaters and Latham & Watkins), who tend to bring their big-name clients with them.
Beyond the eye-watering remuneration (average profit per equity partner stands at nearly $8 million in 2024), part of Kirkland’s allure may also stem from its speedy partner track.
Promotion to Kirkland’s non-equity ranks happens at 6 years post-qualification. As a result, in contrast to much of the rest of the City, it is not uncommon to find partners in their early 30s.
Kirkland’s London base is currently spread across 12 floors of Sir Norman Foster’s world-famous Gherkin building. However, thanks to its rapid expansion, the firm plans to up sticks and settle in at 40 Leadenhall where, from 2025, employees will enjoy rooftop terraces and a cinema room.
As a true member of the ‘global elite’, lawyers in Kirkland’s London office work closely with colleagues in Europe and around the world to deliver a full service offering.
Kirkland & Ellis is particularly renowned for its work in private equity, mergers & acquisitions, restructuring, and investment funds. It represents a diverse clientele, including private equity firms, financial investors, and multinational corporations.
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Recent deal and industry highlights for Kirkland & Ellis include:
£5.4 billion acquisition of Hargreaves Lansdown: In August 2024, Kirkland & Ellis represented a consortium comprising CVC, Nordic Capital, and Platinum Ivy in the £5.4 billion acquisition of FTSE 100 investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown. As part of the deal, Hargreaves Lansdown will be delisted from the London Stock Exchange.
£4.3 billion buyout of Darktrace: In April 2024, Kirkland & Ellis advised US private equity client Thoma Bravo on its all-cash acquisition of UK cybersecurity business Darktrace. The transaction was significant as it represented the loss of one of the UK’s few tech company success stories to a US private equity buyer.
KKR’s £18.5 billion acquisition of fixed-line network: In July 2024, Kirkland advised a consortium led by private equity giant KKR on their £18.5 billion acquisition of Telecom Italia’s (TIM) fixed-line network. For its work on the deal, Kirkland’s private equity team was ‘Highly Commended’ at the Legal Business Awards 2024.
Keeping hold of the best talent: Despite being a champion talent poacher itself, in July 2024 Kirkland announced changes to its partnership model to withhold deferred earnings from partners who depart to rival firms.
This followed a slew of partner raids by rival US powerhouse Paul Weiss - including, most notably, private equity rainmaker Neel Sachdev - in an operation it named ‘Project Springsteen’.
Kirkland & Ellis is a full service corporate law firm and firmly part of a handful of law firms that can claim to be part of the esteemed ‘global elite’ - the select group of firms recognised for their extensive global reach, prestige, and dominance in high-value, complex legal work.
Kirkland’s clients include multinational companies, financial institutions, governments, and other public bodies. It is probably best known for its expertise in the following areas:
Private Equity: Kirkland is renowned as the pre-eminent private equity shop in the UK and worldwide for its expertise in the full spectrum of private equity-led transactions across all sectors. The firm is ranked Band 1 by Chambers for ‘Private Equity: Buyouts: £500 million and above’.
Investment Funds: Kirkland is recognised as a global leader in advising clients on the formation and operation of funds of all varieties, including: buyout, venture, real estate, private equity, credit, and hedge funds, among others. The firm is ranked Band 1 by Chambers for ‘Investment Funds: Private Equity’.
Restructuring/Insolvency: Kirkland is known for its work on some of the largest, most complex multi-jurisdictional restructurings in recent years. The firm has extensive experience in European restructurings and US Chapter 11 proceedings. The firm is ranked Band 1 by Chambers for ‘Restructuring/Insolvency’.
We use Chambers rankings to demonstrate a firm's strengths. Chambers is the most highly-regarded provider of law firm rankings in the legal industry. Law firms are ranked in bands from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) across a range of practice areas.
It's important to note that being ranked in any band at all is still considered a significant achievement.
Kirkland competes with the Magic Circle firms in the UK for the biggest corporate and banking mandates. On the global stage, its main competitors are Latham & Watkins and Skadden.
Here’s what Kirkland & Ellis pays its London trainees and newly qualified (NQ) lawyers:
Trainee First Year: £60,000
Trainee Second Year: £65,000
Newly Qualified (NQ): £174,418
We have a list of salaries paid by all of the UK’s top law firms here.
Kirkland & Ellis is the biggest law firm in the world by revenue. For 2023, its total revenue was $7.2 billion.
In 2023, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was $7,955,000.
In 2023, Kirkland & Ellis’ average profit per equity partner (PEP) was $7,955,000.
This is the total amount of profit available for distribution among equity partners, divided by the number of equity partners at the firm.
This represents the average amount that equity partners are entitled to. Some will receive significantly more, some less. It depends on the firm’s profit-sharing formula and each partner’s seniority.
Kirkland & Ellis takes on up to 15 trainees each year in the UK.
Trainees complete four seats in different departments, each lasting six months.
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