Kirkland & Ellis LLP vs. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.
Who Wins Each Category
Each row stands on its own. There is no overall winner; weigh what matters to you.
| Category | Kirkland & Ellis | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay winsTie | $225,000 | $225,000 |
| Higher wins | $11.12M (wins this category) | $8.57M |
| Lower rank wins | #6 (wins this category) | #10 |
| Lower rank wins | #1 (wins this category) | #10 |
| Higher wins | $10.56B (wins this category) | $3.55B |
| More lawyers wins | 4,145 (wins this category) | 2,000 |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 27 (wins this category) | 15 |
| Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins | 26 tables (wins this category) | 13 tables |
| 2L OpensSummer 2028Earlier date winsNot Comparable | Nov 1, 2026 | Expected fall 2026 |
| 1L OpensEarlier date wins | Nov 1, 2026Summer 2027 | No 1L Program |
Sources: Vault 2027 and Am Law 200 FY2025 rankings, Chambers USA 2026, first-year pay as each firm or the market reports it, and program dates from firm career pages on the Job Board. Missing data reads Not Reported and never counts as a loss.
Full Comparison
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Est. 1909
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 2,000-plus-attorney global firm, Vault #6 / Am Law #1. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Asset Management M&A, and Banking & Finance. Operates from 27 offices worldwide.
Est. 1884
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is a 2,000-plus-attorney global firm, Vault #10 / Am Law #10. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Asset Management M&A, Banking & Finance, and Capital Markets: Debt & Equity. Operates from 15 offices worldwide.
- #6
- #1
- 65 records
- Vault rank
- #10
- Am Law rank
- #10
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 22 records
- $225,000
- $11.12M
- $10.56B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.55M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000
- Profits Per Partner
- $8.57M
- Firm revenue
- $3.55B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.02M
- Not Reported
- 6 years
- 1.2:1
- ~4,150
- Offices
- 27
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- Not Reported
- US associates per partner
- 3:1
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~2,000
- Offices
- 15
- Not Reported
- Class size
- 957 (year not confirmed)
- Free market
- Yes
- Offer rate
- 100%
- Class size
- 265 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Centralized staffing
- Specific practice area
- No
- 1L program
- 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Nov 1, 2026
- 2L applications open
- Nov 1, 2026
- 2L deadline
- Not announced
- 1L program
- No 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Not Reported
- 2L applications open
- Expected fall 2026
- 2L deadline
- Not announced
Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.
Shared rankings
Rank differences
Firm-only and additional rankings remain available on each firm profile so missing coverage is not mistaken for a head-to-head loss.
Data sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown. Chambers record counts can span years and reporting coverage varies; missing years or markets are not compared. Current Chambers bands were checked against each firm’s Chambers profile on Sep 26, 2026; where Chambers splits a table, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm. Missing values read “Not Reported”.