Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Kirkland & Ellis has approximately 4,145 attorneys across 26 offices worldwide. Founded in 1909.
Openings
1L Summer 2027 · Class of 2029Open
1L stint for 2L offer holders; apply once for the 2L summer
New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Bay Area, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City
Opens
Opened Nov 1Deadline
Not announced
Checked 5d ago
Materials: Law School Transcript · Undergrad Transcript OptionalSubmit available law grades or transcripts; undergraduate transcripts and LSAT scores are optional.
2L Summer 2028 · Class of 2029Open
New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Bay Area, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City
Opens
Opened Nov 1Deadline
Not announced
Checked 5d ago
Materials: Law School Transcript · Undergrad Transcript OptionalSubmit available law grades or transcripts; undergraduate transcripts and LSAT scores are optional.
About Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis advises on private equity, mergers and acquisitions, investment funds, restructuring, commercial and intellectual property litigation, and white collar matters. The firm describes an open assignment system that allows attorneys to pursue practice areas and matters that interest them.
Practice Strength by Market
Every band below appears on this firm’s Chambers USA 2026 profile, checked September 26, 2026. Where Chambers splits a table into The Elite and Highly Regarded, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm.
| Practice | Market | Recognition, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
Antitrust | District of Columbia | Band 1 |
Antitrust | Illinois | Band 1 |
Antitrust | Nationwide | Band 1 |
Asset Management M&A | Nationwide | Band 1 |
Banking & Finance | California | Band 1 |
Banking & Finance | Illinois | Band 1 |
Banking & Finance | Massachusetts | Band 1 |
Banking & Finance | Nationwide | Band 1 |
Banking & Finance | New York | Band 1 |
Banking & Finance | Texas | Band 1 |
133 reported ranking rows
Rankings
Request a CorrectionLatest published editions. Each links to its source.
Size and Standing
- $10.6B gross revenueAm Law 100, $10.6B gross revenue: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Lawyers in 7 countriesGlobal 200, Lawyers in 7 countries: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- 4,145 attorneysNLJ 500, 4,145 attorneys: #4 (opens in a new tab)
- PrestigeVault Law 100, Prestige: #6 (opens in a new tab)
Associate Life
- Score 76.2The A-List, Score 76.2: #27 (opens in a new tab)
- Score 4.38 of 5Midlevel Associates Survey, Score 4.38 of 5: #15 (opens in a new tab)
- Best city resultMidlevel Survey, Austin, Best city result: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- VaultFormal Training, Vault: #13 (opens in a new tab)
- VaultBusiness Outlook, Vault: #17 (opens in a new tab)
- VaultMost Selective Law Firms, Vault: #29 (opens in a new tab)
Pro Bono and Inclusion
Vault Practice Rankings
- Banking & Financial Services: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Bankruptcy/Restructuring: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Private Equity: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Products Liability: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Energy, Oil, & Gas Law: #2 (opens in a new tab)
- General Commercial Litigation: #2 (opens in a new tab)
- General Corporate Practice: #2 (opens in a new tab)
- Mergers & Acquisitions: #2 (opens in a new tab)
Show All 20
- Intellectual Property: #3 (opens in a new tab)
- Real Estate Law: #3 (opens in a new tab)
- Securities/Capital Markets: #3 (opens in a new tab)
- Tax Law: #3 (opens in a new tab)
- Antitrust: #5 (opens in a new tab)
- Emerging Companies & Venture Capital: #5 (opens in a new tab)
- Environmental Law: #5 (opens in a new tab)
- Securities Litigation: #5 (opens in a new tab)
- International Practice: #7 (opens in a new tab)
- Life Sciences: #8 (opens in a new tab)
- Appellate Litigation: #11 (opens in a new tab)
- White Collar Defense & Internal Investigations: #11 (opens in a new tab)
From the Firm
Videos and news the firm shared. Each opens on the firm's own site or channel.
- VideoAn Inside Look at Our Summer Associate ProgramKirkland's 2L summer associates reflect on a summer of work, mentorship and professional growth (1:43, hosted on the firm's summer program page).kirkland.com(opens in a new tab)
- VideoWe Show UpKirkland lawyers on the firm's pro bono responsibility (2:35, hosted on the firm's pro bono page).kirkland.com(opens in a new tab)
Practice Areas
Kirkland says summer associates "participate in our distinctive open assignment system, providing realistic exposure to our practice from day one." Summers explore matters across groups with an integrated support network, attend trials, hearings, depositions, closings and client calls, and join a summer edition of the firm's trial advocacy and corporate training programs.
Pro Bono
- Summers Can Take Pro Bono
- YesSource
- Counts as Billable
- YesUncapped; every pro bono hour counts toward billablesSource
- Average Hours Per Attorney
- 29 hoursAm Law pro bono rank #81Source
How pro bono work is assigned
Kirkland staffs pro bono with the same resources as billable work and treats it equivalently in performance reviews and for compensation. In 2025 the firm reports nearly 135,000 pro bono hours across 2,000 plus matters. Every attorney, from summer associates to senior partners, can take projects that match their interests and availability.
More about Kirkland & Ellis
Students who accept a 2L 2028 summer associate offer receive a $50,000 summer associate bonus and the option to join Kirkland's 2027 1L Summer Experience, a four-week program (six weeks in the Texas offices) built around exposure to the firm's practice groups. Students may instead spend the 1L summer in public service, a judicial internship or elsewhere.