Kirkland & Ellis: What Law Students Should Know

Kirkland & Ellis is the private equity firm that happens to have a law license. That is an exaggeration, but only slightly. The firm has built its empire on the back of the private equity boom, and its relationship with the PE industry is deeper and more structural than any competitor's. When a buyout shop needs outside counsel, Kirkland is the default call for a staggering percentage of the market.

The Basics

• Vault Rank: #5
• Headquarters: Chicago (historically), though New York and Houston have grown enormously
• US Offices: Chicago, New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Austin, Boston, Dallas, Miami, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Bay Area
• Size: ~3,000+ attorneys worldwide
• Starting Salary: $225,000

What They Are Known For

Private equity. Full stop. Kirkland represents more PE sponsors than any other firm. When KKR, Bain Capital, Advent International, Thoma Bravo, or dozens of other major funds do deals, Kirkland is frequently on one or both sides. The firm's leveraged buyout practice is the backbone of the entire operation.

But Kirkland is not a one-trick firm. M&A (both PE-backed and strategic) is massive. Restructuring is elite, when PE deals go bad, the same firm that did the deal often handles the restructuring. Litigation is one of the largest practices at any firm, covering commercial litigation, IP, government enforcement, and appellate work. The debt finance practice, which documents the loans that fund leveraged buyouts, is the busiest in the country.

The common thread is that most of Kirkland's work traces back to PE in some way. The firm has organized itself around the PE lifecycle: fundraising, acquisitions, financing, portfolio company management, exits, and (when necessary) restructuring. It is a vertically integrated PE legal machine.

Culture and the Free-Market System

Kirkland runs on a free-market assignment system and takes it further than most. Associates are expected to find their own work, build relationships with partners, and manage their own career trajectory. There is no rotation, no formal assignment coordinator managing your workflow.

This system creates enormous upside for aggressive, self-directed associates. If you are good and you hustle, you can be working on billion-dollar LBOs within your first year. The downside is real, too, if you struggle to find work or end up with the wrong partners, the system offers limited safety nets.

Kirkland's culture is intense. This is not a place that pretends BigLaw is a 9-to-5 job. Hours are very high, particularly in the corporate and finance practices. But the intensity is matched by the quality of the work and the speed of professional development. Associates here get deal experience faster than at most competitors because the volume of PE transactions is relentless.

The firm has a more Midwestern directness to its culture than the New York white-shoe firms. Less emphasis on pedigree, more emphasis on output. Kirkland was not always an elite firm, it climbed to the top through sheer production, and that meritocratic, workaholic identity persists.

Summer Program

Kirkland's summer class is large, typically 200+ across all offices. New York and Chicago are the biggest classes.

The summer program gives you a preview of the free-market system. Summers are expected to seek out work, attend practice group lunches, and figure out which partners they want to work with. It is more unstructured than programs at rotation firms, which is either exciting or anxiety-inducing depending on your personality.

Offer rates are high. Kirkland is perpetually hiring because the deal machine perpetually needs fuel.

Offices

Chicago is the historic headquarters and remains a major office, but the firm's center of gravity has shifted. New York is now the largest office and handles the bulk of PE sponsor work for East Coast funds. Houston has exploded in size, driven by energy PE and the Texas deal market. LA, DC, Austin, Dallas, and Boston are all growing.

Kirkland is one of the few elite firms where you can build a top-tier PE practice outside of New York. Houston and Chicago both offer deal quality that rivals what you would get in Manhattan, often with slightly better hours and significantly lower cost of living.

Compensation

Kirkland matches the Cravath scale. $225,000 base for first-years with a $21,000 bonus. Total first-year comp: approximately $246,000.

The real compensation story at Kirkland is the exit. Associates who spend three to five years doing PE deals at Kirkland are among the most sought-after candidates for in-house roles at PE portfolio companies, fund-level positions, and lateral moves to other firms. The Kirkland name on your resume is worth something concrete in the PE world.

Who Should Apply

Kirkland is the right firm if you know you want to do private equity work, leveraged finance, or M&A. It is the right firm if you are self-directed, comfortable with ambiguity, and motivated by deal volume rather than hand-holding. It is the right firm if you care more about the quality and quantity of work on your resume than the aesthetics of your firm's lobby.

If you want structured mentorship, predictable hours, or a rotation to figure out what you like, look elsewhere. Kirkland rewards people who already know what they want and are willing to work relentlessly to get it.