Kirkland & Ellis

History

Early history

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.

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. Kirkland & Ellis has 20 offices in six countries.

Modern growth and globalization

Kirkland & Ellis opened its London office in the fall of 1994.

The firm earned nearly $5 billion in revenue in 2020. The increase came from what was attributed to heightened demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of 2022, Kirkland & Ellis reported 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.

In 2023, Kirkland & Ellis achieved $7.2 billion in gross revenue, securing the top spot on The American Lawyer's 2024 Am Law 200 ranking. The firm was also recognized as the highest-grossing law firm in the world in the 2024 Global 200 survey.

Recent developments

In 2024, the firm reached a 22% increase in revenue, reaching $8.8 billion, with profits per equity partner rising to $9.25 million. The firm's strong performance was driven by its success in private equity, litigation, and M&A practices. In the same year, the firm also expanded its European presence by opening a new office in Frankfurt, Germany, to cater to its growing business in the region.

In 2024, Kirkland & Ellis elevated 151 attorneys to partner, a record for the firm.

In 2025, it agreed to a deal with Donald Trump to do pro bono work on behalf of causes promoted by Trump.

In May 2025, the firm expanded its Boston office by hiring three M&A partners, Graham Robinson, Laura Knoll, and Chadé Severin, along with around 15 associates.

Rankings

The American Lawyer ranked Kirkland & Ellis as the 2018 Law Firm of the Year. "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. 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. Kirkland & Ellis was ranked second in the 2017 ATL Power 100 law firm rankings. 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.

Notable clients and cases

• Brown & Williamson, a tobacco company. In 1995, Kirkland & Ellis made legal threats against CBS to prevent it from airing a 60 Minutes interview with tobacco industry whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb in its US$90 billion acquisition of Celgene, the largest biopharmaceutical deal in history by terms of transaction value
• AbbVie in its US$63 billion acquisition of Allergan, which received the New York 2020 Healthcare, Pharma & Biotech Deal of the Year award by The Deal (magazine).
• GLP in its sale of U.S. Logistics Business to Blackstone for US$18.7 billion, the largest ever private real estate transaction globally in terms of trade value
• BP in relation to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill; secured a summary judgment ruling in favor of BP that it had no duty to report the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under the U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
• Volkswagen in relation to the Volkswagen emissions scandal
• General Motors in relation to the General Motors ignition switch scandal
• Defended Nike, Inc. against trademark infringement claims regarding the Jumpman logo
• AbbVie, pharmaceutical company spun-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, in a royalty dispute with MedImmune; won a $93.8 million jury award
• MedTronic in a patent suit won against Atlas IP, LLC
• Miller UK Ltd., acquired a $73.6 million trade secrets misappropriation jury award against Caterpillar Inc.
• Jeffrey Epstein in a case of sex-trafficking with minors, resulting in a reduced charge plea bargain with limited penalties, which later garnered "accusations that the lenient sentence enabled Epstein to continue his abuse." Evaded legal obligation to notify victims of the plea bargain, thereby violating victims rights under the CVRA, by holding secret meetings with Alex Acosta's staff in the Marriott hotel
• McDermott International's 2020 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing
• Toys R Us restructuring
• A group of major investors in the international fish meal industry, in connection with their claims against China Fishery
• Cariol Horne 2020 action for reinstatement to the Buffalo Police Department, having been fired in 2008 for intervening in an arrest that she perceived as being potentially lethal
• Kirkland & Ellis represented Boeing in relation to the Boeing 737 MAX disaster. Controversially, the U.S. Attorney in the case, Erin Nealy Cox, let Boeing executives off the hook for their role in the disaster in the prosecution agreement signed by her and Kirkland & Ellis. She was subsequently made a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.
• Kirkland & Ellis represented the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association in its case against Kevin Bruen, Superintendent of New York State Police. The case struck down as unconstitutional New York State’s concealed carry law that required an individual to prove “proper cause” existed before a license would be issued allowing that person to carry a concealed pistol or revolver in public.
• Krafton Inc, a video game publisher. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisors in the acquisition of Subnautica developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment. After the founders of Unknown Worlds sued Krafton alleging wrongful termination to avoid a $250m bonus payout, Kirkland & Ellis, alongside Richards, Layton & Finger, were tasked with defending Krafton against the lawsuit.

Pro bono work

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.

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. The case, brought in federal court, claimed that the state had systemically underfunded the schools for decades. The matter was finally settled in 2021 when lawmakers approved $577 million in extra funding for the HBCUs in future state budgets. 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. Kirkland's $12.5 million portion of the fees was later donated by the firm to a series of organizations that benefitted HBCUs and promoted civil rights. 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.

Notable attorneys and alumni

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

• Alexander Acosta – former Secretary of Labor under President Donald Trump
• Alex Azar – former Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump
• William Barr – 85th United States Attorney General under President Donald Trump and former 77th United States Attorney General under President George H. W. Bush
• John Bolton – former National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump
• Robert Bork – former Judge of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and former Solicitor General under President Richard Nixon
• Daniel Bress – Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Rubén Castillo – former United States District Judge for United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• Pat Cipollone – White House Counsel under President Donald Trump
• Jeffrey Clark – United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division under President Donald Trump; acting head of the Civil Division under President Donald Trump. Clark aided Trump in his unsuccessful efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
• Paul Clement – former Solicitor General under President George W. Bush In June 2022, following his clients' Supreme Court victory in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, Clement separated from Kirkland & Ellis, after the firm announced it would "no longer handle Second Amendment litigation". Subsequently, Clement opened a boutique law firm, Clement & Murphy PLLC, with Erin Murphy, another former partner at Kirkland & Ellis.
• Viet D. Dinh – Chief Legal Officer at 21st Century Fox, former Assistant Attorney General under President George W. Bush and chief architect of the USA PATRIOT Act
• John C. Eastman – former professor at Chapman University School of Law who advised President Donald Trump on the legal strategy to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
• Neil Eggleston – former White House Counsel under President Barack Obama
• Mark Filip – former Judge of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and former Deputy Attorney General under President George W. Bush
• Josh Hammer – Newsweek senior editor-at-large, syndicated columnist, and host of The Josh Hammer Show
• Brett Kavanaugh – Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
• Robert Khuzami – Deputy United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, former Director of the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission and former General Counsel of Deutsche Bank
• Raja Krishnamoorthi – U.S. Representative from Illinois's 8th congressional district
• Christopher Landau – former US Ambassador to Mexico under President Donald Trump
• Jay Lefkowitz – former Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea and Director of Cabinet Affairs under President George W. Bush
• Lisa Madigan – former Illinois Attorney General from 2003 to 2019
• Sean Patrick Maloney – former U.S. Representative from New York's 18th congressional district
• Dallin H. Oaks – President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Jeffrey A. Rosen – Deputy Secretary of Transportation and Deputy Attorney General and acting United States Attorney General under President Donald Trump
• Nathan Sales – Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Acting Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights
• Danielle Sassoon – former acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
• Mikie Sherrill – U.S. Representative for
• Ken Starr – Whitewater special prosecutor and former Solicitor General under President George H. W. Bush
• Jeff Wall – Principal Deputy Solicitor General under President Donald Trump and former acting Solicitor General
• Ali Zaidi – former White House National Climate Advisor under President Joe Biden

Endowed professorships

The firm has endowed professorships in its name at four law schools: Harvard Law School, Northwestern University School of Law, University of Michigan Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School.

Controversies

In 2023, Kirkland & Ellis was named as a defendant in a racketeering lawsuit filed in Texas by Morton Bouchard (former CEO of Bouchard Transportation Company). The complaint alleged that the firm conspired with former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones and Jackson Walker LLP to conceal a romantic relationship between Jones and a Jackson Walker partner, Elizabeth Freeman. This concealed relationship allegedly resulted in the award of inflated legal fees in several Chapter 11 proceedings, from which Kirkland & Ellis was said to have benefited.{{Cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=David |last2=Knauth |first2=Dietrich |date=2024-08-16 |title=Ex-US bankruptcy judge wins dismissal of lawsuit over law firm conflicts |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/ex-us-bankruptcy-judge-wins-dismissal-lawsuit-over-law-firm-conflicts-2024-08-16/

The U.S. District Judge Alia Moses dismissed the suit, ruling that the plaintiff lacked standing because the challenged legal fees would have been lost regardless of which law firm handled the cases. Moses criticized Jones’s conduct as reflecting a "specter of impropriety" but concluded there was no actionable harm connecting Kirkland & Ellis or Jackson Walker to the loss claimed by the plaintiff.

References

Notes

Further reading

References

1. "Offices Kirkland - Kirkland & Ellis LLP".
2. "Kirkland & Ellis LLP".
3. "Kirkland & Ellis Company Profile".
4. (Dec 10, 2018). "Kirkland & Ellis names new chairman".
5. "With Juggernaut Speed, Kirkland Surges to $8.8B in Revenue, as PEP Jumps to $9.2M".
6. "Kirkland & Ellis partners pocket $9mn". FT.com.
7. Simpson, Angus. (March 18, 2025). "Kirkland cements BigLaw dominance with record $8.8 billion revenue". legalcheek.com.
8. "Kirkland & Ellis Revenue Surges to $8.8 Billion as Profits Soar". bloomberglaw.com.
9. "Kirkland Crosses $7B Mark, With Steady And Countercyclical Business Drivers". Law.com.
10. (2018-07-30). "Judge Kavanaugh on law and religion issues".
11. "Kirkland & Ellis' Bill Barr Confirmed as Attorney General".
12. [http://www.firstdivisionmuseum.org/research/mccormick.aspx "Robert R. McCormick Biography", First Division Museum. Retrieved September 12, 2020.]
13. Johnston, David Cay. (2001-01-17). "H. E. Chaffetz, 93, Lawyer On Antitrust and Price Fixing". The New York Times.
14. (November 23, 2020). "Kirkland & Ellis".
15. "A Peek Into Kirkland's New London Office as it Finally Lines Up Summer Move".
16. "Kirkland & Ellis revenue set to surge to $5bn on private equity deals". Financial Times.
17. Sloan, Karen. (October 5, 2022). "Kirkland promotes record new partner class despite industry slowdown". Reuters.
18. "law.com".
19. (2025-03-17). "Kirkland & Ellis Revenue Surges to $8.8 Billion as Profits Soar".
20. "Leading Restructuring Lawyers Dr. Christian Halàsz and Friedrich Schlott Join Kirkland & Ellis {{!}} News {{!}} Kirkland & Ellis LLP".
21. "Kirkland Promotes 151 to Partner, Topping Last Year's Record".
22. "Trump says five more law firms agree to pro bono work to avoid punitive executive orders". The Guardian.
23. "Kirkland & Ellis adds M&A partner trio in Boston from Skadden".
24. Seal, Ben. (December 5, 2018). "Kirkland & Ellis Named Law Firm of the Year at American Lawyer Industry Awards".
25. Seal, Ben. (April 2, 2020). "Kirkland & Ellis wins Law Firm of the Year for closing 400 U.S. PE deals".
26. "Against All Odds, The Am Law 100 Were Stunningly Successful in 2020".
27. David Lat. (February 2025). "The ATL 2017 Power 100 Law Firm Rankings". Above the Law.
28. "Kirkland & Ellis LLP". Vault.
29. Janofsky, Michael. (2005-08-16). "U.S. tobacco firms heading back to court (Published 2005)". The New York Times.
30. Crotty, William J.. (2001-08-06). "The State of Democracy in America". Georgetown University Press.
31. Munk, Nina. (2009-10-13). "Fools Rush In: Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner". Zondervan.
32. (January 3, 2019). "Bristol-Myers to buy Celgene for $74 billion in largest biopharma deal". Reuters.
33. (June 25, 2019). "Kirkland, Wachtell Advise On AbbVie's $63B Merger With Allergan". Bloomberg.
34. (January 3, 2019). "The Deal Awards New York 2020 Winners".
35. (June 3, 2019). "Blackstone in record $18.7 billion deal to buy U.S. warehouse assets from GLP". Reuters.
36. Thompson, Richard. (February 22, 2013). "Meet the lead attorneys involved in the BP oil spill trial". The Times-Picayune.
37. (September 23, 2015). "Volkswagen hires BP oil spill lawyers to defend emissions cases". The Guardian.
38. (July 29, 2016). "Litigation Powerhouse: Kirkland & Ellis LLP".
39. (July 29, 2016). "Litigation Powerhouse: Kirkland & Ellis LLP".
40. Raymond, Adam K.. (July 16, 2019). "Lawyer: Epstein's Abuse Continued While He Was on Work Release From Jail".
41. {{Cite court. (2019). link
42. Brown, Julie K.. (November 28, 2018). "How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime". Miami Herald.
43. Stokes, Samantha. (June 10, 2019). "Kirkland Secures $56M in Fees for Toys R Us Bankruptcy".
44. (2015-11-26). "China Fishery Bonds Plunge as HSBC Seeks to Wind Up Company". Bloomberg.
45. 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.
46. (2021-10-14). "Boeing's former chief technical pilot on 737 MAX indicted on fraud charges".
47. New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022)
48. Finerty, Margaret. (2022-08-09). "The Supreme Court's Bruen Decision and Its Impact: What Comes Next?".
49. (2021-10-29). "KRAFTON, INC. TO ACQUIRE UNKNOWN WORLDS, THE DEVELOPERS BEHIND SUBNAUTICA AND NATURAL SELECTION {{!}} KRAFTON".
50. "Unknown Worlds lawsuit, via Aftermath -- Krafton's response {{!}} PDF {{!}} Equity (Law) {{!}} Legal Remedy".
51. (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.
52. (May 29, 2019). "'He Started Calling Me Papa Again': A Separated Migrant Father and Son Reunite After 378 Days Apart". Texas Monthly.
53. Todd, Ross. (November 18, 2021). "Kirkland Donates $12.5M in Legal Fees from Maryland HBCU Case to Schools and Civil Rights Orgs".
54. "Hogan signs off on $577 million for Maryland's historically Black colleges and universities". The Washington Post.
55. (2021-04-28). "Maryland finalizes $577M settlement for HBCU federal lawsuit".
56. "Law firm that won settlement in Md. HBCU case donating $12.5 million in fees". Washington Post.
57. (2021-11-19). "Law firm donates HBCU suit fees to schools, nonprofits".
58. [https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/organizations/kirkland-ellis-llp "Kirkland & Ellis LLP", ''ProPublica''. Retrieved November 13, 2020.]
59. Salam, Maya. (2017-04-27). "Senate Confirms R. Alexander Acosta as Labor Secretary". The New York Times.
60. "Secretary of Health and Human Services: Who Is Alex Azar?".
61. Johnston, David. (1991-11-21). "Barr Is Confirmed on Voice Vote As 77th Attorney General of U.S.". The New York Times.
62. (March 22, 2018). "Trump Chooses Bolton for 3rd Security Adviser as Shake-Up Continues". The New York Times.
63. "Kirkland & Ellis Fondly Remembers Former Partner Robert Bork | News | Kirkland & Ellis LLP".
64. "Bress confirmation".
65. "Ruben Castillo Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois". Crain's Chicago Business.
66. (June 6, 2017). "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration". [[whitehouse.gov]].
67. Benner, Katie. (January 23, 2021). "Trump and Justice Dept. Lawyer Said to Have Plotted to Oust Acting Attorney General". The New York Times.
68. Benner, Katie. (2021-10-07). "Report Cites New Details of Trump Pressure on Justice Dept. Over Election". The New York Times.
69. (2014-10-23). "Solicitor General: Paul D. Clement".
70. (June 23, 2022). "Firm splits with lawyers who won gun rights case at Supreme Court". Politico.
71. Murphy, Paul Clement and Erin. (2022-06-23). "The Law Firm That Got Tired of Winning". Wall Street Journal.
72. "Paul D. Clement, Appellate Lawyer".
73. Flint, Joe. (2018-09-17). "Viet Dinh to Become Chief Legal Officer of the New Fox". Wall Street Journal.
74. Palazzolo, Joe. (2016-09-12). "Kirkland & Ellis to Absorb Bancroft". Wall Street Journal.
75. (2003-05-14). "Chief Architect of Patriot Act to Quit".
76. (2021-01-14). "Controversial law professor John Eastman retires from Chapman University".
77. "Recovering the American Idea".
78. Farias, Cristian. (October 17, 2018). "With Legal Storm Looming, Pat Cipollone May Be Perfect for White House Counsel".
79. "Mark Filip, P.C. | Lawyers | Kirkland & Ellis LLP".
80. (Aug 29, 2018). "Brett Kavanaugh Is a Mensch".
81. (January 5, 2018). "Ex-S.E.C. Official, Robert Khuzami, Joins Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office". The New York Times.
82. (2004-01-13). "Deutsche Bank Appoints Robert Khuzami General Counsel for The Americas".
83. (September 11, 2019). "Former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan joining law firm Kirkland & Ellis as litigation partner". Chicago Tribune.
84. (2019-08-16). "U.S. Ambassador to Mexico - Christopher Landau".
85. "Lefkowitz, Jay". Department Of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Electronic Information.
86. (September 11, 2019). "Former AG Lisa Madigan joins Kirkland & Ellis". Chicago Sun-Times.
87. (December 9, 2008). "Spitzer Aide to Join Spitzer Prosecutor at Kirkland & Ellis". Observer.
88. "President Dallin H. Oaks".
89. (2019-05-17). "U.S. Senate confirms Jeffrey Rosen as No. 2 Justice Department official". Reuters.
90. Perez, Evan. (January 20, 2021). "Trump's acting attorney general leaves without creating controversial special counsels".
91. "Nathan A. Sales".
92. (2007). "2007 New York, Summer Associates: Rebecca Sherrill". Kirkland & Ellis.
93. (March 11, 2008). "John Bolton joins Ken Starr at Kirkland & Ellis.".
94. Bravin, Jess. (December 2, 2019). "Supreme Court Appears Unlikely to Expand Gun Rights in New York Case". Wall Street Journal.
95. (March 22, 2021). "White HOuse: Biden's climate deputy has fossil fuel ties".
96. "Klarman, taking Kirkland & Ellis Chair, examines 'Racial Equality in American History' (video) – Harvard Law Today". Harvard Law Today.
97. "Permanent". northwestern.edu.
98. (June 2025). "Chicago firm endows Law School professorship". umich.edu.
99. "Clark, Sherman J. – University of Michigan Law School". umich.edu.
100. (May 27, 2009). "Eric Posner". uchicago.edu.