is a
United States Law Firm based in Chicago with additional offices in New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Munich, and Hong Kong.
Widely known for its litigation practice, the firm is consistently ranked by ''The American Lawyer'' and other publications as one of the top litigation firms in the country. In addition, Kirkland & Ellis has top-ranked bankruptcy, private equity, and intellectual property practices.http://www.kirkland.com/ourFirm/newsLists.aspx?type=Surveys
The firm had revenues of approximately $970 million in 2005, a 16% increase from 2004, making it the 9th largest law firm in the U.S. by revenues.http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?hubtype=Cover+Story&id=1145803851957 Kirkland is also one of the most profitable law firms in the country with estimated profits per partner of $2.12 million in 2005, a 7.3% increase from 2004, making it the 8th most profitable in the nation and the only such firm in the top 10 based outside New York City.http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?hubtype=Cover+Story&id=1145803851973
Kirkland ranked among the top four law firms in the nation in American Lawyer Media's survey of "go-to" firms for Fortune 250 companies, representing some of the biggest companies in the combined areas of litigation, intellectual property, corporate transactions, labor and employment, and corporate governance.http://www.kirkland.com/ourFirm/newsListDetail.aspx?H4AssetID=1126617320&type=Surveys
Among its most well-known current and former lawyers are
Kenneth Starr , Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law and former U.S. Solicitor General, D.C. Circuit Court judge, and independent counsel that investigated President Bill Clinton and current New York Senator Hillary Clinton in the
Whitewater Scandal ; Jack S. Levin, often credited as the "father of private equity law";
Paul D. Clement , the current Solicitor General of the United States;
Brett Kavanaugh , former Associate Counsel to the Independent Counsel under Kenneth Starr and current Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; and
Jay Lefkowitz , Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea and formerly a domestic policy advisor to President
George W. Bush ;
John H. Morrison , former President of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars. In June 2006, Kirkland partner James Sprayregen, one of the nation's top bankruptcy lawyers, left the firm to join
Goldman Sachs in New York.
The firm has represented a number of high-profile clients, including
United Airlines in that company's
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings. Other major clients of the firm have included
General Motors ,
Brown & Williamson ,
Motorola ,
Conseco ,
Honeywell ,
S.C. Johnson & Sons ,
Raytheon ,
Schering-Plough ,
Samsung Electronics , and
Siemens AG .
Kirkland & Ellis has a "Diversity Fellowship Program" at fourteen of the nation's most prestigious law schools (the program includes "at large" Fellowships not linked to any specific schools). Under this program, Kirkland 'Fellows' are identified from among the law students who have been offered a salaried summer associate position in one of the firm's U.S. offices after the recipient’s second year of law school (summer associates are paid about $3,077 per week). In addition to the summer work experience with Kirkland, the Fellowship provides a $15,000 stipend during the recipient's third year of law school.http://www.kirkland.com/OurFirm/diversityFeature.aspx?featureid=1125438120 The program is open to those who are classified as American Indian, Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific Islander, Black, or Hispanic according to the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission .http://fellowship.kirkland.com/
The firm has endowed professorships in the firm's name at four prestigious law schools:
$1,500,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at
Harvard Law School (currently David B. Wilkins).
$1,000,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at The
University Of Chicago Law School (currently Eric Posner).
$1,175,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at The
University Of Michigan Law School (currently Omri Ben-Shahar).
$1,250,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at
Northwestern University School Of Law (currently Dorothy E. Roberts).
The firm was founded in
1908 by
Attorney s
Stewart G. Shepherd and
Robert R. McCormick , who would later become the publisher of the ''
Chicago Tribune ''. The firm's modern namesakes,
Weymouth Kirkland and
Howard Ellis , joined the firm in 1915. In 1938, former
United States Department Of Justice lawyer
Hammond Chaffetz joined the firm. Chaffetz's skill allowed the firm to expand quickly.
