Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis

Company type	Limited liability partnership
Industry	Law
Founded	1908
Headquarters	Headquarters in Chicago, 8 offices worldwide
Key people	See notable lawyers
Products	Legal services
Revenue	$1.15 billion (2006)
Number of employees	1,200 Attorneys
Website	www.kirkland.com

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a Chicago-based law firm that practices in the United States and internationally. As of 2006, it was the seventh largest law firm in the U.S. and the 13th largest in the world by revenue. K&E has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Munich, and Hong Kong.

Overview

The American Lawyer and other publications consistently rank Kirkland & Ellis LLP as having one of the top litigation practices in the nation. Kirkland & Ellis also has top-ranked bankruptcy, private equity, and intellectual property practices. The 2007 Lawyer Awards named Kirkland as the "International Law Firm of the Year." The 2008 Vault Survey of law firm partners ranked Kirkland #1 for litigation. And Chambers & Partners, publishers of well-regarded law firm evaluations, named Kirkland & Ellis the 2004 Litigation Department of the Year. Chambers describes Kirkland & Ellis as follows:

"Aggressive and fiercely intelligent, this firm consistently justifies its reputation as the best litigation outfit in Illinois, if not in the country. Taking on high-stake and prominent cases for the most illustrious clients, it brings a depth and breadth of lawyering to be marveled at."

The firm had gross revenue of approximately $1.15 billion in 2006, an 18% increase from 2005, making it the 7th largest law firm in the U.S. by revenue. 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. Kirkland is the only of the top ten most profitable firms that is not based in New York City.

In 2005, Kirkland was named the #1 Go-To Firm for Litigation in the Corporate Counsel survey, "Who Represents America's Biggest Companies." Similarly, 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.

Kirkland's Chicago Office - The Aon Center

Recognition

AMERICAN LAWYER AWARDS

• 2008 Litigation Department of the Year
• 2007 Litigation Department of the Year

2008 VAULT RANKINGS

Practice Area Rankings (as voted on by partners of peer firms):

• #1 - Litigation
• #1 - Bankruptcy
• #3 - Intellectual Property

Quality of Life:

• #1 - Formal Training
• #11 - Pay

Regional Rankings:

• #1 - Chicago
• #8 - Washington, D.C.
• #8 - Southern California
• #14 - New York

Overall Prestige:

• #11 - Overall Prestige

Political Contributions

Despite the firm's reputation as a conservative firm (see "Notable former and current lawyers" below), the firm's attorneys lean heavily (77%) Democratic in their political contributions, which are substantial ($579,976 as of 10/29/07, in the 2008 election cycle). The firm also has its own Political Action Committee (PAC), which gave 97% of its contributions to Democrats in the 2008 cycle, as of 12/7/07. The firm's members have given more money to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (by some measures the most liberal Democrat in the Senate) since 1989 than donors from any other company or organization.

Notable former and current lawyers

Among its most well-known current and former lawyers, including three of the last ten U.S. Solicitors General, are:

• Kenneth Starr, Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law, former U.S. Solicitor General, former Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and former independent counsel that investigated President Bill Clinton and current New York Senator Hillary Clinton in the Whitewater scandal;
• Robert H. Bork, Yale Law School Professor, former U.S. Solicitor General, former acting U.S. Attorney General, and former Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit;
• Paul D. Clement, the current U.S. Solicitor General;
• Brett Kavanaugh, current Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and former Associate Counsel to the Independent Counsel under Kenneth Starr;
• Jay Lefkowitz, Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea and formerly a domestic policy advisor to President George W. Bush;
• Jack S. Levin, often credited as the "father of private equity law"; and
• 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.

Notable clients

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.

History

The firm was founded in 1908 by attorneys 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. The firm now consists of over 1,200 attorneys in several domestic and foreign offices, with particular strength in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.

New Building

Kirkland announced in 2005 that it will be relocating to 300 North LaSalle (currently under construction) from its current location in the Aon Center. Beginning in 2009, the firm will be the anchor tenant in the new sky scraper. For pictures of the new building, click here.

Associate Compensation

Like most top law firms, Kirkland & Ellis sets associates' base salaries according to a lockstep compensation scale. Unlike most top law firms, however, Kirkland & Ellis determines bonuses individually -- not only according to the number of hours each attorney bills in a given year but also according to a merit-based grade given to each associate at fiscal year-end. The base pay scale is reflected in the following table:

Seniority	Base Salary	Bonus
1st year	$160,000	Merit + Hours
2nd year	$170,000	Merit + Hours
3rd year	$185,000	Merit + Hours
4th year	$200,000	Merit + Hours
5th year	$225,000	Merit + Hours
6th year	$250,000	Merit + Hours

The bulk of the first year associate class is comprised of recent graduates of the nation's top law schools who were hired as summer associates for the summer between their second and third years of law school. In 2007, Kirkland's headquarters office in Chicago made an offer of permanent employment to each of its 70 summer associates. Summer associates (mostly second year law students) are paid the same base rate as first year associates, or roughly $3,100/week.

Diversity Fellowship Program

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. 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.

On October 10, 2007, Kirkland & Ellis was included in a ranking of law firms by the national law student group Building a Better Legal Profession. The organization ranked firms by billable hours, demographic diversity, and pro bono participation. The results can be found on the organization's website, http://www.betterlegalprofession.org.

Diversity Networking Forums

The Firmwide Diversity Committee recently announced a new addition to its diversity programming, Diversity Networking Forums. The main purpose of the Diversity Networking Forums is to provide an informal, visible network for attorneys to exchange ideas, provide support, and develop relationships.

There are four Diversity Networking Forums:

• Asian Diversity Networking Forum
• Black Diversity Networking Forum
• Hispanic/Latino Diversity Networking Forum
• GLBT Diversity Networking Forum

Support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender causes

The firm recently established the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Subcommittee as a subcommittee of the Firmwide Diversity Committee, "to ensure that all issues of concern to GLBT lawyers are addressed and that the Firm actively supports GLBT-related activities."

True to its word, Kirkland supports financially a large number of GLBT advocacy groups, including:

• Lambda Legal Los Angeles Liberty Awards on October 2, 2007. Kirkland is proud to be a national sponsor of Lambda Legal, a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and those with HIV, through impact litigation, education and public policy work. Many of Kirkland's partners and associates individually support and provide fund-raising efforts to Lambda Legal.

• Lavender Law Conference in Chicago on September 6-8, 2007. Kirkland was a platinum sponsor of this event coordinated by the National Gay and Lesbian Law Foundation (NGLLF). The NGLLF focuses on legal issues of concern to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons. As a part of our sponsorship, the Firm hosted the welcome reception for students, speakers and all other event attendees. Several hundred attorneys, law students, policy advocates and former President Bill Clinton attended the conference.

• Kirkland contributed funds to GLBT law student organizations at NYU and UCLA, and to Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom to help their members attend Lavender Law. As a part of the conference, attorneys from Kirkland met with GLBT law students at a recruiting fair. A number of candidates have been called back for further interviews in Kirkland offices. Eighteen Kirkland attorneys also attended the second annual Firmwide GLBT Dinner.

• Kirkland sponsored the Grand Opening Gala for the Center on Halsted on June 8, 2007. The Center on Halsted is a state of the art community center dedicated to providing the Chicago GLBT community with a common and safe public place to access critical services and support, as well as to interact with each other in a positive and constructive manner without fear of discrimination or stigma. In connection with the Center's Amicus Legal Fair on June 19, 2007, Kirkland attorneys and summer associates presented a check for $20,000 to the Center's Executive Director, Tico Valle, to advance the Center's work in the GLBT community.

• ACLU Gay and Lesbian Rights Project Annual Summer Cocktail Party on June 14, 2007 in New York. Kirkland is a Gold sponsor. A seminar was held by a representative of the ACLU on the subject of same-sex marriage at our New York office (and teleconferenced to all other offices) on July 26, 2007 as part of Kirkland's Gold sponsorship.

• National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Annual Gala on May 12, 2007 at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco.

• Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC) Lawyers for Diversity and Equality for Illinois Third Annual Mid-Summer Barbecue on July 26, 2007. Kirkland is a Silver sponsor.

• Lambda Legal in the Pines on July 14, 2007, Fire Island, New York. Kirkland is a Gold sponsor.

• "Tickled Pink" - Human Rights Campaign Chicago Dinner Gala on June 16, 2007. Human Rights Campaign is America's largest GLBT civil rights organization, and the Chicago Dinner Gala is their seminal Midwest event. Kirkland is a sponsor.

• Lambda Legal first ever Chicago Summer Associate and Attorney networking event at Flatwater Grill on June 6, 2007. Kirkland is a sponsor.

• AIDS Legal Council of Chicago - 13th Annual Summer Bash Hoedown at Sidetrack June 6, 2007. The AIDS Legal Council exists to preserve, promote and protect the legal rights of men, women and children in the Chicago metropolitan area living with HIV/AIDS. Kirkland is the Presenting sponsor.

• AIDS Legal Council of Chicago's 13th Annual Advocates of the Year Awards Ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Art on May 22, 2007. Kirkland is the Presenting sponsor.

• "A Taste for Every Palate" Fundraiser for the Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago on May 21, 2007. Howard Brown is the Midwest's premier GLBT health care organization and Taste is their annual fundraiser to raise support for women's programs and services. Kirkland is a sponsor of the event.

• Lambda Liberty Awards National Event in New York on May 7, 2007. This event celebrates Gay Men's Health Crisis for its revolutionary role in HIV and LGBT movements in the past 25 years. Kirkland is a National Sponsor of Lambda.

• Annual Bon Foster Civil Rights Celebration hosted by Lambda Legal on April 27, 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. This celebration honors the memory of Robert Bonvouloir "Bon" Foster, a Chicago attorney who died of AIDS-related complications in 1991. Kirkland is a sponsor.

• LGBT Career Fair for 1L law students organized by LeGal at Cardozo School of Law on April 19, 2007.

• Lambda Legal on April 17, 2007 at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. This event brought together influential figures in the LGBT civil rights movement amongst great art and conversation. Kirkland is a National Sponsor of Lambda.

• Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALiF) Annual Dinner on March 30, 2007 in San Francisco. BALiF's largest social gathering and fundraising event provides agreat opportunity to mingle with the best legal minds the Bay Area's LGBT community has to offer.Kirkland is a Partner sponsor.

• The Williams Institute Reception on February 23, 2007 in Los Angeles. Kirkland sponsored this event as a member of the Fellows Circle.

• Equality Illinois Justice for All Annual Gala on January 27, 2007 in Chicago. Equality Illinois is a Chicago-based GLBT civil rights organization. The Gala is their annual event to honor their Freedom Award recipients - individuals who have gone above and beyond in the struggle for justice and equality for LGBT people in Illinois. Kirkland is a Gold sponsor.

• The Williams Institute Reception on October 25, 2006 in New York. Kirkland sponsored this event as a member of the Fellows Circle.

• Lambda Legal Chicago Leadership Council reception hosted by Kirkland on October 10, 2006. The Council is a new committee to promote awareness and fundraising for the Lambda Legal Midwest regional office. Kirkland is a National Sponsor of Lambda.

• Lambda Legal's West Coast Liberty Awards on September 26, 2006, Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles. Kirkland is a National Sponsor of Lambda.

• Lambda Legal Pasadena, Women's Brunch on August 26, 2006 at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California. Kirkland is a National Sponsor of Lambda.

• Kirkland sponsored more than 40 students from the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALiF) to attend Lavender Law in Washington, D.C. in September 2006.

In 2006, the Kirkland & Ellis Foundation contributed more than $1,593,000 to the sponsorship of nonprofit organizations, foundations, and programs that directly or indirectly benefit diversity-related initiatives (including [GLBT] groups). This represented a 46 percent increase over comparable financial support in 2005.

The firm also hosts special events just for GLBT attorneys and staff, including:

• Annual Firmwide GLBT Diversity Dinner

• GLBT Affinity Lunches as part of Kirkland's Diversity Lunch series

• Annual GLBT "Neighborhood" Dinner in Chicago for attorneys and summer associates as part of the Summer Associate Neighborhood Dinner Series

• Annual summer GLBT event for New York and Washington, D.C. attorneys and summer associates

• Annual summer GLBT event for Los Angeles and San Francisco attorneys, summer associates and staff

• Annual cocktail reception for all New York office GLBT attorneys and staff

These efforts paid off in 2007 when Kirkland received a perfect 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) 2008 Corporate Equality Index and Best Places to Work survey. The Corporate Equality Index is a tool used by the HRC - the educational arm of the nation's largest advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Americans - to rate companies on how well they treat their GLBT employees, consumers and clients.

Endowed professorships

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).
• $1,250,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at Northwestern University School of Law (currently Dorothy Roberts, who has written and lectured extensively on the interplay of gender, race, and class in legal issues concerning reproduction, bioethics, and child welfare).
• $1,175,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at The University of Michigan Law School (currently Omri Ben-Shahar).
• $1,000,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at The University of Chicago Law School (currently Eric Posner).

External links

• Firm website
• LawPeriscope Profile
• Kirkland & Ellis page on Linex Legal