Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys,[6] and was the first law firm in the world to reach US$4 billion in annual revenue.[7]
Many attorneys from the firm have served as federal officials or judges, including United States Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Attorneys General William Barr and Robert Bork.[8][9]
Rankings[edit]
The American Lawyer ranked Kirkland & Ellis as the 2018 Law Firm of the Year.[16] "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.[17] 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.[18] Kirkland & Ellis was ranked second in the 2017 ATL Power 100 law firm rankings.[19] 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.[20]
Pro bono work[edit]
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.[39][40]
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.[41] The case, brought in federal court, claimed that the state had systemically underfunded the schools for decades.[42] The matter was finally settled in 2021 when lawmakers approved $577 million in extra funding for the HBCUs in future state budgets.[43] 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.[44] Kirkland’s $12.5 million portion of the fees was later donated by the firm[45] to a series of organizations that benefitted HBCUs and promoted civil rights.[44] 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.[44]
Notable alumni of the firm include, among others, more than two dozen attorneys who resigned when appointed to roles in government.[46] Alumni include:
Endowed professorships[edit]
The firm has endowed professorships in its name at four law schools: Harvard Law School,[85] Northwestern University School of Law,[86] University of Michigan Law School,[87][88] and the University of Chicago Law School.[89]
Notes
Further reading