Kirkland & Ellis

Infobox Law Firm
firm_name = Kirkland & Ellis LLP
firm_
headquarters = Chicago, Illinois
num_offices = 9 total, 3 international
num_attorneys = 1,316 (2007)
num_employees =
practice_areas = General practice
key_people =
revenue = $1.15 billion (2006)
date_founded = 1909
founder =
company_type = Limited liability partnership
homepage = [http://www.kirkland.com/ www.kirkland.com]
dissolved =

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, Hong Kong, and Palo Alto.

Overview

In 2007, Kirkland had revenue in the amount of $1.3 Billion. "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. [ [http://www.kirkland.com/ourFirm/newsLists.aspx?type=Surveys Page Not Found ] ] 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. [http://www.chambersandpartners.com/usa/resultseditorial.aspx?cid=296&pid=16&solbar=1&grouptype=2 Chambers and Partners : Chambers USA Guide Editorial ] ] Chambers describes Kirkland & Ellis as follows:

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. [ [http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?hubtype=Cover+Story&id=1177664680912 The American Lawyer - 2007 Am Law 100: Eleven Firms Break the Billion-Dollar Mark ] ] 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. [ [http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?hubtype=Cover+Story&id=1145803851973 The American Lawyer - 2006 Am Law 100: Partner Profits Remain Strong ] ]

In 2005, Kirkland was named the #1 Go-To Firm for Litigation in the Corporate Counsel survey, "Who Represents America's Biggest Companies." [ [http://www.chambersandpartners.com/usa/firmprofile.aspx?fid=3636&solbar=1 Chambers and Partners : Chambers USA Guide Profile ] ] 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. [ [http://www.kirkland.com/ourFirm/newsListDetail.aspx?H4AssetID=1126617320&type=Surveys Page Not Found ] ]

Recognition

AMERICAN LAWYER AWARDS
* 2008 Litigation Department of the Year [American Lawyer Litigation Award 2008, http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1199268322838]
* 2008 IP Litigation Department of the Year, Finalist [http://www.kirkland.com/sitecontent.cfm?contentID=230&itemId=8517]
* 2007 Litigation Department of the Year [The American Lawyer Names Kirkland & Ellis Group as Litigation Department of the Year, http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/legal-services-law-practice-major-us-firms/5526340-1.html]

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). [ [http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=K01&cycle=2008 Top Contributors to Federal Candidates and Parties: Lawyers/Law Firms ] ] 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. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kirkland_%26_Ellis&action=edit&section=2] The firm's members have given more money to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (by some measures the most liberal Democrat in the Senate) [ [http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/03/dick_durbin_most_liberal_us_se.html The Swamp: Dick Durbin, most liberal U.S. senator ] ] since 1989 than donors from any other company or organization. [ [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allcontrib.asp?CID=N00004981 Dick Durbin: Campaign Finance/Money - Contributions - 1989-2006 ] ]

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 & Son, Raytheon, Schering-Plough, Samsung Electronics, Siemens AG, and Westinghouse Electric Company.

History

The firm was founded in 1909 [url=http://www.kirkland.com/sitecontent.cfm?contentID=264] 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 approximately 1,400 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. [ [http://www.hines.com/press/releases/08-26-05.aspx Press Releases : Hines Interests ] ] Beginning in 2009, the firm will be the anchor tenant in the new sky scraper.id.] For pictures of the new building, [http://www.300nlasalle.com/ 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:

The bulk of the first year associate class is 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. [ [http://nalpdirectory.com/dledir_search_results.asp?fscid=f026202&yr=2007&orgtypeid=F NALP: DLE - Directory of Legal Employers ] ] Summer associates (mostly second year law students) are paid the same base rate as first year associates, or roughly $3,100/week.

Investing in Justice Campaign

The firm is a major sponsor of the Chicago Bar Foundation's 2nd Annual Investing in Justice Campaign, which awarded over $2 million in grants in fiscal year (FY) 2008 to more than 40 legal aid and public interest law organizations, including [http://www.chicagobarfoundation.org/recent_grants.html] :
*Council on American-Islamic Relations – Chicago - Civil Rights Project
*Lambda Legal - Midwest Regional Office
*Latinos Progresando – Immigrant Legal Services
*National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)
*World Relief-Chicago - Immigration Legal Services

=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. [ [http://www.kirkland.com/OurFirm/diversityFeature.aspx?featureid=1125438120 Page Not Found ] ] 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/ K&E Diversity ] ]

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. [Amir Efrati, You Say You Want a Big-Law Revolution, Take II, "Wall Street Journal", October 10, 2007. ] [ Adam Liptak, In Students’ Eyes, Look-Alike Lawyers Don’t Make the Grade, "New York Times", October 29, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/us/29bar.html?em&ex=1193889600&en=4b0cd84261ffe5b4&ei=5087%0A ] 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. [ Thomas Adcock and Zusha Elinson, Student Group Grades Firms On Diversity, Pro Bono Work, "New York Law Journal," October 19, 2007, http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/PubArticleNY.jsp?hubtype=BackPage&id=1192698212305 ]

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
*LGBT Diversity Networking Forum

upport for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender causes

The firm recently established the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) 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." [http://www.kirkland.com/sitecontent.cfm?contentID=308 Kirkland & Ellis LLP > GLBT Subcommittee ] ]

True to its word, Kirkland supports financially a large number of LGBT advocacy groups. 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 LGBT groups). This represented a 46 percent increase over comparable financial support in 2005. [ [http://www.kirkland.com/sitecontent.cfm?contentID=309 Kirkland & Ellis LLP > Supporting Diversity Initiatives ] ]

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 LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) Americans - to rate companies on how well they treat their LGBT employees, consumers and clients. [ [http://www.kirkland.com/sitecontent.cfm?contentID=230&itemId=8127 Kirkland & Ellis LLP > Press Releases ] ]

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). [ [http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/people/roberts.html IPR People: Dorothy Roberts ] ]
*$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).

References

External links

* [http://www.kirkland.com/ Firm website]
* [http://www.lawperiscope.com/profiles/138.html LawPeriscope Profile]