Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis is the world's largest law firm by revenue ($10.6B in 2025), serving 800+ private equity firms and large corporations globally through 24 offices and 5,001–10,000 employees. It leads global PE transactions and M&A by deal value and count, and is investing $500M in a Palantir-built AI platform for its 1,000+ lawyer Investment Funds Group.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1909
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Kirkland & Ellis does
Kirkland & Ellis is the world's largest law firm by revenue and a privately held limited liability partnership founded in 1909 in Chicago. In 2025 the firm became the first to surpass $10 billion in annual revenue ($10.6B disclosed) and reported record average equity partner pay of $11.1 million, up 20% year-over-year. The firm operates 24 offices across the United States, Europe (London, Paris, Munich, Frankfurt, Brussels), and Asia (Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Riyadh), and serves more than 800 private equity clients globally alongside large corporations, financial institutions, and government entities. Practice leadership includes #1 global rankings in private equity transactions by deal value and in M&A by deal volume and count (Bloomberg, Mergermarket FY2024), 47 Chambers USA Band 1 rankings, and representation of 84% of preeminent global PE firms.
The firm's core products are full-service legal offerings organized around high-end transactional and contentious work: M&A, private equity fund formation and secondaries, capital markets, restructuring and liability management, securities and commercial litigation, antitrust, tax, intellectual property, and a recently integrated Real Assets Practice Group covering real estate, infrastructure, energy, and mining with more than 600 lawyers. Underlying technology is anchored by a multi-year partnership with Palantir to deploy a proprietary AI platform across the 1,000+ lawyer Investment Funds Group for fundraising documentation, investor solutions, and compliance workflows, backed by approximately $500 million of investment and supported by on-premise GPU infrastructure and fine-tuned open-source LLMs; an earlier internal tool, SideTrack (2023), already automated work for investment fund attorneys.
The business model is professional services billing on hourly rates (with alternative fee arrangements available), delivered through a partner-led enterprise go-to-market motion. Senior partners lead direct client relationships with no resellers or intermediated channels, supported by cross-practice teams. Customer concentration is greatest in private equity — Blackstone, Clearlake Capital, Align Capital, Reverence Capital, and others are repeat named clients — but is balanced by corporate and restructuring work for large industrials and technology companies. The firm is privately held by its equity partners under a lockstep compensation model, has no parent company, and is not publicly traded.
Kirkland & Ellis firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Legal name
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- Website
- https://kirkland.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1909
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Kirkland & Ellis is the world's largest law firm by revenue ($10.6B in 2025), serving 800+ private equity firms and large corporations globally through 24 offices and 5,001–10,000 employees. It leads global PE transactions and M&A by deal value and count, and is investing $500M in a Palantir-built AI platform for its 1,000+ lawyer Investment Funds Group.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kirkland & Ellis industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Corporate Legal Services
- NAICS
- Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)
- SIC
- Services-Legal Services (8111), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Real Estate M&A / Joint Venture Advisory (Platform Deals, Partnerships) (BPAJANAF), Litigation Support & Expert Witness (Valuation-Related) (BPAHANAG)
Keywords
Where Kirkland & Ellis is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices23 records
Markets served
Kirkland & Ellis business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Legal Services - Transactional: Hourly billing for legal services including M&A, private equity transactions, capital markets, restructuring, and litigation matters. The firm has historically operated on traditional billable hour model with rates varying by practice area and seniority.
- Legal Services - Alternative Fee Arrangements: Project-based pricing arrangements mentioned in context of AI platform potentially shifting parts of legal service billing from traditional hourly rates toward project-based pricing models.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise legal services with partner-led delivery |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Kirkland & Ellis product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kirkland & Ellis is a full-service global law firm providing corporate legal counsel across private equity, M&A, investment fund formation, restructuring, capital markets, litigation, antitrust, intellectual property, tax, and real assets. The firm serves more than 800 private equity clients and major corporations worldwide through 24 offices, delivering integrated advice on complex, high-value transactions. Kirkland is also investing approximately $500 million in a proprietary AI platform developed with Palantir to automate private equity fundraising workflows.
Product overview
Kirkland & Ellis is a full-service law firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of legal services across multiple practice areas. The firm has made a significant investment in proprietary AI technology, developing an AI-powered platform for private equity fundraising built on Palantir's Artificial Intelligence Platform, alongside its previously developed SideTrack tool for investment fund attorneys. The firm's integrated Real Assets Practice Group unifies real estate, infrastructure, and energy practices. Services span M&A, capital markets, restructuring, private equity, real estate, intellectual property, litigation, tax, derivatives, and specialized AI-powered legal technology solutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- AI-Powered Private Equity Fundraising Platform Proprietary enterprise AI platform built on Palantir's Artificial Intelligence Platform to modernize private equity fundraising, centralize institutional knowledge across 1,000+ Investment Funds lawyers, and streamline fund formation, documentation, investor solutions, and compliance workflows.
- SideTrack Internal technology tool developed in 2023 that streamlines work for investment fund attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis, representing the firm's track record in building proprietary legal technology.
- Real Assets Practice Group Integrated platform combining real estate, infrastructure, energy and minerals/mining practices with more than 600 lawyers, providing coordinated advice on capital raising, structuring, financing, development and governance across digital infrastructure, power generation, logistics, mining and real estate private equity.
Quantifiable outcome
- $500 billion+ capital raised or targeted for clients in 2025
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Kirkland & Ellis
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Kirkland & Ellis technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature3 records
Kirkland & Ellis partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Palantir TechnologiesflagshipMulti-year partnership to develop proprietary AI-powered enterprise platform for private equity fundraising, built on Palantir's Artificial Intelligence Platform. The platform centralizes institutional knowledge, streamlines fund documentation, investor solutions, and compliance across the entire fundraising lifecycle for Kirkland's Investment Funds Group of 1,000+ lawyers. Kirkland has invested approximately $500 million in this proprietary AI system, with over $100 million deployed in 2026 alone.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Kirkland & Ellis competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sullivan & Cromwell: Historic elite law firm with premier M&A, securities, and finance practices. Directly competes with Kirkland for the largest M&A deals, capital markets transactions, and high-end advisory mandates globally.
- Latham & Watkins: One of the world's largest law firms by revenue with a similarly global platform spanning M&A, private equity, capital markets, and restructuring. Directly competes with Kirkland for top-tier PE, M&A, and finance mandates across the US, Europe, and Asia.
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom: Elite US-based law firm with a historically dominant M&A practice and strong private equity and corporate capabilities. Competes directly with Kirkland for high-stakes transactional mandates and serves many of the same PE sponsor clients.
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz: Premier M&A and corporate law firm known for representing boards in the largest transactions. While smaller in headcount, it competes with Kirkland at the very top of the M&A market and has been both a source of Kirkland lateral hires and a destination for departing partners.
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett: Leading global law firm with a top-tier private equity practice and strong M&A, capital markets, and fund formation capabilities. Directly competes with Kirkland on PE sponsor work and recently hired David Nemecek from Kirkland to build out its capital structure practice.
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison: Elite US law firm with deep M&A, private equity, and litigation practices. Recently hired James Sprayregen from Kirkland to co-lead its restructuring practice, reflecting the head-to-head competition for top partners and clients.
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton: Premier global law firm with leading M&A, capital markets, and antitrust practices. Competes with Kirkland for cross-border M&A mandates and serves many of the same large corporate and financial institution clients.
- Davis Polk & Wardwell: Top-tier Wall Street law firm with elite M&A, capital markets, and finance practices. Competes directly with Kirkland for the largest corporate transactions and serves many of the same Fortune 500 and PE clients.
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore: Elite US law firm with a top-tier M&A and corporate practice, historically known for setting the market for associate and partner compensation. Directly competes with Kirkland for the highest-end corporate mandates despite smaller headcount.
Broad incumbents
- Hogan Lovells: Major global law firm with broad corporate, finance, and litigation practices. While not at the same revenue scale, it competes with Kirkland in cross-border M&A, energy transition, and infrastructure matters as part of its broader portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Kirkland & Ellis social profiles
Digital presenceKirkland & Ellis financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kirkland & Ellis leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Kirkland & Ellis funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kirkland & Ellis M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments4 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kirkland & Ellis
What does Kirkland & Ellis do?
Kirkland & Ellis is a full-service global law firm providing corporate legal counsel across private equity, M&A, investment fund formation, restructuring, capital markets, litigation, antitrust, intellectual property, tax, and real assets. The firm serves more than 800 private equity clients and major corporations worldwide through 24 offices, delivering integrated advice on complex, high-value transactions. Kirkland is also investing approximately $500 million in a proprietary AI platform developed with Palantir to automate private equity fundraising workflows.
Is Kirkland & Ellis a public or private company?
Kirkland & Ellis is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Kirkland & Ellis founded?
Kirkland & Ellis was founded in 1909. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Kirkland & Ellis based?
Kirkland & Ellis is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Kirkland & Ellis make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Legal Services - Transactional is the primary driver. The others are legal Services - Alternative Fee Arrangements.
Who are Kirkland & Ellis's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sullivan & Cromwell, Latham & Watkins, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Hogan Lovells is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Kirkland & Ellis have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kirkland & Ellis.
What industry is Kirkland & Ellis in?
Kirkland & Ellis's product category is Corporate Legal Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAOAE, Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital), with a secondary code of BPAJANAF, Real Estate M&A / Joint Venture Advisory (Platform Deals, Partnerships). Its NAICS code is 523 and its SIC code is 8111.