This firm deserves to be named and shamed for the treatment of its attorneys and support staff during the slowdown of work and pandemic outbreak. It is resorting to the most disgusting behavior to get rid of the people it hired. This firm’s greed knows of no limits! To avoid bad press it is now resorting to stealth layoffs. So much for all the press releases of how much money everyone is making!
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Munich: Lupp & Partner hires private equity lawyer from Kirkland
Dr. Thomas Krawitz leaves Kirkland & Ellis
https://www.juve.de/nachrichten/namenundnachrichten/2020/08/muenchen-lupp-partner-holt-private-equity-anwalt-von-kirkland
“Kirkland London Private Equity Partner Heads to HSF”
https://www.law.com/international-edition/2020/08/06/kirkland-london-private-equity-partner-heads-to-hsf/
“Kirkland private equity partner David D’Souza is joining Herbert Smith Freehills’ global corporate practice”
Could this be related to the K&E U.K. office having fallen from 2nd place to 13th place this year for M&A work according to the latest report by Merger Market?
More exits:
Julia Petty has ended five years at Kirkland & Ellis to join Vinson & Elkins’ benefits and compensation practice in New York
https://iclg.com/news/14155-vinson-and-elkins-adds-kirkland-and-ellis-partner-in-new-york
Earlier this year...“Gibson Dunn hires two Kirkland & Ellis private equity partners”
- Abtin Jalali
- Chris Harding
https://www.leadersleague.com/en/news/gibson-dunn-hires-two-kirkland-ellis-private-equity-partners
“Kirkland & Ellis partner moves to Latham & Watkins in New York”
George Klidonas joins Latham’s New York Office
https://globalrestructuringreview.com/corporate-reorganisations/kirkland-ellis-partner-moves-latham-watkins-in-new-york
More bleak news for Kirkland:
Global & Regional M&A Report 1H20
Global League tables rankings:
- Latham
- Freshfields
- Watchell
- Skadden
- Kirkland (has dropped to 5th place from second place in 2019)
In Europe the situation for Kirkland is even worse:
Europe league table by value:
- Freshfields
- Latham
- A&O
- Cleary
- HSF
- Weil
- Linklaters
- Kirkland (drop of 7 places from 2019)
Europe league table by deal count:
Kirkland placed number 13 in the rankings (down two places from 2019).
Kirkland’s U.K. office saw the most dismal performance ever recorded:
UK league table by value:
Kirkland ranked number 13! Down from number 2 in 2019.
UK league table by deal count:
Kirkland ranked number 9. Down from 5th place last year.
—
www.mergermarket.com
Kirkland is in one BIG mess - this cannot be stressed and underlined further!
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“Slaughters and Kirkland Slide Down European Rankings as M&A Collapses“
“Freshfields has topped the European rankings against a backdrop of depressed M&A activity.”
“Kirkland & Ellis and Slaughter and May slipped down the European M&A rankings in the first half of 2020, according to data from Mergermarket which shows the extent of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on dealmaking activity.”
https://www.law.com/international-edition/2020/07/03/slaughters-and-kirkland-slide-down-european-rankings-as-ma-collapses/
More, this time they both went in-house:
“Private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners LLC hired Kirkland & Ellis partner Renata Lombardi Malavazzi as its new top lawyer in New York.
Kirkland’s Chicago-based commercial litigator Eric Yeager left to become a managing director at litigation financier Kerberos Capital Management LLC.”
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/paine-schwartz-taps-kirkland-partner-to-fill-top-legal-role?context=search&index=15
“Perkins Coie got Kirkland & Ellis tech and intellectual property transactions attorney Sam Hong as a partner in Chicago.”
https://www.perkinscoie.com/en/news-insights/perkins-coie-adds-technology-transactions-and-privacy-law-partner-in-chicago.html
More departures:
Baker McKenzie has hired seasoned private equity partner Derek Poon from Kirkland & Ellis (June 1st)
https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/newsroom/2020/06/derek-poon
Above The Law’s pre-COVID trivia question of the day for today was:
“This Biglaw Firm Got Bigger In 2019. That's a lot of new attorneys.
Hint: The firm got 291 new lawyers last year.”
The Answer: — >> Kirkland & Ellis
Tomorrow’s trivia question should be:
“Which Biglaw Firm is shedding (and in the process of shedding) most attorneys by stealth layoffs and other means in 2020?
Hint: The firm that hired most lawyers last year and has the largest number of in-name only/salaried partners who don’t bring in any business.”
The Answer: —->> Also Kirkland & Ellis!
And the departures from Kirkland continue:
McDermott Will & Emery Adds Byrne to Its New York Office
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2020/07/01/574051.htm
“International law firm McDermott Will & Emery is continuing to build its insurance-sector capabilities with the addition of Jane M. Byrne to its New York office. Byrne is the most recent arrival to the growing litigation group with new teams in New York, Miami, Delaware and London over the past year. This includes partners Joshua Simon, Warren Haskel and Dmitriy Tishyevich and their teams joining from Kirkland & Ellis in March.”
Comments by Leaders League pasted below on the several departures from Kirkland & Ellis across all of its offices. Though the below concern the US there have also been several departures from its offices in Europe and Asia.
If only the journalist knew how badly certain practice groups have been impacted when seen from the eyes of an insider at K&E, the article would paint a much worse picture!
The situation is even worse for Associates and Support Staff for whom the high number of departures (both those already left and those on their way out) will not be reported in the press. Kirkland is carefully structuring several departures on the basis of performance issues and other reasons being used as a threat against many individuals at the firm.
————
“The former co-leader of Kirkland & Ellis’s data privacy practice has left to join Chicago rival Sidley Austin’s litigation group, constituting another in a series of partner losses for Kirkland’s disputes teams in 2020.“
“Last week, Kirkland & Ellis saw the departure of its entire international arbitration team to King & Spalding. Since New Year’s Day, Kirkland has seen Elizabeth Cutri go in-house at sports analytics company Stats Perform, Kelli Mulder leave to join Honigman (which often recruits from Kirkland’s non-equity partner base), Scott McMillin depart for Benesch, and Andrew Pruitt up sticks for Crowell & Moring. Outside of commercial litigation, Kirkland & Ellis lost private equity partners Abtin Jalali and Chris Harding to Gibson Dunn & Crutcher earlier this week.“
https://www.leadersleague.com/en/news/brian-kavanaugh-joins-sidley-austin-from-kirkland-ellis
——————
Another (well deserved) blow for Kirkland in its key market:
https://www.law.com/international-edition/2020/06/26/clifford-chance-proves-most-popular-adviser-to-top-tier-private-equity-clients/
“Clifford Chance Proves Most Popular Adviser to Top-Tier Private Equity Clients
The Magic Circle firm beat the likes of Kirkland and Freshfields to the bulk of Blackstone and CVC European mandates over the past 12 months.”
Blackstone and CVC are certainly not stupid. Kudos to them.
https://www.thelawyer.com/linklaters-david-irvine-kirkland/
Linklaters brings back partner after five years at Kirkland
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You bet David Irvine would return to Linklaters from Kirkland. Why on earth would you continue working for this pressure cooker when you could work for a steady pair of hands like Linklaters.
Worth reposting what’s been posted elsewhere as a reminder that this was at the very beginning of COVID-19; the situation has now become even worse for Kirkland’s Corporate Department and all those practice groups at the firm that feed off it.
https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020/04/02/ma-activity-fell-off-in-2020s-first-quarter-even-at-kirkland/?slreturn=20200305101710
“Kirkland’s deal value dropped by 74% in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019
“Kirkland & Ellis, a perennial presence in the legal adviser rankings for top M&A deal value, fell from the No. 1 spot at the end of Q1 in 2019 to No. 7 so far this year for global deals, watching its deal value totals plummet from over $210 billion in Q1 of 2019 to just over $55 billion in 2020, a 74% reduction year over year.”
So Jon A. Ballis, Chairman, Global Management Executive Committee of Kirkland & Ellis has sent an email out to the firm decrying the “disgust and outrage” he feels for the mistreatment of George Floyd. He also mentions the “fear, anxiety and distress” faced by minorities.
Whilst working to promote the causes upheld by the #BLM campaign and promoting social justice and equality are very noble causes, the e-mail coming from Jon Ballis, and Kirkland more broadly, could not be more hypocritical and dishonest. Just shows how low this firm will go.
In writing the letter, Jon Ballis is very accurately describing the culture and abuse that people at Kirkland & Ellis face on a daily basis coming from management, partners and many others at the firm. The culture of “fear, anxiety and distress” are those very same feelings that this firm encourages and promotes within its ranks in order to improve its financials. Jon Ballis and many others would do well to look themselves in the mirror and feel the disgust and outrage as a result of the hardship they inflict on so many people working at Kirkland & Ellis.
Fear, anxiety and distress are the three “qualities” that best describe the culture at Kirkland & Ellis and are actively upheld and promoted within the firm and that ultimately lead to laying off a significant amount of people.
Kirkland & Ellis is in absolutely no position to preach about disgust and outrage when it has laid off so many people by stealth layoffs before, during and will continue to do so after the pandemic and is in the process of axing so many others.
Kirkland & Ellis is the new “Latham” of the 2020 Covid-19 / financial crisis. Just like people were “Lathamed” in 2008-2008, so are many being “Kirklanded” in 2020.
The only difference is that Latham did it openly in 2008/9, whilst in 2020 Kirkland is stealth dismissing people across the board attorneys and support staff in attempt to gag people from speaking out.
If you are reading this to see whether you should join Kirkland or not, do not make the mistake of joining Kirkland. The firm is rotten to the core unlike no other firm in the market and politics is rife.
No matter how successful you were at your previous law firm, by joining this firm you give up all control over your future. You will also find yourself working with people who pretend to be bright but are in reality mid-level associates posing as partners.
The only reason high profile and successful attorneys join this firm laterally, is because they are guaranteed their equity share for several years running.
More stealth layoffs have been occurring over the past days and weeks in various Kirkland & Ellis’ offices as this firm continues to hide several departures. People in certain practice groups are being targeted more aggressively. Departures have included salaried partners, associates and support staff.
Stay away from this firm. It is extremely leverage as it is saddled with tons of salaried partners/partners in name only who do not have any business. Performance and related material currently being collected for the purposes of firing attorneys and support staff.
This firm is pure filth.
It is pure madness for anyone to believe a word their HR personnel / partners says. Not to mention their mid-level associates who’ve been given the salaried partner title. They are prepared to lie to anyone and everyone to save their face.
They are trying to make people believe that « no one is being let go because of Covid-19 » yet they are going blast several people for supposedly « performance issues ». What a coincidence...
Hey guys,
Let’s do some simple math so that you can get an idea of why it’s extremely misleading to say that Kirkland is “doing just fine” during Covid-19.
All figures are taken from legal publications and directories, including Kirkland’s own website and available through a simple google search. An average/median was used for the shares/salaries/bonuses which then levels out given that there are people earning above and below those amounts.
Number of Share Partners at K&E globally = 430 x $6m share (on average) each = $2.6bn
Number of Non-Share Partners at K&E globally = 699 x $500K salary (on average) each = $350m salaries
Number of Non-Share Partners at K&E globally = 699 x $200K bonus (on average) each = $140m
Total number of Associates globally = 1435 x $270K salary each (on average) = $400m
Total number of Associates globally = 1435 x $60K bonus each (on average) = $86m
TOTAL BILL = 3.6 BILLION approx.
THE ABOVE DOES NOT EVEN INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE, SUPPORT STAFF, OFFICES, TRAVEL, HEALTHCARE AND OTHER BENEFITS, IT, APPLE DEVICES FOR ALL, ETC, ETC, ETC....
DO THE $4bn IN GROSS REVENUE THE FIRM MADE LAST YEAR STILL SOUND LIKE A LOT OF MONEY?
SHAME ON YOU K&E!!!!
Hope students and professionals read this page before they ever consider joining Kirkland: they need to know how bad this firm treats its attorneys and staff behind closed doors.
To those students thinking that K&E is somehow the « best » - DO NOT LET THEM FOOL YOU. The Global Director of Well-being etc...is just another way of trying to fool people that this firm treats its employees with respect and consideration: see the email referred to below from Andy Calder on Kirkland’s Global Management Committee - he sent that email to his entire office, can you just imagine what goes on in performance reviews at this firm? It is just one fabrication after another to get people out the door.
There are no exceptions in the various K&E offices I’m afraid, that’s the sort of thug behavior encouraged and promoted my management at this firm.
Worst firm globally - this firm should be ashamed of itself and anyone trying to shed a good light on this firm should really F**K OFF. If anyone knew what this firm is doing, they would never want to have anything to do with it.
Worst firm globally - this firm should be ashamed of itself and anyone trying to shed a good light on this firm should really F**K OFF. If anyone knew what this firm is doing, they would never want to have anything to do with it.
Worst firm globally - this firm should be ashamed of itself and anyone trying to shed a good light on this firm should really F**K OFF. If anyone knew what this firm is doing, they would never want to have anything to do with it.
To all those reading:
I can confirm, as an insider, that Kirkland is laying off people using stealth dismissals because it is extremely leveraged and because the partners and management are so greedy that they would rather share the reduced pot of money as a result of the slow down of work with less people (or more junior attorneys by replacing senior individuals with less costly junior ones).
To all those expecting announcements:
Please do not be so naive by expecting the firm to come out and announce these place publicly.
Samantha Stokes from Law.com makes another non-sensical swooping statement in her 11 May article without doing any research other than relying on the garbage fed to her by HR personnel and other self-interested parties.
She would like her readers to believe that out the 65,000 legal professionals reported to have been impacted, NONE came from the “ultra-high” firms. Interesting that in subsequent articles she/her colleagues immediately contradict herself/her by saying that billion dollar firms are cost cutting.
She would like us to believe that stealth layoffs don’t exist and that these “ultra-high” grossing firms are doing just fine! That’s one who’s swallowed the PR stunt hook, line and sinker. Thank you Samantha, we sure were counting on your help and in-depth reporting.
Maybe we should forgive her because she hasn’t yet spoken to Andy Calder (see below) from K&E’s Global Firm Management Committee who was quite upset at the low billables at his office (see below) and painted a pretty darn negative picture by threatening associates with abuse. He made it very clear that a being on “gravy train” was not on (despite him being on $5m guaranteed for 3 years).
Has she not even realised that Kirkland has refused to speak about the matter (not that anyone works there would believe it publicly say anything about its internal) and its policy publicly?
Samantha said: « For ultra-high-grossing law firms, an extra-thick cushion of cash made it easier to resist the initial wave of pay reductions, furloughs and layoffs that swept through the legal industry, slimming down paychecks and claiming at least 64,000 jobs last month. » ———>>> FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE ——————->> Stealth dismissals kicked in for several people
This is what’s going on at Kirkland:-
In the words of a managing partner of major US firm a few days ago:
————— >>> “One of the things we’ve [Not K&E] always said about our partnership [Not K&E] that gives us a higher likelihood of performing well in a down market is we don’t have service partners, WE DON’T HAVE NON-EQUITY PARTNERS, and we’ve got business development in the genes of our partners across practices.” —————
NUMBERS WORTH REPEATING BY COMPARISON TO LATHAM GLOBALLY:
Number of Share/Equity Partners at K&E = 430 / Latham = 488
Number of NON-Share/Equity Partners at K&E = 699 / Latham = 242
Total number of Associates at K&E = 1435 / Latham = 1627
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No need to guess which one is firing the most. After shoving down everyone’s throats how « good » it is doing, it now wants its attorneys to keep hush about why people are mysteriously disappearing from various practice groups.
It isn’t only Goodwin!! K&E is doing stealth layoffs too across the board in various offices and groups, attorneys and support staff impacted
David Lat is indeed a recruiter! How can you expect that website to look into anything that sheds any bad light onto a firm that provides his legal recruitment business with work? Very sad that what’s supposed to be an independent website is now directly linked to a recruitment business!
David Lat the founder/owner of Above the Law is also a Legal Recruiter....conflicts of interest anyone? That must explain Kathryn’s bias
Number of Share Partners at K&E globally = 430 (Jan 2020, Bloomberg)
Number of Non-Share Partners at K&E globally = 699 (taken from K&E’s website)
Total number of Associates globally = 1435
****
By contrast, at Latham the numbers globally are:
Number of Share/Equity Partners at Latham: 488
Number of Non-Share Partners at Latham: 242
Number of Associates at Latham: 1,627
Numbers for Latham taken from firm profile at Law.com.
*
Some numbers to put Joe Conroy‘s thoughts (quoted below) into perspective.
CEO and chairman of Cooley, Joe Conroy has said:
“One of the things we’ve always said about our partnership that gives us a higher likelihood of performing well in a down market is we don’t have service partners, we don’t have nonequity partners, and we’ve got business development in the genes of our partners across practices.”
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Thumbs up to him for identifying one of the real problems: tons of non-equity partners.
https://abovethelaw.com/2020/05/biglaw-chair-on-what-it-takes-to-weather-the-covid-19-storm-without-layoffs-or-salary-cuts/
Avoid this firm like the plague.
If people on the outside knew how rotten it is on the inside, people would be ashamed of being associated with it and it would be rock bottom in the league table. It’s about time people knew how this firm is trying to make money and exposed for what it is.
The email from the partner on the Global Management Committee below is just the tip of the iceberg.
https://abovethelaw.com/2020/05/partner-shows-all-the-compassion-youd-expect-from-biglaw-read-none-at-all/
NO SHAME!!!!!! This person sits on the firm’s Global Management Committee + benefits from guaranteed compensation of 5m dollars per year
Above the Law is right to conclude that it’s “tough sh–” and many have already been booted out from admin staff to associates
He also told the reporter who confronted him Vivia Chen, “We’ve done above and beyond what firms have done during coronavirus. Our people are well taken care of. We’ve taken care of our people and will continue to do so.”
This firm has done JACK SH*T other than line up people for them them to dumped.
Since he is on the Management Committee he should know that the firm has not said anything about its plans publicly - it is the f*cking shadiest firm of them all!
That guy has the cheek to call associates out for thinking they’re on a “gravy train” (quote) when he is on 5 million dollars GUARANTEED (G.U.A.R.A.N.T.E.E.D) for 3 YEARS IN A ROW.
If it couldn’t get any worse, the Kirkland partner who sent that e-mail is said to have been promised guaranteed compensation for 3 years!!
“ Kirkland has not shied away from using guaranteed offers to lure top talent over the past decade: .....and gave $5 million a year for three years to M&A partner Andrew Calder to take him away from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett...”
https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020/02/06/is-guaranteed-compensation-a-savvy-lateral-lure-or-an-unnecessary-risk/
Maybe he’s concerned the firm won’t be able to pay his guaranteed compensation?
Dissecting the e-mail from the Kirkland partner as reported below:
“Am pretty shocked and the math is not going to work out well for you at the end of the year.”
—>> what’s really happening: —>> it has already started stealth layoffs
“Given the market you should feel extremely lucky to be in an institution with too much work.”
—>> what’s really happening: —>> really? you have too much work? if there was too much work, then why do you think it’s not showing up in billables?? maybe it’s because YOU’VE REALIZED THAT YOU’VE HIRED TOO MANY PEOPLE FOR THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT’S ACTUALLY COMING IN???? Saying that this firm has too much is a JOKE.
STOP TREATING STAFF LIKE KIDS and face up to the truth that this firm isn’t doing as well you thought it would.
You may be as abusive as you like but if this virus has taught anyone anything it’s to a bully like yourself that your firm is not invincible.