Kirkland quietly makes 225 partners, but refuses to announce the promotions

Kirkland & Ellis breaks tradition with record partner round kept entirely under wraps

Kirkland & Ellis has quietly promoted at least 225 lawyers to partner in its latest round, setting a new record for the firm but breaking with its long-standing tradition of publicly announcing the appointments.

The figure, uncovered by research firm Pirical, was compiled using publicly available data that identified “at least 225 partner promotions”. The finding confirms speculation that the world’s largest law firm by revenue had conducted a major partner intake earlier this month without issuing its usual announcement.

The decision to remain silent marks a significant shift for a firm known for its rapid internal growth and highly publicised success. Industry sources suggested the move may have been intended to avoid drawing attention to the number of non-equity promotions or the pace at which some newly elevated partners depart. A source familiar with the matter told industry publication Law.com that many of those made up are non-equity partners and that some ultimately leave soon after, creating what the source described as “negative attention on the list”.

Kirkland, which recorded an 80% revenue increase over five years to reach $8.8 billion in 2024, has not responded to requests for comment. The firm has long been known for its aggressive approach to career progression, using fast-tracked non-equity promotions to attract and retain top legal talent.

Pirical’s analysis also revealed that around 90% of the promotions were in the United States, with Chicago leading at 58 new partners, followed by New York City with 45 and Houston with 20. The offices showing the fastest growth relative to size were Salt Lake City, which expanded by 31%, Miami by 29%, and the Bay Area by 23%. Outside the US, London remained a key growth hub with 19 promotions, while Hong Kong, Beijing and Paris saw smaller additions.

The firm’s practice mix remained consistent with previous years. Mergers and acquisitions dominated with 41 promotions, followed by litigation with 32, investment funds and corporate with 26 each, restructuring and insolvency with 16, and banking and finance with 14. Kirkland’s dominance in M&A continues to drive its overall performance. It ranked fourth in the London Stock Exchange Group’s global M&A advisory table for the first nine months of 2025, handling $383.2 billion in deals, having topped the same table the previous year. Its M&A team has worked on some of the largest transactions of the year, including EA’s $55 billion take-private deal and the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centres.

The promotions also come during a period of intense competition for senior lawyers. In May, the firm recruited a high-profile M&A team from Skadden in Boston, led by Graham Robinson, while simultaneously losing prominent partners to Ropes & Gray and Paul Hastings. Reports last year indicated that Kirkland had introduced a policy allowing it to withhold deferred pay from departing partners, following several defections to Freshfields and Paul Weiss in London and New York.

The firm’s partnership structure continues to evolve. Around two-thirds of Kirkland’s 1,600 partners are now believed to be salaried rather than equity partners, and approximately one in ten of those promoted in 2024 had already left within a year. Despite this churn, the latest figures indicate Kirkland remains firmly in expansion mode, continuing to elevate record numbers of lawyers across its global network.

By quietly making its largest-ever round of promotions, Kirkland has signalled both confidence in its business model and caution about public scrutiny. Whether this new approach reflects a broader strategic shift or a temporary change of tone, it confirms that Kirkland’s growth shows no signs of slowing — even if the firm prefers not to talk about it.