Training Contracts at Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis is highly regarded as one of the most successful American law firms in the City and in turn looks to recruit ‘confident and charismatic individuals who are independent workers’ and who are ‘ready to take the initiative’. The London office is duly situated in one of the most iconic buildings in the City – the Gherkin. The firm only takes on a select number of trainees each year with up to ten training contracts available.

Trainees are generally very satisfied with their training which involves ‘great exposure’ to high-quality work and ‘as much responsibility as you can handle’. As one trainee tells us, you may frequently find yourself ‘working on tasks usually carried out by junior associates at other firms’. There is close and continuous contact between partners and trainees, and the ‘very open-door culture’ makes Kirkland & Ellis ‘a friendly place to work’.

The structure of the training contract resembles that of most other law firms in the City, consisting of four six-month seats typically in corporate (a compulsory seat), banking, restructuring, funds, IP, tax or international litigation/arbitration. ‘As the number of trainees is very small, there is a great degree of choice involved’ and trainees are particularly drawn to the fact that secondments can be completed in the firm’s international offices – trainees have been to New York and Hong Kong.

Due to the small intake, Kirkland & Ellis can be very selective in picking its candidates so the recruitment process is suitably competitive and extensive. The firm looks for confident, intelligent people that will fit in quickly and easily, and have an interest in the work the firm does. When you apply you’ll go through several rounds of interviews with a mix of partners and associates. Interviews are said to be ‘formal, but honest, relaxed and very fair’. The firm has a tendency ‘to recruit from Russell group universities’ and current trainees recommend that potential applicants ‘use their initiative and research the firm and the areas in which we specialise’ thoroughly before applying.

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Kirkland & Ellis Graduate Recruitment Info

Contact:

Kate Osborne

Graduate Recruitment Specialist

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 2000

Email: lontraineerecruit@kirkland.com

Application Deadlines:

Training Contracts: 31st July 2012

Vacation Scheme (summer): Applications close 31st January 2012

Kirkland & Ellis Profile & Stats

Chicago-based Kirkland & Ellis employs more than 1,500 lawyers, ranked seventh for average profit per partner in the US in 2010, was ranked in the top 10 of the Legal Business Global 100 in 2011, and is amongst the world’s top-grossing law firms. Kirkland has cemented its status and global position through its four core areas of expertise: corporate and tax, intellectual property, litigation, and restructuring. In the City, the firm’s office in the Gherkin is home to approximately 120 lawyers.

Kirkland & Ellis was founded in 1909 by Stuart Shepard and Robert McCormick. As the grandson of the founder of the Chicago Tribune, McCormick eventually left the firm to become the newspaper’s publisher. However, as a result of his outspoken editorial policy, he soon required a defamation defence team – in steps the eponymous Weymouth Kirkland, who had joined the firm in 1915. Together with a young associate, Howard Ellis, the duo played parts in many prominent trials, setting the firm on course to become one of the most powerful litigation practices in the US.

In the ‘90s, Kirkland’s largest private equity clients, the likes of Bain Capital and Madison Dearborn, were starting to invest their vast chests in assets on the continent – setting up their own London offices and European funds. So in 1994, Kirkland & Ellis followed them to the City to assist in structuring their investments. Even before the firm added UK law capability to its London practice in 2001, Kirkland would advise these American institutions on their deals, calling on local lawyers to help out where necessary. Additional offices followed, with the firm opening its second European office in 2004 in Munich, and expanding to Asia with a Hong Kong office just two years later, before cracking the bubbly again in Shanghai in 2009.

Half of Kirkland’s lawyers are litigators, so it probably shouldn’t come as any great surprise that their work accounts for half of the firm’s revenue. Kirkland is known for its doggedly aggressive approach, and while settlement is always an option, this is a firm that is ready, eager and confident to go to trial. The firm boasts an impressive private equity practice, with some 300 lawyers practising in the US alone. And while the firm’s M&A practice may get overshadowed by the renowned PE team, it doesn’t invalidate the fact that it does top-notch work. Some of Kirkland’s high-profile clients include Bain Capital, Motorola and General Motors.

In 1982, the firm established the Kirkland & Ellis Foundation, for the purpose of providing financial support to not-for-profit, charitable and law-related organisations – serving a wide range of communities, initiatives and people. Although focussing predominantly on groups that help improve legal services, the foundation actively seeks to partner with organisations committed to enhancing quality of life – through improved health care, educational opportunities, cultural awareness, emergency relief and humanitarian efforts, youth programs, public policy and community outreaches.

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