Kirkland & Ellis is known for making more partners than the average Biglaw shop — that’s good news if you’re looking to start your career at the firm. But, the bad news is they get elevated to nonshare partner status — a lower tier than equity partnership. After four years they’re eligible to be real life equity partners and the model has been described as “up [to the equity ranks] or out [of the firm].” With only about 20 percent of nonshare partners making it to the promised land of full fledged partnership, one has to wonder — where do all these talented lawyers wind up?
Well, it turns out “up or out” may not be a hard and fast rule at Kirkland. According to detailed reporting by the American Lawyer, of the attorneys elevated to nonshare partnership between 2010 and 2013, 43 percent are still at the firm. For those that do leave Kirkland, usually they wind up at other Biglaw firms (read: mostly King & Spalding and Sidley Austin):
The most common landing ground for Kirkland’s income partners is at other Am Law 200 firms. Across the four Kirkland income partner classes analyzed by The American Lawyer, roughly a quarter of those lawyers are now practicing at other firms, according to those firms’ websites, state bar registrations and individual profiles on professional networking website LinkedIn. Two of the most common firms for Kirkland refugees are King & Spalding and Sidley Austin.
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Other former Kirkland partners wound up in-house — 21 percent landed there, often with high profile jobs like Chief Legal Officer or General Counsel. Less than 10 percent turned to government work after leaving K&E. The balance started their own firms, became entrepreneurs, or wound up in academia.
Importantly, American Lawyer also noted some interesting gender disparities. Men were more likely to get the nod to be nonshare partners in the first place — 69 percent of partners in the classes analyzed were men. Men are also more likely to stay at the firm — 47 percent of men have stay compared with 31 percent of women. Women have a higher percentage of those going in-house post-K&E, 30 percent compared with 18.
What happens after you make partner, but not equity partner is an issue devoid of transparency. But in order to make informed decisions about the second half of your legal career — regardless of the firm you work at — you need information about the options available. This kind of data is invaluable for anyone considering a career in Biglaw.
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Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).