Like it or not, Kirkland & Ellis is still the pinnacle of the commercial legal industry. By revenue, profits and reputation it has barged its way into the lead ahead of all other international law firms.
But that growth and success does not come without challenges, which are perhaps partly behind the defection of several of the firm’s best-known partners to Paul, Weiss, Rifkind & Garrison. At this stage it appears around six partners are making the move across the U.K. and the U.S. and the whole team could number more than 10 lawyers in all.
It is not all one way traffic. Kirkland itself hired Paul Weiss’s London head earlier this month. In fact, there appears to be something of a tit-for-tat battle going on between the two firms.
But isn’t it strange that Kirkland isn’t winning it? Paul Weiss is one of the finest law firms in America, but on a global level it trails Kirkland on almost every metric.
Here are five reasons why the group of partners might be making the move...
