Money talks: Inside City law’s eye-watering partner pay

Avatar photo

By Legal Cheek on

The Legal Cheek Podcast crunches the (big!) numbers


The numbers don’t lie, and when you’re earning more in two days than most people make in a year, there’s no reason they would.

This week on The Legal Cheek Podcast, Julia Szaniszlo and Tom Connelly dig
into the headline-grabbing financial results of Kirkland & Ellis, the first law firm in history to break the $10 billion revenue barrier, with profit per equity partner hitting a staggering $11.1 million (£8.2 million).

Julia and Tom break down what profit per equity partner actually means in practice, from the “eat what you kill” pressure that comes with it, to the eye- watering daily earnings that put even Premier League footballers to shame.

They also explore the mechanics behind such extraordinary profitability: the dominance of private capital and the growth of the non-equity partner tier that
has turbocharged US firms’ margins across the City.

You can listen to the podcast in full via the embed above, or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

The 2026 Legal Cheek Firms Most List

Join the conversation

Related Stories

Kirkland & Ellis partners earned £22,000 a day last year

Premier League footballer levels

Mar 18 2026 1:46pm
20

The rise of the non-equity partner

As Freshfields reportedly adopts an approach favoured by leading US firms, Legal Cheek explores the key differences behind this model and the motivations driving firms to embrace it

Feb 25 2026 8:55am
3