World’s highest-grossing law firm stops sharing financial figures with media
Kirkland & Ellis is changing its approach to financial reporting, with the US legal giant set to stop voluntarily providing its revenue and profit figures to the media.
The move, first reported by the Financial Times (£), marks a change for the Chicago-founded firm, which has historically supplied its figures to outlets including The American Lawyer.
Kirkland reportedly said the disclosures provided little “meaningful value” to clients and warned that featuring in the online rankings “could incentivise quantitative metrics over qualitative strengths”.
The move does not mean all of Kirkland’s financial information will disappear from public view. While the firm is not required to disclose its global results as a US private partnership, its UK business will continue to file accounts with Companies House.
The decision follows a record-breaking year for Kirkland, which became the first law firm to break the $10 billion revenue barrier in 2025, posting $10.6 billion (£7.9 billion). Average profit per equity partner (PEP) also climbed 20% to a staggering $11.1 million (£8.2 million), equivalent to almost £22,500 a day on average.
Kirkland is not alone in moving away from voluntary financial disclosures. In 2023, Magic Circle outfit Freshfields announced it would stop publishing its financial results, while Mishcon de Reya confirmed it would no longer disclose its PEP figure, arguing the metric was not particularly useful for its business.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List show Kirkland offers up to 15 training contracts in London, with candidates applying directly through its training contract application process. First-year trainees earn £70,000, rising to £75,000 in their second year, while newly qualified earn £175,000.
