Sources close to the firm have reported that Kirkland & Ellis is changing the way it allocates profit to equity partners. The Chicago-headquartered firm, which reviews its equity allocations every two years, has reportedly shifted its allocation scale for equity partners downwards from between 10 and 80 shares to now between 8.5 and 75 shares. With shares in Kirkland & Ellis valued at roughly $148,000 this year, according to one source, the changes translate into $11.1 million for those at the top end of the scale and $1.26 million for those at the bottom.

Prioritising corporate

Partners in the firm’s lucrative corporate and bankruptcy division are set to receive a larger allocation, while litigation partners have reportedly suffered the largest cuts to their share pools. ‘The general sense is that this is the most recent manifestation of the corporate people taking over the firm,’ one source told The American Lawyer, with at least two others describing the impact of the changes on litigation partners as a ‘bloodbath.’ The changes will come into effect on 1 February, when Kirkland’s new fiscal year begins. The firm has not yet issued a public statement on the reported changes.

Sources: The American Lawyer; ABA Journal