Kirkland & Ellis has posted another barnstorming performance, with gross revenue increasing by 20% to hit $10.56bn in 2025.
The preliminary results, published by Law.com, saw average profit per equity partner also increase by 20% to reach $11.1m. The results are comparable to 2024, when revenue increased by 22% with PEP up by 16%.
According to Law.com, the 2025 performance was achieved against the background of only a small increase in the number of equity partners, which rose by 3.8% to reach 595, helping to explain the strong jump in PEP.
However, publicly available data tracked by Pirical indicates there was a much larger jump in the size of the total partnership, which increased by 147, representing growth of 8%.
In October, the firm hit the headlines thanks to its decision not to publish its October partner appointments round, which amounted to at least 225 promotions, a record for the firm, according to Pirical.
Kirkland declined to confirm the results or comment on them.
According to Pirical, the world’s largest law firm by revenue grew its total lawyer headcount in 2025 by 5% to 4,239. The litigation team added the most lawyers, with the headcount increasing by 8% to 908. The burgeoning corporate team, by far the largest in the firm, grew by 3% to 1,672.
The firm’s focus on growing its US litigation practice was underlined in December when it hired the co-heads of Orrick’s complex litigation and dispute resolution practice, trial lawyers Meghan Kelly and Bill Oxley, the latest of more than 150 laterals added to its litigation practice over the year.
In terms of its geographic footprint, its largest office, New York, added the most lawyers, with headcount increasing by nearly 50, representing a 5% increase.
Its London arm – the third largest in its network – added 38 lawyers to reach a headcount of 557, a 7% increase.
Among its highlight deals over 2025, included its role in September advising the consortium of investors that acquired video game maker EA for $55bn, the largest take-private investment in history.
In October, it advised Blackstone and TPG on the $18.3bn take-private of Hologic in October – the largest acquisition of a medical device company since 2006 – while back in April it advised Thoma Bravo on its $10.55bn acquisition of parts of Boeing’s digital aviation unit.
Kirkland sparked controversy in April when it was one of nine firms, including Paul Weiss, Latham & Watkins, A&O Shearman and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, which pledged a total of $940m in free legal work to avoid similar executive orders.
Latham, the second-largest firm by revenue, has yet to report on its 2025 financial performance. Last year, it grew revenue by 23% to hit $7bn and PEP by $7bn, against a bullish 29% rise in profit per equity partner (PEP) to $7.1m.
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