The firm, which established a merger with Bell Boyd & Lloyd in 2009, counted 170 lawyers among its ranks in the Windy City – down from Bell Boyd’s 2006 record of 233.
Client conflicts
But it now lists 128 lawyers in the city, with some reports suggesting stricter compensation policies, higher overheads and client conflicts as the main reasons for lawyers leaving.
K&L chairman Peter Kalis suggests, in an email seen by the Chicago Business web site that ‘law firms can achieve addition through subtraction’. He adds that the firm’s Chicago revenue is actually up 13 per cent this year, and is expected to match or exceed 2008’s $110 million.
Pay cuts
According to the report, several former and current K&L partners have attributed resignations this year to an expiration of merger-related curbs on pay cuts, and to a mid-January announcement that 2011 firm-wide earnings would decline an unexpected 13 to 14 per cent.
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