Chicago-founded law firm becomes first to break $10bn barrier for annual revenues
Partners at Kirkland & Ellis took home a record $11.1mn each last year as it became the first law firm to break $10bn in annual revenues. The Chicago-founded firm’s equity partners, who share in its profits, were paid an average of $11.1mn for 2025, according to a person with knowledge of the financial results, a 20 per cent increase on 2024. Kirkland’s growth continued despite tougher times in the private equity sector, which has powered its business in recent years, making it the world’s highest-grossing law firm.
The firm also reported a record $10.6bn in revenue in 2025, up from $8.8bn the previous year. The figures, first reported by industry publication The American Lawyer, cover a period in which global dealmaking surged but many private equity firms were left struggling to sell companies they had bought at hefty valuations several years ago. Global dealmaking topped $4tn in 2025 for the first time since the boom of 2021, fuelled by a record number of megadeals. But private equity activity lagged behind the wider recovery.
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