Kirkland & Ellis International LLP - True Picture

Kirkland & Ellis training contract review 2025

The Firm

We here at Chambers Student know a thing or two about magic words – please, thank you, abracadabra – but here are two that people don’t think of as often: legal elite. Truly, the most magical thing about the words is that the minute you say them, there’s one firm that instantly pops into your head. “At Kirkland & Ellis, we do precedent-setting work for leading sponsor clients in the market, and we dictate the terms of those very deals,” an insider gushed. As the highest-grossing firm in the world, it is certainly hard to miss Kirkland. In fact, we can probably bet this firm's feature is the first one you thought to look at on our site. Lesser known, perhaps, to those of you getting to know the landscape of the legal market better, is the bit behind the magic curtain. Need you look no further, as training principal Rajinder Bassi confirms, “Kirkland’s primary focus is private equity. All the major deals done in the market, Kirkland & Ellis has been involved in most of them and is often featured as number one in that space.”

“Outside of our stellar private equity-focused corporate team, we have many market-leading practices, including our restructuring practice,” Bassi notes. “Recently, it worked on a complex and contentious UK restructuring plan for McDermott and following an unprecedented six-day sanction hearing, the Kirkland restructuring and litigation teams managed to get it approved by the English courts.” This restructuring prowess has been awarded top marks in our sister guide Chambers UK, as well as the firm’s private equity buyouts, investment funds, tax and banking & finance expertise. From fundraising to exits, each department supports each stage of the private equity life cycle, so it’s fair to say having an interest in the practice is essential!

“…not only does that give the firm a more dynamic feel as people are on the ‘up’ in their careers, but they’re hungry to learn and motivated to win clients!”

“We have lots of different personalities; there are a diverse range of people, but they share some common features – namely being ambitious, driven and entrepreneurial,” Bassi says. And so, beyond the appeal of the firm’s private equity prowess (try saying that three times fast,) some career-driven trainees are already looking years ahead. “At the core of it was the six-year non-share partner track,” one insider divulged when we asked about career progression at the firm. “Here, most of the partnership are in their 30s or early 40s, rather than those at established City firms. So not only does that give the firm a more dynamic feel as people are on the ‘up’ in their careers, but they’re hungry to learn and motivated to win clients!”

With continual growth, the headline news at the over 500-lawyer-strong London office is “we’re moving across the road!” In 2025, Kirkland will wave goodbye to the iconic Gherkin and move to 40 Leadenhall: “It’s going to be all-singing, all-dancing,” one interviewee laughed. Another excitedly detailed: “It’s going to be an incredible upgrade,” with the new building including “a cinema room, wellbeing centre, gym, auditorium and rooftop terraces!”

The Seats

With three compulsory seats, trainees should be ready to jump into corporate/M&A, debt finance and investment funds. “These three are the backbone of business in London, and by doing these, you’re going to be a well-rounded transactional lawyer!” an insider proclaimed. There is a selection of optional seats to choose from such as restructuring, financial services regulatory, litigation, and antitrust. A smaller trainee cohort means seat allocation is a largely informal affair consisting of a chat with graduate recruitment to express your interests.

“Being part of the negotiations – the back and forth over terms – that was really cool!”

Investment funds is one of the largest practices at Kirkland; “it’s super big! The team here has around 100 lawyers working on fund formation and fundraising.” Clients include Bridgepoint Credit, Pollen Street Capital and Apax; here, the team is advising Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure on its sale of General Atlantic, which will result in them managing assets valued at an eye-watering $96 billion (yes, with a ‘b’). “You see everything from massive mega-funds to much smaller boutique funds and secondaries work,” another outlined. Trainees explained that “at the moment, secondaries are becoming more common with the current market, so we’ve been getting more involved with continuing for portfolio companies.” Sources mentioned working on “some really big funds – about 100 LPs – reviewing their subscription forms to see what vehicle their money is going into and collating that data, working on side letters (which is really interesting because they each have terms about how their money is used): that’s all really good drafting experience.” A highlight for one was “being part of the negotiations, the back and forth over terms – that was really cool!”

“Corporate has been my favourite seat. It’s very much what you’d expect when it comes to classic private equity and M&A deals,” a newbie enthused, adding that “it’s very fast-paced.” Another of the larger practices at Kirkland, the firm’s corporate/M&A offerings span private and public M&A deals, buyouts, investments and joint ventures. Recently, Kirkland advised Apollo on its all-cash acquisition of The Restaurant Group, the UK’s largest hospitality business, and has clients such as Blackstone, KKR and Hellman & Friedman on the books. “There’s no typical day,” an insider noted. “There is so much to do that Monday will always look different to Tuesday.” As a guide, however, interviewees highlighted due diligence as a staple task, alongside process-oriented work such as coordinating the signing and closing of deals, and some drafting of reports. To develop those essential skills, “trainees and NQs get to work on the NDA rota. So, we get the first look at reviewing them and their provisions and get to argue our points.”

“People think it’s just about money for clients to buy things, but it’s so much more dynamic!”

In the debt finance practice, there is a focus on the borrower side of transactions. Here, the team works on everything from leveraged acquisitions and public company financing to debt restructuring. On that note, it was highlighted that “with the current market, there isn’t a lot of new debt available, so we’re doing a lot more refinancing. People think it’s just about money for clients to buy things, but it’s so much more dynamic!” Recently, the firm has gone on to advise PAI on the refinancing of one of their funds valued at €1.2 billion, after having previously worked on the original financing. In debt, the teams are leanly staffed, so trainees get good exposure to negotiations with leaders. “While you need to earn trust before you get your teeth stuck in,” a newbie noted, “I’ve been given a ton of drafting experience.”

Over in restructuring, the team advises financially distressed companies. For instance, the firm has been WeWork(ing) to advise the headline catching company on its bankruptcy cases valued at $3 billion encompassing over 30 jurisdictions. The practice offerings include representing debtors, investors and creditors through financial and operational restructuring and insolvency proceedings, allowing trainees get involved in reviewing and research. Insiders outlined: “You get the opportunity to do things such as review distressed stages of different companies and create a list of when to advise them. You might get involved in something like an enforcement style shareholder takeover. So, you might spend a whole day understanding a debt structure or preparing for the restructuring process, or another day working on removing a point of directors or even attending court depending on the matter.”

Trainee Life

Trainees kick off their time at Kirkland with formal training covering all the essentials relating to the firm’s core practices and soft skills. Junior mentors have been introduced for each seat rotation:“they introduce you to your new team, and you’re encouraged to have lunch with them before you start as it can be daunting. Really, they are there for you to ask questions you feel are too stupid to ask your supervisor!”

“You learn more by doing more. It’s not something that people shy away from here.”

The emphasis placed on real-time training and individual responsibility is very much valued by trainees, so, like anything worth having, you get out of it what you’re willing to put in. “You learn more by doing more,” an interviewee confirmed. “It’s not something that people shy away from here.” Typically, trainees share an office with their supervisor and “you get advice on how to improve things. I always hit mine up for a coffee – this sort of open dialogue is pushed here,” one source praised. Everybody is expected to be in the office Tuesday to Thursday, with the option to work remotely Monday and Friday. On this, Bassi offers some advice: “What I would say is if you are a young trainee, it would probably be of great benefit to be in the office more often, as you learn a lot from observing others practising law.”

The nature of private equity is fast-paced work and long hours, so don’t be surprised that “in a busy week, there are post-midnight finishes,” although a rookie shared that “when you are working late, there’s a sense of team spirit.” That said, you’ll be glad to hear that such hours aren’t unique to Kirkland but across American firms in London. Hence, “we’re at the top of the trainee market in terms of salary. We’re extremely well compensated as NQs, the jump – it’s an insane amount of pay for someone so young.” Indeed, though first year trainees are paid a handsome £60k, this reaches a whopping $225,000 upon qualification.

“People make time for juniors and trainees; I was pleasantly surprised by how normal and approachable everyone is.”

“We can’t help being known for being ambitious,” an insider humble-bragged, chuckling: “We’ve not lost that spirit! In the office, there’s no one I’m not comfortable speaking with. People make time for juniors and trainees; I was pleasantly surprised by how normal and approachable everyone is.” As such, trainees enjoy the social calendar, with ad hoc get-togethers, team socials and celebratory closing dinners. Beyond these, seasonal events and countryside retreats are also on the cards.

As for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, sources praised: “It’s a focus. The firm is working very hard on it.” With a variety of committees to get involved in that each host their own events, “they have the balance in creating an inclusive space and broader access.” Mentorship is an unmissable opportunity here, as this newbie shared: “I’ve met people I’d consider mentors – senior partners talk about their careers, pressures they felt and industry changes.” In terms of representation, “there is a real mix of backgrounds, and lots of people here are qualified in Canada, India and China.” This is further evidenced by the largely positive response from survey respondents about diverse staffing on matters and deals, scoring well above the market average.

Come qualification in spring, “it’s very organic,” a second-year trainee told us. Qualifying trainees confirm their practice group choices with the training principal and recruitment team, though they are very welcome to “chat with the teams you’re interested in” to maintain relationships as they rotate through the training contract. In 2024, the firm retained a full house of qualifiers.

How to get a Kirkland & Ellis training contract

Vacation scheme deadline: 31 December 2024

Training contract deadline: 31 December 2024

Law fairs

Kirkland & Ellis offers up to 15 training contracts each year, and attends law fairs at Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Exeter, King's College London, LSE, Oxford, and UCL.

Recruitment process

Applicants are invited to complete an online application form. They'll also upload their CVs, write a cover letter, fill out the usual details (academic history, work experience and so forth) and answer a couple of more in-depth questions.

Applicants are advised to read the application form carefully. Our Kirkland sources tell us, "Some applicants do not answer the specific question being asked. This is perhaps either because they haven't taken their time when reading it, and/or because they have copied an answer from another application form which asks a similar question, but is in fact slightly different. Attention to detail is a really important skill to demonstrate. It is also important to ensure that you tailor your application and cover letter specifically for Kirkland & Ellis. If you don't get these simple things right then it makes it more difficult for us to progress the application to the next stage given the strong competition."

Firm recruiters also urge candidates to research the firm thoroughly before applying. “There’s a huge amount of information about the London office online, particularly in our graduate recruitment brochure (available on our graduate recruitment website). Pick up on our clients, the deals we've worked on and what lawyers are expected to do here. All firms in London offer something different, so you have to think about why you want to come here, and what you can offer through your previous experiences and achievements.”

Each year Kirkland receives over 1,000 applications for up to 15 training contract places. Following a video interview stage, the firm runs assessment days in late January and early February. The day involves a group exercise, an in-tray exercise, and a chance to meet with some partners at the firm. Our graduate recruitment source tells us the first is designed to assess how well candidates interact and work with other people, “which is important given trainees will often be working in small teams,” while the latter tests their ability to prioritise.

Interviews

The final stage of the recruitment process is an interview with at least two partners. According to the firm, interviewers are looking to get a feel for a candidate's personality, business acumen and motivations. Some might pose situational questions to get interviewees thinking on their feet, but we're told questions will never be overly technical: “Applicants aren’t expected to have strong legal knowledge at this stage, as we accept applications from both law and non-law backgrounds.” Showing some understanding of the private equity (PE) market is a good idea though, given the firm's focus on PE and transactional work. Our advice? Read up on what PE funds do; know who the big PE firms are, and the range of companies they buy and sell, but don't worry if you don't understand the intricate make-up of different fund structures.