Kirkland & Ellis International LLP - True Picture

Kirkland & Ellis training contract review 2026

The Firm 

Kickstarting your legal career might seem daunting, but if there was ever a motto to live by, ‘it’s aim high and then aim higher.’ Following that very ideal is one of the most prestigious law firms in the world, with the highest grossing revenue and shiny six-year path to non-equity partnership. Kirkland & Ellis is a mainstay in the legal headlines: “We are at the forefront of the private capital space both in terms of the number of deals done, and the value of deals as well,” training principal Adrian Duncan tells us – topping the global buyout charts at an eye-watering $183.1 billion across 22 offices worldwide in 2024.  

As a result, Kirkland is an immediate attraction for driven, ambitious trainees ready to start their legal careers off in the iconic Gherkin. That said, we heard that the firm’s 500-strong London office has recently “moved to 40 Leadenhall - a state-of-the-art building.” As former training principal Rajinder Bassi highlights: “The firm is very excited about the new building. Our space is designed to encourage collaboration and the building offers great facilities, from terraces, coffee shops and restaurants to a bespoke gym – it seems to have it all.” 

The firm’s primary focus is private equity, and its practice covers the entire life-cycle from fundraising to exits. “We act for hundreds of private equity sponsor clients and dealing with all their needs,” Bassi explains; “fundamentally, Kirkland has always tried to achieve being number one in all core areas: transactional (including corporate, finance and capital markets), investment funds, litigation and restructuring.” 

Our sister guide Chambers UK doesn’t contradict it either, Kirkland receives top-tier acknowledgements for its private equity buyouts, investment funds, secondaries, banking & finance, restructuring and tax practices, alongside praise for its capital markets, fund finance, and patent litigation know-how.  

“Kirkland was the perfect opportunity for me and my career.”

Up to 15 trainees join the London hub each year, and sources highlighted just how important the emphasis on on-the-job learning and individual responsibility was to them during the search: “I had no interest in being one of hundred, it just didn’t appeal.” What’s more, coupled with the progression opportunities available (“There is a six-year partner track which is more desirable for upwards mobility!”), “Kirkland was the perfect opportunity for me and my career.” So, what type of candidate is the firm looking for? “Being a team player, committed and hard-working, are the types of qualities that we want to see during the interview stage,” Duncan confirms.  

The Seats 

Rookies should be ready to dive into three core seats, investment funds; corporate M&A; and debt finance – aka “the three cornerstones of private equity work.” There is a variety of non-core seats too, which may include restructuring; litigation; financial services regulatory; antitrust and tax. Being a part of a smaller trainee cohort, seat allocation is a more informal conversation with graduate recruitment, where trainees can express an interest a non-core practice group (preferences are taken into account where possible but are not guaranteed). 

“You’re helping to run the whole process of organizing investors and making sure it’s all in order before closing a fund, which can be a mega task for big funds! 

Kicking off with one of the biggest practices at Kirkland, investment funds has over 90 lawyers working on private fund formation, liquidity solutions, investment management, regulatory counsel, support and strategic advice in the City. From boutiques to financial institutions and alternative asset managers, clients such as Inflexion, Nordic Capital and EQT make up the books. “Primarily, its advising private sponsors on investments into funds,” insiders explained, “recently, secondaries have become more popular as funds reach maturity. If there is a desire for it to continue, they can be advised on continuation vehicles.” We heard that its process-heavy work, requiring trainees to be “alert and responsive.”

Day to day, trainees described tracking all the investors entering a fund, “which can be hundreds,” reviewing their subscription documents and negotiating side letter terms. With an emphasis on project management: “You’re helping to run the whole process of organising investors and making sure it’s all in order before closing a fund, which can be a mega task for big funds!” In one recent example, the firm advised Basalt Infrastructure Partners on the formation of and fundraising for Basalt Infrastructure Partners IV. 

The corporate/M&A practice advises across the full spectrum of corporate matters including acquisitions, take privates, minority investments, carve outs, reorganisations, restructurings and exits. Big names such as Apax, Bain Capital Private Equity and Hellman & Friedman dot the extensive client list. For the fans of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Shakira and Neil Young, you’ll no doubt be interested to learn that the team advised Blackstone on its £1.75 billion take private acquisition of the UK-listed investment company, Hipgnosis, a music IP rights specialist. “Trainees get involved with everything from beginning to end,” one interviewee told us, “a deal can start and be over within a month!” as such its very fast paced work. Process management and due diligence are core trainee tasks: “You get to grips with it quickly; you’re immediately up and running.” That’s alongside picking up the pen to draft ancillaries and liaising with local and specialist counsel too. Sources highlighted that “there is a lot of responsibility working on NDAS, calling up with other side and negotiating – it’s great for learning!” 

Focusing on sponsor side transactions, the debt finance practice has expanded and diversified, predominantly handling private equity, infrastructure, real estate and fund financing. In one recent example, the team advised Harp Bidco, a special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAV) financed by a consortium, on the £5.4 billion take private cash acquisition of the UK’s largest investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown.“It’s a great balance of process management and driving things forward,” sources emphasised, taking on the conditions precedent (CP) checklist, implementing comments and taking a cut at drafting ancillaries, even a facility agreement in some cases. “Financing documents can be very specific, so whilst you might not be in charge of drafting or finding a solution,” an insider noted, “you’re still invited to those conversations.”  

“…we get really knotty and tricky deals, but there is never a team more willing to unpick things.” 

Built around providing advice for financially distressed companies, the restructuring practice represents debtors, investors and creditors through financial and operational restructuring and insolvency proceedings: “It’s top-tier – we get really knotty and tricky deals, but there is never a team more willing to unpick things.” As a snapshot, the team has advised companies such as WeWork and Cineworld. In one recent case, the team successfully advised global engineering group, McDermott International, on extending its $2.6 billion secured debt and releasing $2 billion in unsecured litigation claims in a contentious English restructuring plan.

Rookie tasks include research, “looking at the upcoming maturity on debts and financial statements, seeing who might not be able to repay, and then pitching ideas and solutions to rejig the capital structure.” Interviewees recalled getting exposure to different restructuring schemes, from consensual restructurings between stakeholders to contentious restructuring plans, noting that “no restructuring is the same!” On the debt enforcement side of things, “I ended up in court,” a source shared, “cross-reviewing documents, pulling together financing agreements and underlying contracts, and making sure with court deadlines that the documents submitted were completely correct and without typos.”  

Trainee Life 

With an undeniable emphasis on-the-job learning and responsibility, “You’re encouraged to take on as much as possible,” insiders confirmed, “things become second nature the more reps you do.” Newbies have an induction to help them learn the ropes, for example “there is a funds bootcamp run by a partner which goes into the training contract, what a fund is and the different documents you will come across.” There are also team-wide sessions supplementing knowledge throughout. Incoming first years are assigned a second-year trainee buddy and also have a junior mentor for each seat rotation: “There is an emphasis on making sure you have mentors in each team; there is the sense that you are never alone.” 

Continuing the theme of development, trainees share an office with their supervisor, a senior associate or partner, and “often they give you work and direct feedback.” Given the free-market work allocation system across most practices, they are also encouraged to take work from a range of partners to broaden their experiences. Everybody is expected to be in the office Monday through Thursday, with the option to work remotely Friday. Bassi adds: “From the trainee perspective, it is sensible to be in as much as possible - four or five days a week - as you learn so much from being in the environment, watching people and listening in, which enhances your learning.” 

“It’s driven, ambitious and dynamic, but people are normal and do things well and fully.” 

On the firm culture, “It’s driven, ambitious and dynamic,” sources were quick to highlight, “but people are normal and do things well and fully.” Aligned by ambition, “understanding that people want to pursue their careers, makes it easy to slot in.” That said, we have it on good authority that “people like to have fun and chat. I’ve made some really good friends and mentors at Kirkland.” While it can be very busy, time is carved out to relax. From grabbing coffee, the semi-annual trainee socials, occasional team get-togethers and retreats, practice specific social events, the firm-wide summer and black-tie Christmas party, there is plenty to look forward to.  

As is part of the bargain at American law firms in the City, the hours are long, especially with private equity work. Insiders described an average week between 40 – 50 hours but emphasised that “when its busy, its every waking hour, sometimes until 5am at its worst.” Given the transactional peaks and troughs, “it can be very busy, followed by silence after a deal – and everyone respects that,” an interviewee reassured. In return, compensation is highly competitive, starting at £60,000 for trainees and skyrocketing to top of the market for NQs at $225,000. 

We heard thatthe qualification process is comparatively informal. Beforehand and throughout, candidates are encouraged to keep in touch with the teams they’re interested in: “In the run-up, you check in with them over coffee or lunch,” a source recalled. Traditionally, qualifiers submit their practice group choice to the training principal and recruitment team. In 2025, Kirkland retained all 12 qualifiers – all aboard! 

How to get a Kirkland & Ellis training contract 

Vacation scheme deadline: 14 December 2025 

Training contract deadline: 14 December 2025 

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, 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.

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.