Kirkland & Ellis posted healthy increases to both its top and bottom lines in 2012, with the firm’s gross revenue jumping 11 percent, to $1.937 billion, and its profits per partner rising 6.5 percent, to $3.25 million, according to The American Lawyer‘s reporting. Revenue per lawyer increased 5 percent, to $1.275 million.
Last year’s solid financial performance suggests the aggressive lateral hiring strategy Kirkland has pursued in recent years is paying off. Those coming aboard amid that push include M&A partners David Fox and Daniel Wolf, who joined Kirkland from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in 2009; an eight-partner group of lateral hires in Hong Kong that included Nicholas Norris and Dominic Tsun from Skadden and David Zhang from Latham & Watkins; and prominent intellectual property litigator Leora Ben-Ami, who arrived from Kaye Scholer last year with three other partners. The past few months have seen the firm continue to bolster its corporate ranks with the additions of former Cravath, Swaine & Moore M&A partner Sarkis Jebejian and West Coast–based M&A partners Michael Ringler and Rick Madden from, respectively, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Skadden.
