Kirkland & Ellis Reviews

Pros

The compensation and benefits are great; Work hard / Play hard environment; Very stable company to work for; Brand new building is Chicago is amazing;

Cons

It is a fairly flat organization so opportunities to move up are somewhat limited; Work life balance is often not balanced;

Pros

Best compensation and very talented co-workers

Cons

The general attitude is that associates will come in, bill a ton of hours and then leave in a few years. Several of my colleauges were forced out at every level of seniority during my time there.

Pros

Great reputation; smart lawyers; excellent private equity client base; great restructuring practice

Cons

Unclear and unsatisfying review process; wants to be a public M&A shop but isn't

Pros

training; opportunities; compensation; team members; good client contact

Cons

demanding job; otherwise no real downside

Pros

Great compensation and smart people.

Cons

Long Hours, almost impossible to make partner

Advice to Senior Management

Its pretty simple, stop laying people off!!!!

Pros

Salary is quite good
Medical benefits are good
cheap movie tickets (they offer discounts which makes a ticket around $5)
straight forward projects

Cons

Management (especially if they are related to one of the attorneys there)
Overbearing managers
attitude of attorneys towards employees who are not in the legal field.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more respectful towards employees and to not bully them
Dont talk about employees behind their backs and create an atmosphere of tension

Pros

Nice looking decor. pay was competitive.

Cons

Attorneys can be tough. No nonsense firm environment.

Advice to Senior Management

None.

Pros

Benefits
Breakfast Service
Competent Managers
Vacation time (3 wks to start)

Cons

Lower than average salary
Attorneys' every whim are indulged to the point of ridiculousness
Departments are very silo-like in operations

Advice to Senior Management

More cross-functionality to make work easier
Disciplinary measures for badly behaving attorneys

Pros

Fair compensation, overtime, Defined Contribution.

Cons

Limited Growth potential, slow rise in compensation.

Advice to Senior Management

Maintain work life balance and be proactive.

Pros

Great clients. Interesting work. You are rewarded with challenging work if you show that you can handle it. This is not a job where you simply make binders all day, although you might also do that. Intelligent people. Great people to work with.

Cons

Work life balance. Senior managers/partners do not have managing skills. You are mostly on an island. Communication is sometimes awful, if you are a reactive person this is not a good fit.

Advice to Senior Management

Talk to your people. Make people feel valued. Actually take the time to write a review and show gratitude for a job well done.