Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
They’ve done a perfect job of it. You have Kirkland non-share partners on the recruiter’s speed dial, because they’re hot sh*t. It doesn’t matter that they aren’t equity. The recruiting firm gets to tell all their people, and clients, that we’ve collared a Kirkland partner, a real one. And they love it. It changes how the firm is seen in the market, the whole vibe. It makes firms feel like they’re players.
— A former Kirkland & Ellis partner, in anonymous comments given to the American Lawyer, concerning the impact that the top-ranked Biglaw firm’s nonequity partnership tier has had on the rest of the industry. The partner went on to refer to Kirkland’s salaried partnership tier as a “market changing hydra.” Now, all but a few of Biglaw’s best have announced the introduction of income partnership tiers.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
