Kendall’s Career Story

The constant evolution of my job is one of the main factors that keeps me at Kirkland. I’m always confident that each day will provide opportunities to test out new skills and push myself on challenging assignments. As I reflect on my career since law school, I’m impressed by the exponential growth I’ve experienced thus far and how I continue to develop my own style of lawyering.

The Kirkland Chicago office offers a unique Midwestern culture and communal atmosphere. For example, my floor gets together on a biweekly basis to enjoy lunch in our common area, which offers a great opportunity to catch up with other attorneys, whether it be about their recent matters or fun, upcoming travel plans.

I recently had a full-circle opportunity where I worked on the pending multibillion-dollar sale of a global payments company. The acquisition of the company was the first M&A deal on which I was staffed as a first-year associate. It was remarkable to experience the full lifecycle of the investment, in addition to seeing how much I’d grown professionally since the original acquisition.

Intellectually rigorous work is an integral part of the Kirkland experience. However, the most fulfilling aspect is being able to tackle these complex deals with teams of attorneys who are willing to roll up their sleeves in pursuit of our team’s and our client’s collective success.

Consistent with Kirkland’s emphasis on entrepreneurship, the open assignment system empowers attorneys to take ownership of their careers from day one. From a substantive perspective, the system gives you the ability to raise your hand for matters that you find valuable or exciting, allowing you to handcraft your development and skillset. From a more personal perspective, the system gives you the opportunity to work with, and learn from, a variety of attorneys with a wide range of clients and work styles.

I had the opportunity to spend two summers in the Kirkland Chicago office before joining as an associate. After gaining valuable exposure to corporate legal work during my first year as a summer associate, it was great to come back to gain further exposure while also building upon my connections with attorneys, staff and other associates, many of whom continue to be an integral part of my journey at Kirkland.

We have access to an extensive platform of training sessions and materials that our knowledge management and training teams tailor for each stage of our development. I often reference these helpful materials as I encounter new skills and topics in practice.

Although Kirkland has an unparalleled formal training program that I leverage in my day-to-day, I find myself most impressed with the informal training I’ve received over the past few years. Partners and associates of all levels will take the time to explain various topics, ranging from why we addressed unique challenges the way we did to micro-level drafting choices.