Overview

Andrew Kassof leads Kirkland’s litigation practice globally and serves on the Firm’s Executive Committee.

Andrew has spearheaded the enormous growth of Kirkland’s litigation practice over the last several years. Bloomberg Law profiled that rapid growth in an article in 2025. As part of that expansion, Kirkland has added industry-leading talent across various types of litigation while opening and growing new offices for litigation in Salt Lake City, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia and Nashville. Kirkland now touts top-of-the-market practitioners across commercial litigation, product liability and mass torts, securities, antitrust, IP, government regulation, internal investigations and enforcement, private equity, sports and entertainment, real estate and other areas in offices around the globe. Andrew also leads Kirkland’s alternative fee program, which has expanded dramatically over the last five years.

In his practice, Andrew has earned multiple “Litigator of the Week” awards by The American Lawyer. In one case, the court “adopted” Andrew’s oral argument as “the grounds for its opinion” after “finding that Mr. Kassof’s exposition, explanation, and reasoning aligned with what I would write in a written opinion.” Andrew’s commercial litigation practice cuts across different industries and types of cases, including life sciences, healthcare, oil and gas, sports and entertainment, private equity and other industries. Twice he has tried billion dollar cases to successful verdicts — once on the plaintiff side in a fraud-based suit in federal court in NY, and the other for the defense in a False Claims Act case in Texas; has first-chaired many additional trials in various jurisdictions and in arbitration; and has successfully represented clients in different types of complex commercial disputes, False Claims Act suits, class actions, and other cases in state and federal courts in nearly every state in the country.

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Recognition

Recognized as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon, 2021–2025

Recognized in Chambers USA for Litigation: General Commercial, 2023–2025

Recognized by Who’s Who Legal for Commercial Litigation, 2024

Recognized as "Litigator of the Week" by The American Lawyer Litigation Daily, June 19, 2020 and July 24, 2020

Litigation practice recognized as 2021 Litigation Department of the Year, The American Lawyer

Selected as a 2016 “Sports MVP” in Law360’s “MVPs of the Year” list

Featured in “Sports Group Of The Year: Kirkland & Ellis,” Law360, January 20, 2016

Named one of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty” to watch by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Practice featured and profiled, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Selected as a “Leading Lawyer” in both Commercial Litigation and Class Action Law

Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

Recognized in The Legal 500 U.S.

Recognized by Super Lawyers magazine

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • Illinois
  • New York

Courts

  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Trial Bar
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  • United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Education

  • The George Washington University Law SchoolJ.D.magna cum laude1997
    Order of the Coif
  • University of VirginiaB.A.magna cum laude1994