The Legal 500 United States 2023

The Legal 500 provides an objective analysis on leading law firms in the U.S. market in various areas of law. Rankings are based on in-depth research, including feedback from clients and peers, to highlight firms with a truly national presence and the capability to handle sophisticated and complex work.

Kirkland & Ellis is ranked as a leading firm in 64 categories, including 29 Tier 1 ratings. Additionally, 19 attorneys are featured in the “Hall of Fame,” 46 attorneys are named “Leading Lawyers” and 25 attorneys are recognized as “Next Generation Lawyers.”

Tier 1 rankings include:

Antitrust - Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Defense
Dispute Resolution - Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense: Advice to Corporates
Dispute Resolution - General Commercial Disputes
Dispute Resolution - M&A Litigation: Defense
Dispute Resolution - Securities Litigation: Defense
Energy - Energy Litigation: Oil & Gas
Energy - Energy Transactions: Electric Power
Energy - Energy Transactions: Oil & Gas 
Environment - Climate Change Litigation 
Environment - Environment: Transactional 
Finance - Capital Markets: High-yield Debt Offerings: Advice to Issuers
Finance - Commercial Lending: Advice to Borrowers
Finance - Restructuring (Including Bankruptcy): Corporate
Government - Congressional Investigations 
Intellectual Property - Copyright
Intellectual Property - Patent Litigation: Full Coverage
Intellectual Property - Trade Secrets (Litigation and Non-contentious Matters)
Intellectual Property - Trademarks: Litigation 
International Trade - CFIUS
Investment Funds - Private Equity Funds (Including Venture Capital)
Labor and Employment - Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Transactional
M&A/Corporate and Commercial - M&A: Large Deals ($1BN+)
M&A/Corporate and Commercial - Private Equity Buyouts
M&A/Corporate and Commercial - Shareholder Activism: Advice to Boards
Media, Technology and Telecoms - Advertising and Marketing: Litigation
Media, Technology and Telecoms - Technology Transactions
Real Estate
Tax - International Tax
Tax - US Taxes: Non-contentious

The Firm is also recognized in:

Antitrust - Cartel
Antitrust - Merger Control
Dispute Resolution - Appellate: Courts of Appeal 
Dispute Resolution - Appellate: Supreme Courts (States and Federal) 
Dispute Resolution - Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense: Advice to Individuals
Dispute Resolution - E-discovery
Dispute Resolution - Financial Services Litigation
Dispute Resolution - Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Actions: Automotive/Transport
Dispute Resolution - Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Actions: Consumer Products (Including Tobacco)
Dispute Resolution - Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices - Defense
Dispute Resolution - Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Toxic Tort - Defense
Energy - Energy Regulation: Electric Power
Energy - Energy Regulation: Oil & Gas
Energy - Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power
Environment - Environment: Litigation
Finance - Capital Markets: Debt Offerings - Advice to Issuers
Finance - Capital Markets: Equity Offerings - Advice to Issuers
Finance - Capital Markets: Equity Offerings - Advice to Managers
Finance - Project Finance: Energy and Power
Finance - Project Finance: Infrastructure and PPP
Finance - Structured Finance: Securitization
Government - State Attorneys General
Healthcare - Life Sciences 
Insurance - Insurance: Non-contentious 
IP - Patent Litigation: International Trade Commission
IP - Patents: Licensing
IP - Trademarks: Non-contentious (Including Prosecution, Portfolio Management and Licensing)
International Trade - Customs, Export Controls and Economic Sanctions 
Investment Funds - Mutual/Registered/Exchange-Traded Funds 
Media, Technology and Telecoms - Media and Entertainment: Litigation
Media, Technology and Telecoms - Media and Entertainment: Transactional
Media, Technology and Telecoms - Outsourcing
Real Estate - Construction (Including Construction Litigation)
Real Estate - Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS)
Tax - US Taxes: Contentious