Kirkland & Ellis Partner Jack S. Levin Honored with Judge Learned Hand Award

Kirkland & Ellis partner Jack S. Levin was honored with The American Jewish Committee's Judge Learned Hand Award on May 9 at a dinner at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago. In receiving the award, Levin was recognized as a leader in the legal profession and for his contribution to the legal community. Established by the American Jewish Committee in 1964, the award is given to recipients who embody the rights of the individual and the importance of democratic values in an orderly society. The Learned Hand Award was created to honor the memory of Judge Learned Hand who believed that liberty under law forms the foundation of the American way of life.

As a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Jack Levin pioneered the development of venture capital and private equity investing techniques throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s--helping to create the venture capital/private equity funds and financing arrangements which fuel today's booming economy. Jack is the author of the book, Structuring Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Entrepreneurial Transactions, which he has updated and republished annually since 1994. He co-authors Mergers, Acquisitions, and Buyouts, a three-volume treatise updated and republished semi-annually since 1989, with Prof. Martin D. Ginsburg, Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. Jack also teaches a course on venture capital at Harvard Law School and at the University of Chicago Law School. He received his B.S. from Northwestern University in 1958 summa cum laude and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1961 summa cum laude, ranking first in a class of 500. Jack was also the winner of the Illinois Gold Medal on the May 1958 CPA exam. Jack's award was presented by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.