{"id":140371,"date":"2025-12-30T17:27:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T01:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/30\/best-of-25-kirkland-refuses-to-publicly-announce-its-new-partners-marking-a-shift-from-swagger-to-silence\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T17:27:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T01:27:49","slug":"best-of-25-kirkland-refuses-to-publicly-announce-its-new-partners-marking-a-shift-from-swagger-to-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/30\/best-of-25-kirkland-refuses-to-publicly-announce-its-new-partners-marking-a-shift-from-swagger-to-silence\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Of \u201925: Kirkland Refuses To Publicly Announce Its New Partners, Marking A Shift From Swagger To Silence"},"content":{"rendered":"

The post Best Of \u201925: Kirkland Refuses To Publicly Announce Its New Partners, Marking A Shift From Swagger To Silence<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Kirkland & Ellis is recognized as one of the nation\u2019s greatest law firms. Not only does the firm offer a compelling combination of prestige, profitability, and pay, but it usually shatters the market on partners in a huge way \u2014 but not this year. In 2025, the firm has decided to stay quiet about something Biglaw firms usually love to shout from the rooftops. As Law.com reports, the Chicago-based powerhouse won\u2019t be publicly releasing its annual partner class announcement, \u201cmarking [a] strategy shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

The firm\u2019s decision isn\u2019t humility. It\u2019s a blunder. The firm\u2019s silence isn\u2019t modesty. It\u2019s a mistake. For a firm that built its brand on transparency in all things business, it\u2019s more than a little embarrassing. And worse yet, this is cruel to the people who earned a partnership ring \u2014 be it equity or nonequity \u2014 at the world\u2019s top firm.<\/p>\n

Just last year, nearly every legal industry publication covered Kirkland\u2019s announcement of yet another enormous partnership class<\/a>, showcasing a firm unafraid to flex. Back then, Kirkland couldn\u2019t resist the spotlight, basking in its own swagger. Now, suddenly, the firm is slamming the door shut.<\/p>\n

Law.com hints at what many in the market may already suspect: Kirkland may be steering clear of public announcements because many newly minted nonequity partners have headed for the exits quite soon after they\u2019ve been named partner, bringing \u201cnegative attention\u201d to the firm\u2019s list. Here are some additional details from Law.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Among the 200 names announced in 2024, at least 20 lawyers, or 10%, were not on the firm\u2019s website this week, according to a Law.com analysis. Several have left in the last year to work at other law firms or join corporate legal departments.Among the 205 names announced in 2023 as new partners, at least 43, or 21%, are no longer on the website.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

By declining to name its 2025 partner class, Kirkland seems to be avoiding the possibility that headlines about its new partners could be quickly followed by stories about their departures. While this kind of talent churn may be upsetting for Kirkland, just imagine how upsetting it is for the associates who have longed to be named partner for their entire career. A public announcement of their crowning achievement has now been stripped away from them. As noted by Jeffrey Lowe, market president for Washington, D.C. and executive committee member for recruiting firm CenterPeak, the firm\u2019s move is unusual indeed. \u201cI know everyone looks forward to that and looks forward to there being a nice announcement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing for a firm to moderate its public announcements. It\u2019s quite another for a firm to deprive its new partners of their day in the sun. Making partner at Kirkland & Ellis is one of the hardest-earned titles in Biglaw. Being named partner is the achievement you share with your parents, your spouse, your mentors, your friends. It\u2019s the headline you post to LinkedIn. It\u2019s the tangible proof that every long night was worth it. By withholding that announcement, Kirkland is denying newly promoted lawyers their moment of glory. That\u2019s cold. For a firm that claims to be among the world\u2019s greatest, it\u2019s incredibly tone-deaf. It\u2019s stunningly unkind.<\/p>\n

Kirkland is one of the world\u2019s greatest and most profitable law firms. Its dominance is undisputed. But silence isn\u2019t strength \u2014 it\u2019s weakness disguised as restraint. It looks tactical, even defensive. It looks as though the firm fears scrutiny more than it values the hard work of its new partners, regardless of their equity or nonequity status. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re the richest firm in Biglaw, act like it. Celebrate your people. Own your success \u2014 and theirs. Congratulations to Kirkland\u2019s new partner class \u2014 whoever you are.<\/p>\n

Kirkland & Ellis Won\u2019t Publicly Announce New Partners This Year, Marking Strategy Shift<\/a> [Law.com]<\/p>\n

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\"Staci
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Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The post Best Of \u201925: Kirkland Refuses To Publicly Announce Its New Partners, Marking A Shift From Swagger To Silence appeared first on Above the Law. Kirkland & Ellis is recognized as one of the nation\u2019s greatest law firms. Not only does the firm offer a compelling combination of prestige, profitability, and pay, but it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":140372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/secret-whisper-shush-finger-to-lips-sh-ssh-sssh-LPEybu.jpg?fit=689%2C507&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}