Kirklands gross revenue in 2019 surpassed $4.1 billion. or The partner had difficulty bringing in clients that others deemed too smalland he said he didnt get any credit for agreeing to pass up those opportunities. Three months later, he learned shed joined a different firm. The firm largely halted hiring, anticipating a two-month to two-year slowdown. Jon Ballis is Chairman of the Executive Committee of Kirkland & Ellis, one of the world's leading law firms with 6,500 professionals (including more than 3,000 attorneys) around the world committed to the highest quality legal advice and unparalleled client service. analyse how our Sites are used. But he wants them to believe that at Kirkland theyll be doing it with a group of people who play well together. 2. He led the opening of Kirklands Boston office in 2017 and has helped recruit key partners. Learn more about a Bloomberg Law subscription. Jon Ballis is Chairman of the Executive Committee of Kirkland & Ellis, one of the worlds leading law firms with 6,500 professionals (including more than 3,000 attorneys) around the world committed to the highest quality legal advice and unparalleled client service. If Ballis can replicate those growth rates over another 10-year period, hed be leading a law firm thats bringing in more than $14 billion a year and paying its average shareholding partner more than $10 million a year. Click here to get the full experience on your screen. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. Customer Service| She joined from Cravath, which paid its average partner $4.6 million that year, data compiled by The American Lawyer show. He is a member of Chicagos Civic Committee, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Economic Club and Legal Aid Chicago's Justice Circle. The firms roster of investment funds went from 100 clients in 2016 to more than 700 in 2021, said John ONeil, who heads Kirklands investment funds practice. Jon joined Kirkland in 2005 and served in a variety of leadership roles at the Firm before being named Chairman in 2020. Hes someone who makes you want to run through walls and he does it by earning it, David Hutchins, a former Kirkland lawyer whos now a client at Bain Capital, said of Ballis. Neither Kirkland nor Wachtell were immediately available for comment on Lees hire and their overall strategies. The American Lawyer has also named Kirkland to its A-List for 10 years running. Revenue in 2020 grew more than 16% while profits per partner soared nearly 20% to $6.2 million. Jon Ballis, a Chicago-based corporate partner who has become one of Kirkland's best-known private equity lawyers, will take over as leader of the world's highest-grossing firm in 2020. The 5'6" point guard was known for passing and out-working everybody on the court, according to his high school teammate, Jon Gray, who is now a client and chief operating officer at Blackstone Inc., one of the largest alternative investment management companies in the world. Hammes led the firm from 2009 to 2019, and is credited with orchestrating Kirklands rise to the top by cutting huge checks to lure up-and-coming partners from the most prominent Wall Street firms. E-mail oureditor Now thats such a part of who we are that it happens naturally.. Kirklands restructuring practice exploded. And it shaved a year off how long it takes before lawyers are considered for the life-changing status of holding shares in Kirklands profits. Jon A Ballis is Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Kirkland & Ellis LLP's longtime chairman Jeffrey Hammes will retire in early 2020 and will be replaced by Jon Ballis, a Chicago-based private equity partner and member of the firm's . The 5'6" point guard was known for passing and out-working everybody on the court, according to his high school teammate, Jon Gray, who is now a client and chief operating officer at Blackstone Inc., one of the largest alternative investment management companies in the world. You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. To view this content, please continue to their sites. By September, the firms M&A engine pushed to a new level that continued through last year. (Bloomberg) Kirkland & Ellis chairman Jon Ballis holds a trump card in the legal industrys desperate battle for talent: he can pay more than just about anybody else. Soon after he became Kirklands chairman in 2020, Ballis remembers, he tried to woo a partner from a rival firm in London. Jons passion and commitment to excellence carries into his philanthropic activities and board positions. He led the opening of the firm's Boston office in 2017 and is recognized as a leading private equity attorney in the U.S. Jon is also the Co-Founder of the Vision for Tomorrow Foundation, an organization that supports children with visual impairments, and serves on the board of the Anti-Defamation League, which fights antisemitism and bigotry. He eliminated the concept of billing partners who earn credit for work done by clients they brought into the fold. Chicago, Illinois, United States. In making your comments, please do not refer to a pending legal matter. Jon Ballis, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, was selected to Super Lawyers for 2005, 2008 - 2023. We have encountered an error and are unable to process your comment at this time. organisation 1. But early in the pandemic, lockdowns and closed courtrooms threatened to make that kind of growth an impossibility. He is also vocal about the role lawyers play in promoting social justice, writing in 2020, "As lawyers, we have a unique position in society to make progress in the areas of inclusion and racial and social injustice.". Shed be part of a team at Kirkland doing more important, interesting work than anywhere else, Ballis told her. And his reasons for making the sales pitch are pragmatic: Kirklands reputation is making it harder to win the next game on his schedule. He took advantage of what he saw as a hole in his competitors armor: They paid their lawyers based on how long theyd worked for the firm, not in proportion to their individual contributions. References to the firm as a pack of wolves in wolves clothing have circulated for decades. He liked how private equity clients expected him to solve their problems, rather than just offer advice. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. on LinkedIn, Share profile for Jon A. Ballis P.C. Kirkland is a very successful firm, said the source close to Kirkland. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the Settings & Account section. The potential hire wouldve filled a hole in the firms antitrust practice, convincing regulators that transformational corporate deals wont harm consumers. Click below to see everything we have to offer. Name a rivalWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Simpson Thacher & Bartlettand Kirkland has poached from them. This looks very much like Kirkland being Kirklandcoronavirus or no coronavirustheyre staying true to form, said Janet Stanton, a partner at law firm management consultancy Adam Smith Esq. Get the best business coverage in Chicago, from breaking news to razor-sharp analysis, in print and online. Since joining Kirkland in 2005, Ballis practice has focused on leveraged buyouts of public and private companies as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions. The firm also provides training, mentoring, and leadership opportunities for diverse attorneys through its Diversity Leadership Series. Rivals bemoan the Kirklandization of law, painting the firm and the lawyers it hires as mercenaries. One former share partner said it didnt ring true that Kirkland had quietly transformed into a collaborators dream. Articles & Events. . Terms of Service. If Ballis can replicate those growth rates over another 10-year period, hed be leading a law firm thats bringing in more than $14 billion a year and paying its average shareholding partner more than $10 million a year. Were like college sports: The players pick us, he said. Kirkland & Ellis LLP 300 North LaSalle Chicago, IL 60654 . From 2009 to 2019, the firms revenue increased 11.5% per year on average while its profits per equity partner rose 7.6%, the American Lawyer reported. Since that hire, Kirkland has often focused on filling its roster with 30-and 40-something lawyers who are eager to build their own practice rather than wait in line under a lockstep regime. - Chicago, IL - Lawyer | Best Lawyers Recognized since 2006 Chicago, Illinois Practice Areas Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law Mergers and Acquisitions Law Biography Overview Firm Details Awards & Practice News & Media Publications Illinois 2023 Home Log In Begin Nomination Lawyers Methodology Insights Publications About If youd like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Clients pay them as much as $2,000 an hour to never be wrong. We can destroy everybody else, and lets actually go destroy other people.. He has long been recognized as one of the leading private equity attorneys in the United States, with Chambers USA recognizing him in every edition since 2004 and The Best Lawyers in America listing him in every edition since 2006. There was no vote; he was the consensus choice. License our industry-leading legal content to extend your thought leadership and build your brand. (Adds additional reporting in paragraph 14 and Andy Calder quote in paragraph 15. And the misconception of who we are is not helpful to our institution., To contact the reporter on this story: Roy Strom in Chicago at rstrom@bloomberglaw.com, To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cheryl Saenz at csaenz@bloombergindustry.com; Bernie Kohn at bkohn@bloomberglaw.com; Chris Opfer at copfer@bloomberglaw.com. When asked what would motivate a young high-performing partner to stay at a firm that pays based on years of service rather than achievement Lipton responded, Money isnt the last thing in their lives.. Kirkland & Ellis chairman Jon Ballis holds a trump card in the legal industry's desperate battle for talent: he can pay more than just about anybody else. They were followed by Sean Rodgers from Simpson Thacher in 2013. Contact Us| Ballis is unapologetic about the firm challenging its lawyers. For instance, how much business you generated, how many lawyers you brought in to work on your matters or whether you gave up a client so the firm could advise its more lucrative adversary. He has long been recognized as one of the leading private equity attorneys in the United States, with Chambers USA recognizing him in every edition since 2004 and The Best Lawyers in America listing him in every edition since 2006. Lockstep firms like Cravath and Wachtell used to be completely insulated from the lateral market, Jungers said, with Wachtell standing as the last fortress of lateral vulnerability thanks in part to its high profits per equity partner. I will tell you with full candor, I see tremendous opportunity and upside.. For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [emailprotected], Perkins Coie Lays Off 58 Business Professionals, Cravath Set for English Law Debut with Shearman Double Partner Hire, AI Has Gone Mainstream. 151 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America awards. Kirkland and its peers have shifted the stakes in New York over the last decade and forced Wall Street firms with lockstep systems to fend off new and fierce competition from out of town. Im not surprised at all he ended up being very successful, Gray said of Ballis. More than 325 of its associates left in 2021up more than 70% from 2020, according to data from Leopard Solutions and a Bloomberg Law analysis of LinkedIn profiles. And if you dont want to work together, were not your kind of firm.. For its part, Kirkland disputed its attrition in 2021 had grown more than 70% from a year prior, putting it instead at 59%. The ideal candidate will hav CASH KRUGLER & FREDERICKS LLC is Celebrating Our 20th Anniversary & Newest Partners! on Facebook, Share profile for Jon A. Ballis P.C. The Super Lawyers selection process takes into account peer . To contact the reporter on this story: Meghan Tribe in New York at mtribe@bloomberglaw.com; Roy Strom in Chicago at rstrom@bloomberglaw.com, To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebekah Mintzer at rmintzer@bloomberglaw.com; Tom P. Taylor at ttaylor@bloomberglaw.com. Ballis is unapologetic about the firm challenging its lawyers. Bloomberg Markets live from New York, focused on bringing you the most important global business and breaking markets news and information as it happens. Kirkland in particular has never cared to explain itself as it offered pro athlete-sized pay packages to lure lawyers from partnerships that used to last a lifetime. Some partners at the worlds largest law firm earn more than $20 million a year, according to a former shareholder. This is not in the playbook of how to run this law firm, he remembers thinking. Work. But he wants them to believe that at Kirkland theyll be doing it with a group of people who play well together. It says attrition grew 50% from a more normal 2019 to 2021, and that the poaching by other law firms is indicative of the value that Kirkland experience adds to a lawyers resume. Kirklands reputation has been around so long, its hard to determine where it even began. . He liked how private equity clients expected him to solve their problems, rather than just offer advice. And his reasons for making the sales pitch are pragmatic: Kirklands reputation is making it harder to win the next game on his schedule. Jon Ballis's Email & Phone Number Chairman @ Kirkland & Ellis LLP. But many in Big Law have observed that the bonds that hold clients and lawyers to law firms arent the same as they used to be. The surge in demand has forced Kirkland into a hiring binge during a year in which the 50 largest firms saw compensation costs soar 16.5%, according to Citi Private Bank. He promised them more control over their futures, and doubled or tripled their salaries. Its very dependent upon who you are. The industry-leading media platform offering competitive intelligence to prepare for today and anticipate opportunities for future success. Each attorney is granted unlimited access to high quality, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry along with administrative access to easily manage CLE for the entire team. The potential hire demurred, telling Ballis she wasnt planning to leave her firm. 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