Is Kirkland & Ellis a good company to work for?

Kirkland & Ellis has an overall rating of 3.8 out of 5, based on over 1,018 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 73% of employees would recommend working at Kirkland & Ellis to a friend and 78% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Kirkland & Ellis have been left by employees working as Summer Associate , Practice Assistant and Partner .

Does Kirkland & Ellis pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Kirkland & Ellis employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Kirkland & Ellis. This rating has improved by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Kirkland & Ellis?

73% of Kirkland & Ellis employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Kirkland & Ellis 2.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.3 for culture and values and 3.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Kirkland & Ellis?

Associate (188) , Practice Assistant (50) , Legal Secretary (27) , Paralegal (23) , Associate Attorney (22) , Partner (20) , Junior Paralegal (17) , Summer Associate (17) , Attorney (16) , Intern (11) , Lawyer (11) , Legal Assistant (11) , Litigation Paralegal (10) , Project Assistant (8) , Administrative Assistant (7)

What are the pros of working at Kirkland & Ellis according to real employee reviews?

"Amazing intelligent people and great to work with" ((in 98 reviews)); "Kirkland offers great benefits... maybe even the best in the city." ((in 92 reviews)); "Pay is good and easy to interview" ((in 77 reviews)); "Salary is great that’s it" ((in 42 reviews)); "High stakes cases great training" ((in 32 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Kirkland & Ellis according to real employee reviews?

"Long hours and stress!" ((in 89 reviews)); "Absolutely no work life balance" ((in 51 reviews)); "Long hours are difficult to manage" ((in 28 reviews)); "Poor management all around admin departments." ((in 25 reviews)); "Bad culture within some (not all) teams." ((in 22 reviews))

What are employees saying about Kirkland & Ellis layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Kirkland & Ellis layoffs and their outlook for job security at Kirkland & Ellis in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Kirkland & Ellis locations?

Chicago , New York , Washington , San Francisco , Los Angeles , Houston , Boston , Dallas , Austin , Palo Alto , Salt Lake City , Newark , Alexandria , Schenectady , Brooklyn , Omaha , San Antonio , San Diego , Laurel , Miami , Wellesley Hills , Myrtle Beach , Alpharetta , United States Coast Guard - Air Station Sacramento

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis reviews

3.8

73% would recommend to a friend

(944 total reviews)

Jon Ballis

88% approve of CEO

78% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.5

Compensation and benefits

3.9

Career opportunities

3.5

Senior management

3.3

Culture & values

3.3

Diversity & inclusion

2.8

Work/Life balance

Kirkland & Ellis has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 944 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Kirkland & Ellis employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Legal industry (3.8 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

944 reviews

3.0

Jul 14, 2019

Crazy and Jerk Boss to Work For

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Two-year associate track for LLM graduates with at least 2 years of experience.

Cons

Awful culture. Crazy ill-tempered boss. And they expect you to have the knowledge level of a third year associate when you're still a junior.

5.0

Jun 28, 2019

allot of money

Lawyer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

you get minted from working here

Cons

you hav to work alot

4.0

May 29, 2019

Interesting work, talented and professional co-workers, brutal hours

Associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

If you're in the corporate practice, you get the opportunity to do some of the most interesting work on the market under the supervision of some of the most knowledgeable attorneys around.

Cons

Unfortunately, while pay is top of the market, you may be underpaid given the number of hours you work as compared to your friends at other firms.

Viewing 931 - 933 of 944 Reviews

Jobs at Kirkland & Ellis

AI Innovation Advisor

Senior Application Engineer I

Practice Innovation Specialist

Senior Applications Engineer I

Messaging Engineer II