Kirkland & Ellis LLP vs. Covington & Burling LLP
Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.
Who Wins Each Category
Each row stands on its own. There is no overall winner; weigh what matters to you.
| Category | Kirkland & Ellis | Covington & Burling |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay winsTie | $225,000 | $225,000 |
| Higher wins | $11.12M (wins this category) | $3.25M |
| Lower rank wins | #6 (wins this category) | #12 |
| Lower rank wins | #1 (wins this category) | #30 |
| Higher wins | $10.56B (wins this category) | $2.06B |
| More lawyers wins | 4,145 (wins this category) | 1,311 |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 27 (wins this category) | 15 |
| Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins | 26 tables (wins this category) | 16 tables |
| 2L OpensEarlier date wins | Opened Nov 1, 2026 (wins this category)Summer 2028 | Dec 1, 2026Class of 2029. Separate 2L application. |
| 1L OpensEarlier date winsTie | Opened Nov 1, 2026Summer 2027 (1L stint for 2L offer holders; apply once for the 2L summer) | Opened Nov 1, 2026Class of 2029. Separate 1L application. |
Sources: Vault 2027 and Am Law 200 FY2025 rankings, Chambers USA 2026, first-year pay as each firm or the market reports it, and program dates from firm career pages on the Job Board. Missing data reads Not Reported and never counts as a loss.
Full Comparison
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Est. 1909
- Covington & Burling LLP
Est. 1919 · Washington
Est. 1909
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 2,000-plus-attorney global firm, Vault #6 / Am Law #1. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Asset Management M&A, and Banking & Finance. Operates from 27 offices worldwide.
Est. 1919 · Washington
Covington & Burling LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #12 / Am Law #30, founded in Washington, DC. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Corporate Crime & Investigations, Corporate/M&A: Deals in Asia, and False Claims Act.
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#6
- Covington & Burling LLP#12
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#1
- Covington & Burling LLP#30
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP65 records
- Covington & Burling LLP24 records
- #6
- #1
- 65 records
- Vault rank
- #12
- Am Law rank
- #30
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 24 records
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$225,000
- Covington & Burling LLP$225,000
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$11.12M
- Covington & Burling LLP$3.25M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$10.56B
- Covington & Burling LLP$2.06B
Revenue per lawyer
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$2.55M
- Covington & Burling LLP$1.57M
- $225,000
- $11.12M
- $10.56B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.55M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000
- Profits Per Partner
- $3.25M
- Firm revenue
- $2.06B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $1.57M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Covington & Burling LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP6 years
- Covington & Burling LLP8 years
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1.2:1
- Covington & Burling LLP2:1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP~4,150
- Covington & Burling LLP~1,300
Offices
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP27
- Covington & Burling LLP15
- Not Reported
- 6 years
- 1.2:1
- ~4,150
- Offices
- 27
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- 8 years
- US associates per partner
- 2:1
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~1,300
- Offices
- 15
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Covington & Burling LLP99.3%
Class size
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP957 (year not confirmed)
- Covington & Burling LLP118 (year not confirmed)
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPFree market
- Covington & Burling LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPYes
- Covington & Burling LLPNo
- Not Reported
- Class size
- 957 (year not confirmed)
- Free market
- Yes
- Offer rate
- 99.3%
- Class size
- 118 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Not Reported
- Specific practice area
- No
1L program
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1L summer program
- Covington & Burling LLP1L summer program
1L applications open
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPOpened Nov 1
- Covington & Burling LLPOpened Nov 1
2L applications open
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPOpened Nov 1
- Covington & Burling LLPDec 1, 2026
2L deadline
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot announced
- Covington & Burling LLPNot announced
- 1L program
- 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Opened Nov 1
- 2L applications open
- Opened Nov 1
- 2L deadline
- Not announced
- 1L program
- 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Opened Nov 1
- 2L applications open
- Dec 1, 2026
- 2L deadline
- Not announced
Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.
Shared rankings
Rank differences
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 3
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 3 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3 · Highly Regarded
- Covington & Burling LLPBand 1 · Elite
Firm-only and additional rankings remain available on each firm profile so missing coverage is not mistaken for a head-to-head loss.
See which of these firms are open on the Job Board
Data sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown. Chambers record counts can span years and reporting coverage varies; missing years or markets are not compared. Current Chambers bands were checked against each firm’s Chambers profile on Sep 26, 2026; where Chambers splits a table, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm. Missing values read “Not Reported”.
More head-to-head comparisons
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- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom vs. Kirkland & Ellis
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- Latham & Watkins vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Latham & Watkins vs. Covington & Burling
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Covington & Burling
- Kirkland & Ellis vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Kirkland & Ellis vs. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Firm data comes from each firm’s own publications, Chambers USA and Vault; see Kirkland & Ellis and Covington & Burling for sources and dates.