Kirkland & Ellis LLP vs. Debevoise & Plimpton 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 | Debevoise & Plimpton |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay winsTie | $225,000 | $225,000 |
| Higher wins | $11.12M (wins this category) | $6.00M |
| Lower rank wins | #6 (wins this category) | #23 |
| Lower rank wins | #1 (wins this category) | #35 |
| Higher wins | $10.56B (wins this category) | $1.77B |
| More lawyers wins | 4,145 (wins this category) | 944 |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 27 (wins this category) | 8 |
| Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins | 26 tables (wins this category) | 7 tables |
| 2L OpensSummer 2028Earlier date winsNot Comparable | Opened Nov 1, 2026 | Open now |
| 1L OpensEarlier date wins | Opened Nov 1, 2026Summer 2027 (1L stint for 2L offer holders; apply once for the 2L summer) | No 1L Program |
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
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Est. 1931
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. 1931
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a mid-size firm of ~944 attorneys, Vault #23 / Am Law #35. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Corporate Crime & Investigations, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, and FCPA.
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#6
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP#23
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#1
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP#35
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP65 records
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP12 records
- #6
- #1
- 65 records
- Vault rank
- #23
- Am Law rank
- #35
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 12 records
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$225,000
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP$225,000
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$11.12M
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP$6.00M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$10.56B
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP$1.77B
Revenue per lawyer
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$2.55M
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP$1.87M
- $225,000
- $11.12M
- $10.56B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.55M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000
- Profits Per Partner
- $6.00M
- Firm revenue
- $1.77B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $1.87M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP6 years
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1.2:1
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP3.1:1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP~4,150
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP~950
Offices
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP27
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP8
- Not Reported
- 6 years
- 1.2:1
- ~4,150
- Offices
- 27
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- Not Reported
- US associates per partner
- 3.1:1
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~950
- Offices
- 8
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP100%
Class size
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP957 (year not confirmed)
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP96 (2026)
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPFree market
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPCentralized staffing
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPYes
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPNo
- Not Reported
- Class size
- 957 (year not confirmed)
- Free market
- Yes
- Offer rate
- 100%
- Class size
- 96 (2026)
- How associates get work
- Centralized staffing
- Specific practice area
- No
1L program
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1L summer program
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPNo 1L summer program
1L applications open
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPOpened Nov 1
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPNot Reported
2L applications open
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPOpened Nov 1
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPOpen now
2L deadline
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot announced
- Debevoise & Plimpton 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
- No 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Not Reported
- 2L applications open
- Open now
- 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
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 4 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 2 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 2 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 3
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLPBand 2
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”.
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- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom vs. Kirkland & Ellis
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- Latham & Watkins vs. Kirkland & Ellis
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- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Debevoise & Plimpton
- 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 Debevoise & Plimpton for sources and dates.