Kirkland & Ellis LLP vs. Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
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 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay winsTie | $225,000 | $225,000+Market base |
| Higher wins | $11.12M (wins this category) | $3.52M |
| Lower rank wins | #6 (wins this category) | #30 |
| Lower rank wins | #1 (wins this category) | #12 |
| Higher wins | $10.56B (wins this category) | $3.29B |
| More lawyers wins | 4,145 (wins this category) | 3,100 |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 27 | 48 (wins this category) |
| Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins | 26 tables (wins this category) | 14 tables |
| 2L OpensEarlier date winsTie | Opened Nov 1, 2026Summer 2028 | Opened Nov 1, 2026Class of 2029. Dual seat or 2L-only seat. |
| 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. Dual seat or 2L-only seat. |
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
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
Est. 2026 · Merger
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. 2026 · Merger
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader is a 2,000-plus-attorney global firm, Am Law #12. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Capital Markets: Securitization: CMBS, Capital Markets: Securitization: CRE CLOs, and Corporate/M&A. Operates from 48 offices worldwide.
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#6
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader#30
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#1
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader#12
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP65 records
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader27 records
- #6
- #1
- 65 records
- Vault rank
- #30
- Am Law rank
- #12
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 27 records
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$225,000
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader$225,000+
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$11.12M
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader$3.52M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$10.56B
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader$3.29B
Revenue per lawyer
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$2.55M
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader$1.21M
- $225,000
- $11.12M
- $10.56B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.55M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000+
- Profits Per Partner
- $3.52M
- Firm revenue
- $3.29B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $1.21M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP6 years
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1.2:1
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP~4,150
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader~3,100
Offices
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP27
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader48
- Not Reported
- 6 years
- 1.2:1
- ~4,150
- Offices
- 27
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- Not Reported
- US associates per partner
- Not Reported
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~3,100
- Offices
- 48
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader98.7%
Class size
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP957 (year not confirmed)
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader64 (year not confirmed)
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPFree market
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPYes
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerNo
- Not Reported
- Class size
- 957 (year not confirmed)
- Free market
- Yes
- Offer rate
- 98.7%
- Class size
- 64 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Not Reported
- Specific practice area
- No
1L program
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1L summer program
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader1L summer program
1L applications open
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPOpened Nov 1
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerOpened Nov 1
2L applications open
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPOpened Nov 1
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerOpened Nov 1
2L deadline
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot announced
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerMar 31, 2027
- 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
- Opened Nov 1
- 2L deadline
- Mar 31, 2027
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
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 3
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 6 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 4 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 4 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 4 · Highly Regarded
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 3
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 1 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 2 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Hogan Lovells CadwaladerBand 3 · 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
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore vs. Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom vs. Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
- Latham & Watkins vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Latham & Watkins vs. Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
- 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 Hogan Lovells Cadwalader for sources and dates.