Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Kirkland & Ellis 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 | Wachtell | Kirkland & Ellis |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay winsNot Comparable | $230,000Estimate with bonus | $225,000 |
| Higher wins | $12.15M (wins this category) | $11.12M |
| Lower rank wins | #2 (wins this category) | #6 |
| Lower rank wins | #46 | #1 (wins this category) |
| Higher wins | $1.39B | $10.56B (wins this category) |
| More lawyers wins | 272 | 4,145 (wins this category) |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 1 | 27 (wins this category) |
| Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins | 3 tables | 26 tables (wins this category) |
| 2L OpensSummer 2028Earlier date wins | Dec 1, 2026 | Opened Nov 1, 2026 (wins this category) |
| 1L OpensEarlier date wins | No 1L Program | Opened Nov 1, 2026Summer 2027 (1L stint for 2L offer holders; apply once for the 2L summer) |
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
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Est. 1965
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Est. 1909
Est. 1965
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a ~272-attorney firm, Vault #2 / Am Law #46. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, and Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense.
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.
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz#2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#6
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz#46
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#1
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz8 records
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP65 records
- #2
- #46
- 8 records
- Vault rank
- #6
- Am Law rank
- #1
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 65 records
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$230,000
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$225,000
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$12.15M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$11.12M
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$1.39B
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$10.56B
Revenue per lawyer
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$5.09M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$2.55M
- $230,000
- $12.15M
- $1.39B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $5.09M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000
- Profits Per Partner
- $11.12M
- Firm revenue
- $10.56B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.55M
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP6 years
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1.2:1
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz~250
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP~4,150
Offices
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP27
- Not Reported
- Not Reported
- Not Reported
- ~250
- Offices
- 1
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- 6 years
- US associates per partner
- 1.2:1
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~4,150
- Offices
- 27
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz100%
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
Class size
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz32 (2026)
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP957 (year not confirmed)
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPFree market
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNo
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPYes
- 100%
- Class size
- 32 (2026)
- Not Reported
- No
- Offer rate
- Not Reported
- Class size
- 957 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Free market
- Specific practice area
- Yes
1L program
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNo 1L summer program
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1L summer program
1L applications open
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPOpened Nov 1
2L applications open
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzDec 1, 2026
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPOpened Nov 1
2L deadline
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzFeb 6, 2027
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot announced
- 1L program
- No 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Not Reported
- 2L applications open
- Dec 1, 2026
- 2L deadline
- Feb 6, 2027
- 1L program
- 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Opened Nov 1
- 2L applications open
- Opened Nov 1
- 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
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 3
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 2
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 3 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 2 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 5 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 4 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 2 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 5
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. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
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- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Latham & Watkins
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Sullivan & Cromwell
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Milbank
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- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Sidley Austin
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Covington & Burling
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Firm data comes from each firm’s own publications, Chambers USA and Vault; see Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Kirkland & Ellis for sources and dates.