Kirkland & Ellis LLP vs. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP vs. Ropes & Gray LLP
Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Est. 1909
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Est. 1884
- Ropes & Gray LLP
Est. 1865 · Boston
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. 1884
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is a 2,000-plus-attorney global firm, Vault #10 / Am Law #10. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Asset Management M&A, Banking & Finance, and Capital Markets: Debt & Equity. Operates from 16 offices worldwide.
Est. 1865 · Boston
Ropes & Gray LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #20 / Am Law #7, founded in Boston. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Banking & Finance, and Capital Markets. Operates from 11 offices worldwide.
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#6
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP#10
- Ropes & Gray LLP#20
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP#10
- Ropes & Gray LLP#7
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP65 records
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP22 records
- Ropes & Gray LLP26 records
- #6
- #1
- 65 records
- Vault rank
- #10
- Am Law rank
- #10
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 22 records
- Vault rank
- #20
- Am Law rank
- #7
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 26 records
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$225,000
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP$225,000
- Ropes & Gray LLP$225,000
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$11.12M
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP$8.57M
- Ropes & Gray LLP$7.05M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$10.56B
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP$3.55B
- Ropes & Gray LLP$3.74B
Revenue per lawyer
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$2.55M
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP$2.02M
- Ropes & Gray LLP$2.52M
- $225,000
- $11.12M
- $10.56B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.55M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000
- Profits Per Partner
- $8.57M
- Firm revenue
- $3.55B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.02M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000
- Profits Per Partner
- $7.05M
- Firm revenue
- $3.74B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.52M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPNot Reported
- Ropes & Gray LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP6 years
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPNot Reported
- Ropes & Gray LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1.2:1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP3:1
- Ropes & Gray LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP~4,150
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP~2,000
- Ropes & Gray LLP~1,500
Offices
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP27
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP16
- Ropes & Gray LLP11
- 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
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~2,000
- Offices
- 16
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- Not Reported
- US associates per partner
- Not Reported
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~1,500
- Offices
- 11
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP100%
- Ropes & Gray LLPNot Reported
Class size
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP957 (year not confirmed)
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP265 (year not confirmed)
- Ropes & Gray LLP160 (2026)
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPFree market
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPCentralized staffing
- Ropes & Gray LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPYes
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPNo
- Ropes & Gray LLPYes
- Not Reported
- Class size
- 957 (year not confirmed)
- Free market
- Yes
- Offer rate
- 100%
- Class size
- 265 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Centralized staffing
- Specific practice area
- No
- Offer rate
- Not Reported
- Class size
- 160 (2026)
- How associates get work
- Not Reported
- Specific practice area
- Yes
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
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 4 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 1 · Highly Regarded
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 3
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 2
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1
- Ropes & Gray LLPBand 3
Firm-only and additional rankings remain available on each firm profile so missing coverage is not mistaken for a head-to-head loss.
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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”.