Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP vs. Kirkland & Ellis LLP vs. McDermott Will & Schulte LLP

Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.

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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Est. 1948 · New York
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Est. 1909
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP
Est. 1934

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Est. 1948 · New York

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #3 / Am Law #5, founded in New York, NY. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Asset Management M&A, and Capital Markets: Debt & Equity.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

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.

McDermott Will & Schulte LLP

Est. 1934

McDermott Will & Schulte LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Am Law #16. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Corporate/M&A & Private Equity, Corporate/M&A: Shareholder Activism, and Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation.

Rankings & prestige

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP#3
Kirkland & Ellis LLP#6
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP#46

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP#5
Kirkland & Ellis LLP#1
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP#16

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP40 records
Kirkland & Ellis LLP65 records
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP23 records

: #3
: #5
: 40 records

Vault rank: #6
Am Law rank: #1
Reported Chambers Band 1 records: 65 records

Vault rank: #46
Am Law rank: #16
Reported Chambers Band 1 records: 23 records

Compensation

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$225,000
Kirkland & Ellis LLP$225,000
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPNot Reported

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$7.01M
Kirkland & Ellis LLP$11.12M
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP$5.17M

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$4.07B
Kirkland & Ellis LLP$10.56B
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP$2.99B

Revenue per lawyer

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$2.32M
Kirkland & Ellis LLP$2.55M
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP$1.79M

: $225,000
: $7.01M
: $4.07B
Revenue per lawyer: $2.32M

First-Year Comp: $225,000
Profits Per Partner: $11.12M
Firm revenue: $10.56B
Revenue per lawyer: $2.55M

First-Year Comp: Not Reported
Profits Per Partner: $5.17M
Firm revenue: $2.99B
Revenue per lawyer: $1.79M

Work & scale

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP2,000

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Kirkland & Ellis LLP6 years
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPNot Reported

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Kirkland & Ellis LLP1.2:1
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPNot Reported

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP~1,750
Kirkland & Ellis LLP~4,150
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP~1,700

Offices

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP21
Kirkland & Ellis LLP27
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP27

: Not Reported
: Not Reported
: Not Reported
: ~1,750
Offices: 21

Billable target: Not Reported
Partnership track: 6 years
US associates per partner: 1.2:1
Firm size (rounded to 50): ~4,150
Offices: 27

Billable target: 2,000
Partnership track: Not Reported
US associates per partner: Not Reported
Firm size (rounded to 50): ~1,700
Offices: 27

Summer Program

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP99.4%
Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP99%

Class size

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP190 (2026)
Kirkland & Ellis LLP957 (year not confirmed)
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP75 (year not confirmed)

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Kirkland & Ellis LLPFree market
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPNot Reported

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNo
Kirkland & Ellis LLPYes
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPYes

: 99.4%
Class size: 190 (2026)
: Not Reported
: No

Offer rate: Not Reported
Class size: 957 (year not confirmed)
How associates get work: Free market
Specific practice area: Yes

Offer rate: 99%
Class size: 75 (year not confirmed)
How associates get work: Not Reported
Specific practice area: Yes

Chambers by practice, market and year

Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.

Shared rankings

Tax · Illinois · 2026Band 1

Litigation: Securities · Illinois · 2026Band 2

Artificial Intelligence · Nationwide · 2026Band 3

Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy · Nationwide · 2026Band 3

Rank differences

AntitrustNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 4

Band 1

Band 4

Corporate/M&A & Private EquityIllinois · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 2

Band 1

Band 2

Corporate/M&ANationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1 · Elite
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded

Band 1 · Elite

Band 2 · Highly Regarded

Corporate/M&ANew York · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1 · Elite
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 4 · Highly Regarded

Band 1 · Elite

Band 4 · Highly Regarded

Employee Benefits & Executive CompensationNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 1

Band 1

Band 3

Band 1

Litigation: General CommercialNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1 · Elite
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 1 · Highly Regarded

Band 1 · Elite

Band 1 · Highly Regarded

Litigation: General CommercialNew York · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1 · Elite
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 3 · Highly Regarded

Band 1 · Elite

Band 3 · Highly Regarded

Real Estate: Mainly Corporate & FinanceNew York · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 4

Band 1

Band 4

TaxNew York · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 3

Band 1

Band 3

Tax: Corporate & FinanceNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 3

Band 1

Band 3

AntitrustDistrict of Columbia · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 5

Band 2

Band 1

Band 5

Banking & FinanceIllinois · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 3
Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
McDermott Will & Schulte LLPBand 3

Band 3

Band 1

Band 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”.