The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2011: Best of USA

Kirkland is one of 17 firms to be recognized by Chambers in the "Best of USA" category.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Local offices: Chicago; Los Angeles; New York; Palo Alto; San Francisco; Washington, DC

Overseas offices: Hong Kong; London; Munich; Shanghai

Kirkland & Ellis is a regular favourite with Fortune 100 companies. It offers full-service coverage with a strong finance and transactional core, and also has real muscle in litigation, restructuring and IP. Clients applaud "excellent interaction with all parties, with lawyers advising us but not distracting us from being a company serving our own customers." The firm handles the full life cycle of fund work, especially for private equity houses, and is globally renowned for restructuring and insolvency, with corresponding strength in tax and regulatory. Kirkland acts for an impressive roster of multinational heavyweights, keeping the lawyers busy on high-profile and frequently high-octane, matters. A case in point saw the firm represent BP in federal and state investigations. Through London and Munich offices, the firm has established solid European capability, and it is building a presence in Asia, largely on a private equity foundation.