To view this content, please continue to their sites. The latest hire, Lee, graduated Harvard Law School in 2006. But early in the pandemic, lockdowns and closed courtrooms threatened to make that kind of growth an impossibility. Partners at the firm took home $6.3 million on average in 2019, more than any other U.S. firm, according to the latest AmLaw rankings. on Facebook, Share profile for Jon A. Ballis P.C. The demands of billing 2,500 to 3,000 hours a year, though, has come at a cost. Its a classic Kirkland move a young up and comer from a major firm. And thats how I know that this reputational thing is a problem.. Jon Ballis. This looks very much like Kirkland being Kirklandcoronavirus or no coronavirustheyre staying true to form, said Janet Stanton, a partner at law firm management consultancy Adam Smith Esq. - Chicago, IL - Lawyer | Best Lawyers Recognized since 2006 Chicago, Illinois Practice Areas Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law Mergers and Acquisitions Law Biography Overview Firm Details Awards & Practice News & Media Publications Illinois 2023 Home Log In Begin Nomination Lawyers Methodology Insights Publications About Hes someone who makes you want to run through walls and he does it by earning it, David Hutchins, a former Kirkland lawyer whos now a client at Bain Capital, said of Ballis. New private equity funds formed to take advantage of distressed opportunities. Each attorney is granted unlimited access to high quality, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry along with administrative access to easily manage CLE for the entire team. on LinkedIn, Share profile for Jon A. Ballis P.C. Law.com Compass includes access to our exclusive industry reports, combining the unmatched expertise of our analyst team with ALMs deep bench of proprietary information to provide insights that cant be found anywhere else. Jon Ballis . If Ballis can replicate those growth rates over another 10-year period, hed be leading a law firm thats bringing in more than $14 billion a year and paying its average shareholding partner more than $10 million a year. Ballis, a member of the firm's 15-lawyer management committee, had been rumored to . Chicago, IL 60601 Jon joined Kirkland in 2005 and served in a variety of leadership roles at the Firm before being named Chairman in 2020. "[T]he Kirkland . Navigate to map location for Jon A. Ballis P.C. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. (Podcast). Because Jon was so driven and cared so much and was a tenacious competitor.. Log in to access all of your BLAW products. That is valuable for them, said a source close to Kirkland who declined to be named to preserve relationships within the firm. Details. The 5'6" point guard was known for passing and out-working everybody on the court, according to his high school teammate, Jon Gray, who is now a client and chief operating officer at Blackstone Inc., one of the largest alternative investment management companies in the world. New private equity funds formed to take advantage of distressed opportunities. Its very dependent upon who you are. We are seeking an attorney to join our commercial finance practice in either our Stamford, Hartford or New Haven offices. Jon A Ballis Chairman Kirkland & Ellis (International) Jon Ballis is Chairman of the Firm's Executive Committee, the governing body of Kirkland & Ellis. But he wants them to believe that at Kirkland theyll be doing it with a group of people who play well together. Jon Ballis Chairman Kirkland & Ellis LLP I, Jon Ballis, personally commit to the following: Personal Commitment. Jon Ballisbecame Chairman of Kirkland & Ellis in 2020. Hammes has overseen period of huge growth for Kirkland Kirkland & Ellis Chair Jeffrey Hammes will step down early in 2020, and will be replaced by partner Jon Ballis, an internal firm memo provided to Bloomberg Law shows. Three months later, he learned shed joined a different firm. And the misconception of who we are is not helpful to our institution., To contact the reporter on this story: Roy Strom in Chicago at rstrom@bloomberglaw.com, To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cheryl Saenz at csaenz@bloombergindustry.com; Bernie Kohn at bkohn@bloomberglaw.com; Chris Opfer at copfer@bloomberglaw.com. Its very dependent upon who you are. The American Lawyer has also named Kirkland to its A-List for 10 years running. personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to The firms roster of investment funds went from 100 clients in 2016 to more than 700 in 2021, said John ONeil, who heads Kirklands investment funds practice. About; Map. This is not in the playbook of how to run this law firm, he remembers thinking. The rest have been forced to pay their most important lawyers more money so they wont be plucked away. The potential hire demurred, telling Ballis she wasnt planning to leave her firm. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world. And his own leadership style, characterized by a dedication to managing the firm like a sports team, represents its dedication to a high-performance, collaborative culture. Kirklands leaders also said the firm has taken steps to become a more diverse, inclusive workplace. It fostered internal competition, Kirkland partners said, creating fiefdoms managed by individual partners wary of losing money by sharing clients. Jon Ballis is Chairman of the Executive Committee of Kirkland & Ellis, one of the worlds leading law firms with 6,500 professionals (including more than 3,000 attorneys) around the world committed to the highest quality legal advice and unparalleled client service. The firm also provides training, mentoring, and leadership opportunities for diverse attorneys through its Diversity Leadership Series. He now faces the challenge of driving success while competition for top legal talent is fierce. Three months later, he learned shed joined a different firm. Hammes has been chairman of the firm's 15-member Global Management Executive Committee since 2010. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Vision for Tomorrow Foundation, an organization he co-founded in 2006 to focus on visual impairment in children. Kirklands gross revenue in 2019 surpassed $4.1 billion. Some partners at the world's largest law firm earn more than $20 million a year, according to a former shareholder. Jebejian and Schiele were 43 when they joined Kirkland, while Davis was 34. That will ultimately help the firm achieve its goal of promoting more diverse partner classes internally, she said. Theres no sign Kirkland or other Big Law firms will be asking their lawyers to work less. Chairman @ Kirkland & Ellis . Articles & Events. Theyve always said theyre continuing to invest in it and this is putting their money where their mouth is.. Thats the definition of success here, said Sophia Hudson, who joined Kirkland from Davis Polk, a long-time lockstep firm, in 2018. Anti-Defamation League, Civic Committee, Commercial Club of Chicago, Economic Club, Illinois Holocaust Museum, Legal Aid Chicago Justice Circle, Vision for Tomorrow Foundation. Commitment to these priorities has helped Kirkland deepen its practice area expertise, extend its worldwide reach and earn industry recognition for workplace culture, including placements on the prestigious Notable Diverse Leaders in Law, Notable Leaders in Sustainability, and Best Law Firms for Women lists. There is an arrogance that were the best. The firm largely halted hiring, anticipating a two-month to two-year slowdown. 130 E. Randolph St. Today, only two major law firms maintain a pure lockstep model. Litigator Sandra Goldstein was paid $11 million a year to join Kirkland in 2018, according to the New York Times. He is a member of Chicagos Civic Committee, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Economic Club and Legal Aid Chicago's Justice Circle. But theres good reason to believe the firm did even better in 2021, considering that it set a record for activity levels in its M&A practice, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Taiwan Will Give Tourists Perks Worth $165 Each to Boost Economy. She joined from Cravath, which paid its average partner $4.6 million that year, data compiled by The American Lawyer show. But now, Ballis finds that dangling eight-figure paychecks and the allure of doing billions of dollars worth of deals for private equity heavyweights like Bain Capital doesnt always cut it. Jon Ballis is on Facebook. Chicago analyse how our Sites are used. Private Equity Manager named him one of the top 10 private equity lawyers in the country and The Legal 500 U.S. selected Jon as one of only 10 private equity lawyers for its elite Leading Lawyers list. Name a rivalWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Simpson Thacher & Bartlettand Kirkland has poached from them. Soon after he became Kirklands chairman in 2020, Ballis remembers, he tried to woo a partner from a rival firm in London. Thats roughly four times the number the firm hired in 2020, even as two-thirds of the associates it lost last year departed to rival firms, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis of LinkedIn profiles. Ballis is unapologetic about the firm challenging its lawyers. All those hires had been made under Kirklands former chairman, Jeffrey Hammes, a former private equity dealmaker considered a bold leader willing to cut big checks. Missing Crain's in print? It works with more than 450 private equity firms 430 Kirkland's equity partners. Don't miss the crucial news and insights you need to make informed legal decisions. 2, with equity partners making an average of $5.2 million. Jon Ballis is Chairman of the Executive Committee of Kirkland & Ellis, one of the worlds leading law firms with 6,500 professionals (including more than 3,000 attorneys) around the world committed to the highest quality legal advice and unparalleled client service. P.C. Jon Ballis's Email & Phone Number Chairman @ Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He has advised leading private-equity firms throughout his career, including Bain Capital, Madison Dearborn and Pritzker Private Capital. We can destroy everybody else, and lets actually go destroy other people.. 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