Kirkland & Ellis — the world’s richest law firm — has received some harsh and pretty public feedback. According to reporting from the Financial Times, last year, during a limited partners industry event hosted by Institutional Limited Partners Association, attendees were asked if they could “wave a magic wand,” what would they change about private equity groups? Amongst the suggestions for industry improvement: “Fire K&E.”
Yikes.
Apparently the firm’s “uncooperative” behavior is well known in PE circles, as is their penchant for rejecting investor proposals with little more than a “We respectfully decline.”
But K&E is taking the less-than-constructive feedback in stride and trying to right the ship and smooth over their relationships with fund investors. They hired a senior director of global fund partnerships, Greg Durst, a former senior managing director from ILPA, to “strengthen the firm’s relationships” with fund investors.
There’s also the matter of etiquette, and K&E embarked upon communication training for attorneys to push back against their rep for being difficult. The firm has also reportedly banned its attorneys from using the irksome phrase “We respectfully decline.”
A spokesperson for Kirkland said, “Our firm values the relationships we have built within the funds industry, and we are proud of the trusted counsel and advocacy our lawyers provide to clients as they build partnerships with their investors.”
“We continue to evolve our business, collaborate with our counterparts, and provide strong support for our clients, including in the relationships with their investors, as market dynamics shift in the fund formation process,” they continued.
Now, are the K&E attorneys really that much more combative that others in the PE space? Eh, opinions are mixed with some fund investors saying the firm is no harsher than other Biglaw attorneys and it’s Kirkland & Ellis’s dominant position in the industry that makes their actions a lightening rod.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
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