Are Kirkland & Ellis’ New Partners Ready for Squid Game 2.0?

Kirkland & Ellis is cranking out new partners like doughnuts off the assembly line at Krispy Kreme. This month, it announced a batch of 151 new partners—its largest class to date—and by far the largest of any of its competitors.

Among comparable firms (I focused on the dozen or so firms in the Am Law 100 with the highest profit per equity partner), Kirkland stands out for two reasons: First, its soaring profit per equity partner ($6.2 million) is second only to Wachtell Lipton ($7.5 million). Second, about 43% of its lawyers are partners.

But before you think that the ...