Kirkland Builds Philadelphia Office With Butler Snow Partner (1)

Kirkland & Ellis is growing its newly-minted Philadelphia office with the addition of a products liability partner from the nearby office of Butler Snow.

Kirkland announced the hire of Burt Snell from the Ambler, Pennsylvania office of Butler Snow Tuesday morning. The firm says the hire has the dual effect of growing its currently minimal Philadelphia office while also expanding the firm’s products liability practice.

Snell spent 13 years at Butler Snow, which he joined from Philadelphia-born law firm Dechert in 2012. He focuses his products liability practice on the pharmaceuticals space, representing drugmakers Johnson & Johnson and Abbvie in multi-district litigation and class actions.

“We sincerely appreciate Burt’s many years of service to the firm and wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” Christopher Maddux, Butler Snow’s chair, said in a statement.

In Tuesday’s announcement, Kirkland litigation partner and executive committee member Andrew Kassof said Snell handles cases involving international jurisdictions.

Burt Snell

Kirkland & Ellis

“His addition marks an important step in building out our best-in-class product liability and mass tort capabilities, especially on the international and regulatory side, while also supporting the continued growth of our Philadelphia office,” said Kassof.

Kirkland made a splash in the Philadelphia market by opening its office in January and hiring Allison Brown, a products liability partner from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. It currently lists three lawyers in Philadelphia on its website; after Brown joined, she was followed by two fellow products liability lawyers, partner Caroline Power and of counsel Evan Gascoine from King & Spalding.

In an email statement, Snell said he took the job at Kirkland to work with Brown, a former colleague from Philadelphia-born firm Dechert.

“I was also excited about the opportunity to assist Kirkland in building out its Philadelphia office alongside Alli and the highly talented attorneys and firm leadership, as well as the opportunity to take my broad skill set to an even larger client base,” Snell said.

Kirkland has also been picking off lawyers from competitors to grow its products liability and mass torts practice. The firm hired 23 trial lawyers, including 12 partners, from King & Spalding to practice in various locations.

Kirkland is the world’s wealthiest law firm, which generated $8.8 billion in revenue in 2024 and pays equity partners an average of $9.2 million, according to data published by the American Lawyer.