Kirkland Hands Out $50,000 Referral Bonuses as Demand Picks Up

Kirkland & Ellis is offering junior lawyers $50,000 referral bonuses as demand increases at the world’s most profitable law firm.

Kirkland has extended through January 2025 referral bonuses it began last fall, according to two people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss a program that has not been made public. Kirkland late last year raised the size of the bonuses to $50,000 from $25,000, the people said.

The bonuses for employees who successfully refer lawyers to the firm indicates the world’s largest firm by revenue is seeing strong demand for associate hours. The awards are a welcome sign for a lateral associate hiring market that has slowed in the past two years after a blistering pace during the pandemic.

While Kirkland initially upped the referral bonuses due to increased demand in litigation late last year, the firm is now responding to the need for both litigation and corporate talent, one of the people said.

A Kirkland spokesperson declined to comment.

Offering referral bonuses gives incentives to associates at the firm to tap into their networks, said Summer Eberhard, a California-based legal recruiter at Lateral Link. “This suggests that corporate transactional work is increasing, which is a welcomed sign that the tides may be turning,” she said.

Global merger and acquisition transactional volume increased roughly 13% to more than $1 trillion over the first half of 2024 compared with the period a year ago.

The positive signs for hiring come after law firms, including Kirkland, were forced to trim their junior ranks and slow lateral associate hiring as work slowed from the soaring levels reached during the pandemic.

Then, law firms pulled every available lever to attract and keep their associates, including retention bonuses, special bonuses and several rounds of salary increases. Firms even offered associates the ability to work from anywhere.

While demand shows no immediate sign of returning to pandemic levels, Kirkland’s retention bonuses show the tools firms can employ as the need for hiring ticks up.