Kirkland’s Bankruptcy Business Out-Billing Peers in Pandemic (1)

Kirkland & Ellis has brought in nearly $100 million this year representing distressed retailers and other large, public companies in a rash of mostly pandemic-related bankruptcies.

The Chicago-founded firm is among those who have spent recent years investing in their counter-cyclical bankruptcy practice. Those practices are now in high demand as businesses seek bankruptcy protection in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic shutdowns.

Early results show Big Law competitors have so far been unable to topple Kirkland for what are often the most lucrative bankruptcy assignments: representing large, indebted companies negotiating a reprieve from creditors. Kirkland’s clientele ...