THE CHEETAH BRIEF

Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 21st Edition

Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s highest-grossing law firm, recently appointed its first-ever chief operating officer, Gary Levin, marking a significant shift toward the broader Big Law trend of hiring business executives to manage firm operations.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 25th Edition

In the past week, deal activity remained dominated by large-scale transactions despite an overall slowdown in volume, with 13 deals exceeding $1 billion—including the $10.5 billion acquisition of CommScope’s connectivity and cable solutions business by Amphenol, advised by Latham, Wachtell, and Simpson Thacher.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 24th Edition

McDermott Will & Schulte, the newly formed Am Law 50 firm resulting from the merger of McDermott Will & Emery and Schulte Roth & Zabel, has begun integrating leadership across key committees, with former Schulte leaders taking on major roles.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 23rd Edition

Skadden, Wachtell, Sidley, and Covington played key roles in facilitating a historic merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, marking the largest railroad combination of the decade. The $250 billion cash-and-stock deal, in which Union Pacific will acquire Norfolk Southern (valued at $85 billion), creates the first-ever transcontinental railroad in the U.S. and is projected to deliver $2.75 billion in annual synergies.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 22nd Edition

Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s highest-grossing law firm, recently appointed its first-ever chief operating officer, Gary Levin, marking a significant shift toward the broader Big Law trend of hiring business executives to manage firm operations.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 20th Edition

Despite geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, global M&A activity surged in the first half of 2025, with total deal value rising 33% year-over-year to $1.98 trillion—the strongest first-half showing since 2022.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 19th Edition

Kirkland & Ellis is a global elite law firm with over 3,500 lawyers, known for its strength in corporate, litigation, M&A, private equity, intellectual property, and restructuring.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 18th Edition

The rise of the non-equity (or salaried) partner tier—spearheaded by firms like Kirkland & Ellis—has fundamentally reshaped the legal market, turning what was once seen as a “gaming the system” tactic into the dominant partnership model.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 17th Edition

In the first half of 2025, Kirkland & Ellis has added about 100 litigators, signaling a broader trend among top law firms investing heavily in products liability and mass torts litigation.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 16th Edition

In fiscal year 2024, Los Angeles saw the fastest attorney headcount growth among major U.S. legal markets, with NLJ 500 firms increasing their local lawyer population by 6%—outpacing New York, D.C., and Chicago.

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Jason Schoenberg Jason Schoenberg

THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 15th Edition

In the post-pandemic legal hiring landscape, law firms have increasingly turned to predictive Al tools to evaluate candidates for 2L summer associate roles.

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