Kirkland's $500M AI Bet, Milbank Sparks a Salary Race, and the AI IPO Boom
Kirkland & Ellis is investing $500 million into building its own in-house AI platform designed to help attorneys tap into the firm’s collective knowledge and workflows. Developed by a team of 180 engineers and data scientists alongside outside companies, the platform was shaped using insights from more than 250 attorneys, including 100 partners. While Kirkland continues investing in third-party AI tools, the move reflects a broader BigLaw push toward AI adoption and custom legal tech solutions, even as concerns grow over AI-generated errors.
MARKET MOVEMENTS
O'Melveny & Myers LLP adds M&A pro, Jeffrey Wolf, from Paul Hastings in SF
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP lures Iliana Karaoglan, M&A partner, back from Simpson
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP hires M&A partners, Trent Bridges and Michael Darby in Houston and New York
Vinson & Elkins adds New York-based Orrick real estate attorney, Peter Bergan, focused on data centers
FIRM SPOTLIGHT - FAEGRE DRINKER LLP
Faegre Drinker is a full-service international law firm formed in 2020 through the merger of Faegre Baker Daniels and Drinker Biddle & Reath, two firms with histories dating back to the 1800s. The firm advises clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to startups across industries including healthcare, financial services, food and agribusiness, insurance, and life sciences. Known for its strengths in litigation, regulatory, restructuring, investment management, and healthcare law, Faegre Drinker also offers consulting services through divisions focused on federal advocacy, healthcare strategy, and data science. Beyond its corporate work, the firm is widely recognized for its commitment to pro bono service, contributing more than 230,000 hours over five years to support causes including immigration, veterans’ rights, domestic violence advocacy, and nonprofit organizations.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
The trans-Atlantic merger between Chicago-founded Winston & Strawn LLP and London-based Taylor Wessing is now up and running as Winston Taylor. The combination, first announced in December 2025, creates an organization with more than 1,400 lawyers that’s on pace to generate about $1.75 billion in revenue
Kirkland & Ellis has more than doubled the size of its summer associate class in Miami since it first hosted law school students there in 2023, and it expects an even larger class in 2027. This summer’s class of 21 includes 14 associates in corporate and two in litigation, as well as, for the first time, five in restructuring. Next year the firm expects to have 34 summer associates in the Miami office.
As part of a recent report from Law.com Compass' Pacesetter Research, AI and innovation leaders from 300 U.S.-based law firms were surveyed in the first quarter of 2026. When asked whether they felt AI could accurately predict the results of legal cases, 62% of those surveys said yes, but with some limitations. Another 17% said AI tools are not advanced enough to make those types of predictions accurately, and the remaining 21% said they were unsure.
Sidley Austin LLP has announced a promotion class of 52 lawyers elevated to partner, a 79% jump on its December round, setting a record as the firm's largest ever promotions season
Milbank Sparks Another BigLaw Salary Race
Milbank LLP has announced another round of associate salary increases, with raises ranging from $10K to $20K depending on class year and larger bumps going to more senior associates, effective July 1, 2026. Summer associates will also receive increases. This move continues Milbank’s long-running pattern of leading BigLaw compensation jumps since 2016, prompting expectations that other firms will quickly follow suit, as has happened in past cycles when firms like Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP moved to match earlier Milbank raises. The announcement is already triggering speculation about which major firm will be first to respond in the latest round of compensation competition.
AI IPO Boom Fuels BigLaw Deal Surge
Anthropic’s confidential IPO filing is the latest sign of a booming capital markets landscape, with other AI giants like OpenAI and SpaceX all preparing to go public amid renewed investor appetite for large-scale tech offerings. Legal industry leaders say the surge reflects how critical public markets remain for capital-intensive AI companies racing to scale, while also fueling major demand for BigLaw securities and capital markets practices. Alongside these headline-grabbing IPOs, the market has also seen a wave of billion-dollar mergers, SPACs, and debt offerings, signaling strong momentum across the broader dealmaking environment.
