Kirkland & Ellis
Encyclopedia
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an international law firm
with headquarters in Chicago
, known for its profitability and its litigation, bankruptcy, intellectual property and private equity departments. Kirkland & Ellis is currently ranked as the ninth most prestigious law firm in the United States by Vault. As of 2008, it was the seventh largest law firm in the U.S. and the 11th largest in the world by revenue. Kirkland has offices in Chicago
, Hong Kong
, London
, Los Angeles
, Munich
, New York
, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Shanghai
and Washington, D.C.
Stewart G. Shepherd and Robert R. McCormick
, who would later become the publisher of the Chicago Tribune
. The firm's modern namesakes, Weymouth Kirkland
and Howard Ellis
, joined the firm in 1915. In 1938, former United States Department of Justice
lawyer Hammond Chaffetz
joined the firm. The firm now consists of approximately 1,400 attorneys in ten domestic and foreign offices, with particular strength in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Palo Alto and Washington, D.C.
The firm had gross revenue of approximately $1.63 billion in 2010, an 14% increase from 2009. Kirkland is also one of the most profitable law firms in the country, with estimated profits per partner of $3.08 million in 2010, a 23% increase from 2009. Kirkland is the only of the top ten most profitable firms that is not based in New York City.
The firm has represented a number of high-profile clients, including United Airlines
in that company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy
proceedings. Other major clients of the firm have included General Motors
, Brown & Williamson
, Motorola
, Conseco
, Honeywell
, S. C. Johnson & Son
, Apple
, Intel, Raytheon
, Schering-Plough
, Samsung Electronics
, Siemens AG
, Charter Communications
and Westinghouse Electric Company
. The firm is presently representing BP
in the litigation arising out of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
.
AMERICAN LAWYER AWARDS
2008 ALB SE ASIA LAW AWARDS
scale. Unlike most top law firms, however, Kirkland determines bonuses individually—not only according to the number of hours each attorney bills in a given year but also according to a merit-based grade given to each associate at fiscal year-end. The base pay scale is reflected in the following table:
The bulk of the first-year associate class is recent graduates of the nation's top law schools who were hired as summer associates for the summer between their second and third years of law school. In 2007, Kirkland's office in Chicago made an offer of permanent employment to each of its 70 summer associates. Summer associates (mostly second-year law students) are paid the same base rate as first-year associates, or roughly $3,100/week. Incoming associates are given a $10,000 stipend.
The firm has its own Political Action Committee (PAC), which gave 97% of its contributions to Democrats during the 2008 election cycle, as of 12/7/07. The firm's members have given more money to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (by some measures the most liberal Democrat in the Senate) since 1989 than donors from any other company or organization.
Kirkland has a "Diversity Fellowship Program" at some of the nation's leading law schools. Under this program, Kirkland "Fellows" are selected from the group of second-year law students already-hired to work at the firm as summer associates in the upcoming summer. A Kirkland "Fellow" receives a $15,000 stipend during his third year of law school. Since the program's inception, Kirkland has awarded 68 fellowship grants totaling $1,020,000.
The Firmwide Diversity Committee recently announced a new addition to its diversity programming, Diversity Networking Forums. The main purpose of the Diversity Networking Forums is to provide an informal, visible network for attorneys to exchange ideas, provide support, and develop relationships. Four Diversity Networking Forums were formed: (1) the Asian Diversity Networking Forum, (2) the Black Diversity Networking Forum, (3) the Hispanic/Latino Diversity Networking Forum, and (4) the LGBT
Diversity Networking Forum.
The Firmwide Diversity Committee also has a Lesbian
, Gay
, Bisexual and Transgender
(LGBT) Subcommittee "to ensure that all issues of concern to GLBT lawyers are addressed and that the Firm actively supports GLBT-related activities." Kirkland supports financially a large number of LGBT
advocacy groups. In 2006, the Kirkland & Ellis Foundation contributed more than $1,593,000 to the sponsorship of various programs and organizations that directly or indirectly benefit diversity-related initiatives. This represented a 46 percent increase over comparable financial support in 2005.
In 2008 and 2009 Kirkland received perfect 100 percent scores on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index and Best Places to Work survey. The Corporate Equality Index is a tool used by the HRC to rate companies on how well they treat their LGBT employees, consumers and clients.
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
with headquarters in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, known for its profitability and its litigation, bankruptcy, intellectual property and private equity departments. Kirkland & Ellis is currently ranked as the ninth most prestigious law firm in the United States by Vault. As of 2008, it was the seventh largest law firm in the U.S. and the 11th largest in the world by revenue. Kirkland has offices in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Overview
The firm was founded in 1909 by attorneysLawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Stewart G. Shepherd and Robert R. McCormick
Robert R. McCormick
Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick was a member of the McCormick family of Chicago who became owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper...
, who would later become the publisher of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
. The firm's modern namesakes, Weymouth Kirkland
Weymouth Kirkland
Weymouth Kirkland was a Chicago lawyer and one of the name partners of the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.-Background, 1877–1901:...
and Howard Ellis
Howard Ellis
Howard Ellis was a prominent Chicago lawyer and one of the name partners of Kirkland & Ellis.-Biography:Howard Ellis was born in Washington Court House, Ohio on January 15, 1892. He was educated at the University of Chicago, receiving an LL.B. in 1914 and an LL.D. in 1915...
, joined the firm in 1915. In 1938, former United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
lawyer Hammond Chaffetz
Hammond Chaffetz
Hammond E. Chaffetz was a federal prosecutor and partner at Kirkland & Ellis. He helped turn this law firm into one of the American’s largest law firms....
joined the firm. The firm now consists of approximately 1,400 attorneys in ten domestic and foreign offices, with particular strength in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Palo Alto and Washington, D.C.
The firm had gross revenue of approximately $1.63 billion in 2010, an 14% increase from 2009. Kirkland is also one of the most profitable law firms in the country, with estimated profits per partner of $3.08 million in 2010, a 23% increase from 2009. Kirkland is the only of the top ten most profitable firms that is not based in New York City.
The firm has represented a number of high-profile clients, including United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
in that company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
proceedings. Other major clients of the firm have included General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, Brown & Williamson
Brown & Williamson
Brown & Williamson was an American tobacco company and subsidiary of the giant British American Tobacco, that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhancing the addictiveness of cigarettes...
, Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, Conseco
Conseco
Conseco , originally Security Life of Indiana, is a financial services organization based in Carmel, Indiana. Conseco's insurance subsidiaries provide life insurance, annuity and supplemental health insurance products to more than 4 million customers in the United States...
, Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
, S. C. Johnson & Son
S. C. Johnson & Son
S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. , previously known as S. C. Johnson Wax , is a privately held, global manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, Wisconsin. It has operations in 72 countries and its brands are sold in over 110...
, Apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
, Intel, Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
, Schering-Plough
Schering-Plough
Schering-Plough Corporation was a United States-based pharmaceutical company. It was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering as Schering AG in Germany. In 1971, the Schering Corporation merged with Plough to form Schering-Plough. On November 4, 2009 Merck & Co...
, Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
, Siemens AG
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
, Charter Communications
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
and Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is a nuclear power company, offering a wide range of nuclear products and services to utilities throughout the world, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation and control and advanced nuclear plant designs...
. The firm is presently representing BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
in the litigation arising out of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
.
Recognition
| 2010 VAULT RANKINGS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Commercial Litigation | Bankruptcy/Creditor's Rights | Intellectual Property | Private Equity | Mergers & Acquisitions | ||
| Practice Area Rankings (as voted on by partners of peer firms): |
||||||
| Best in Practice (as voted on by all attorneys surveyed): |
||||||
| Chicago | New York City | Washington | Southern California | |||
| Regional Rankings (as voted on by peers at regional firms): |
||||||
| Overall Prestige | Pay | Formal Training | ||||
| Other Rankings | ||||||
AMERICAN LAWYER AWARDS
- 2010 Litigation Department of the Year, Finalist
- 2008 Litigation Department of the Year
- 2008 IP Litigation Department of the Year, Finalist
- 2006 IP Litigation Department of the Year, Finalist
- 2004 Litigation Department of the Year, Finalist
- 2004 IP Litigation Department of the Year, Finalist
- 2002 Litigation Department of the Year, Finalist
2008 ALB SE ASIA LAW AWARDS
- Deal of the Year - Singapore M&A Deal of the Year
- Deal of the Year - Singapore Deal of the Year
Associate Compensation
Like most top law firms, Kirkland sets associates' base salaries according to a lockstep compensationLockstep compensation
Lockstep compensation is a system of remuneration in which the employees' salaries are based purely on their seniority within the organization. For example, in the legal profession, where this system is most commonly found, all law school graduates hired by a law firm who graduated in the same...
scale. Unlike most top law firms, however, Kirkland determines bonuses individually—not only according to the number of hours each attorney bills in a given year but also according to a merit-based grade given to each associate at fiscal year-end. The base pay scale is reflected in the following table:
| Seniority | Base Salary | Bonus (median in 2006) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st year | $160,000 | Merit + Hours (median: $52,000) |
| 2nd year | $170,000 | Merit + Hours (median: $68,000) |
| 3rd year | $185,000 | Merit + Hours (median: $75,000) |
| 4th year | $210,000 | Merit + Hours (median: $95,000) |
| 5th year | $230,000 | Merit + Hours (median: $110,000) |
| 6th year | $250,000 | Merit + Hours (median: $125,000) |
The bulk of the first-year associate class is recent graduates of the nation's top law schools who were hired as summer associates for the summer between their second and third years of law school. In 2007, Kirkland's office in Chicago made an offer of permanent employment to each of its 70 summer associates. Summer associates (mostly second-year law students) are paid the same base rate as first-year associates, or roughly $3,100/week. Incoming associates are given a $10,000 stipend.
Layoffs During the 2008-2010 Recession
It was reported in January 2009 that Kirkland laid off a number of non-equity partners (who would be classified as senior associates at most other large firms). 80 non-attorney employees were reportedly terminated in April 2009. In May 2009, Above The Law, a popular legal blog, reported on the cutting of certain associate benefits. In September 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported that Kirkland laid off more than 20 associates in New York and an unknown number in its other offices. It was subsequently reported by the Chicago Tribune and Above The Law that at least twelve associates were laid off in the Chicago office.Political Contributions
Kirkland, through its employees, was a top-20 contributor to Barack Obama in 2008, giving at least $493,735. The firm's attorneys leaned heavily (77%) Democratic in their political contributions during the 2008 election cycle, which were substantial ($579,976 as of 10/29/07).The firm has its own Political Action Committee (PAC), which gave 97% of its contributions to Democrats during the 2008 election cycle, as of 12/7/07. The firm's members have given more money to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (by some measures the most liberal Democrat in the Senate) since 1989 than donors from any other company or organization.
Diversity at Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland has a "Diversity Fellowship Program" at some of the nation's leading law schools. Under this program, Kirkland "Fellows" are selected from the group of second-year law students already-hired to work at the firm as summer associates in the upcoming summer. A Kirkland "Fellow" receives a $15,000 stipend during his third year of law school. Since the program's inception, Kirkland has awarded 68 fellowship grants totaling $1,020,000.
The Firmwide Diversity Committee recently announced a new addition to its diversity programming, Diversity Networking Forums. The main purpose of the Diversity Networking Forums is to provide an informal, visible network for attorneys to exchange ideas, provide support, and develop relationships. Four Diversity Networking Forums were formed: (1) the Asian Diversity Networking Forum, (2) the Black Diversity Networking Forum, (3) the Hispanic/Latino Diversity Networking Forum, and (4) the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
Diversity Networking Forum.
The Firmwide Diversity Committee also has a Lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, Gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, Bisexual and Transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT) Subcommittee "to ensure that all issues of concern to GLBT lawyers are addressed and that the Firm actively supports GLBT-related activities." Kirkland supports financially a large number of LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
advocacy groups. In 2006, the Kirkland & Ellis Foundation contributed more than $1,593,000 to the sponsorship of various programs and organizations that directly or indirectly benefit diversity-related initiatives. This represented a 46 percent increase over comparable financial support in 2005.
In 2008 and 2009 Kirkland received perfect 100 percent scores on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index and Best Places to Work survey. The Corporate Equality Index is a tool used by the HRC to rate companies on how well they treat their LGBT employees, consumers and clients.
Endowed Professorships
The firm has endowed professorships in its name at four of the nation's leading law schools:- $1,500,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
(currently Michael KlarmanMichael KlarmanMichael J. Klarman is an American legal historian, and constitutional law scholar, the Kirkland & Ellis Professor at Harvard Law School. Formerly, he was James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law, Professor of History, and Elizabeth D. and Richard A. Merrill Research Professor at the University...
). - $1,250,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at Northwestern University School of LawNorthwestern University School of LawThe Northwestern University School of Law is a private American law school in Chicago, Illinois. The law school was founded in 1859 as the Union College of Law of the Old University of Chicago. The first law school established in Chicago, it became jointly controlled by Northwestern University in...
(currently Dorothy RobertsDorothy RobertsDorothy E. Roberts is the Kirkland & Ellis Professor at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois.Roberts received her Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Harvard Law School. She is an author, lecturer, and lawyer...
). - $1,175,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at The University of Michigan Law SchoolUniversity of Michigan Law SchoolThe University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
(currently vacant). - $1,000,000 endowment of The Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law Chair at The University of Chicago Law SchoolUniversity of Chicago Law SchoolThe University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
(currently Eric PosnerEric PosnerEric Andrew Posner is Kirkland and Ellis Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He is the son of the prominent federal appellate judge Richard Posner.-Education and clerkship:...
).
Notable Current and Former Lawyers
Among its most well-known current and former lawyers, including three of the last ten U.S. Solicitors General, are:- John R. BoltonJohn R. BoltonJohn Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
, former United States ambassador to the United Nations; - Robert H. Bork, Yale Law SchoolYale Law SchoolYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
professor, former U.S. Solicitor General, former acting U.S. Attorney General, former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, rejected nomineeRobert Bork Supreme Court nominationThe Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination refers to the 1987 nomination by President Ronald Reagan of Judge Robert Bork to serve as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The U.S. Senate rejected his nomination.-Nomination:...
for Justice of the United States Supreme Court by President Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
; - Steven G. BradburySteven G. BradburySteven G. Bradbury is an attorney at the Washington, D.C office of Dechert LLP.Bradbury was head of the Office of Legal Counsel in the United States Department of Justice during the George W. Bush administration. Appointed the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for OLC in April 2004, he...
, former Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal CounselOffice of Legal CounselThe Office of Legal Counsel is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General in his function as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies.-History:...
, U.S. Department of Justice; - Paul D. Clement, former U.S. Solicitor General;
- Mark FilipMark FilipMark Filip is a former Deputy Attorney General of the United States, and in that capacity served as Acting Attorney General from January 20 to February 3, 2009...
, former deputy U.S. Attorney General and former federal district court judge; - Brett KavanaughBrett KavanaughBrett Michael Kavanaugh is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He formerly was Staff Secretary in the Executive Office of the President of the United States under President George W...
, current judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and former Associate Counsel to the Independent Counsel under Kenneth Starr; - Jay LefkowitzJay LefkowitzJay Lefkowitz is an Orthodox Jewish American politician and lawyer. He is a senior partner at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm, and he also served as President Bush’s Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea.-Career:...
, former Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea and former domestic policy advisor to President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
; - Jack S. Levin, often credited as the "father of private equity law";
- Michael W. McConnellMichael W. McConnellMichael William McConnell is a constitutional law scholar who served as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 2002 until 2009. Since 2009, Judge McConnell has served as Director of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School...
, Stanford Law SchoolStanford Law SchoolStanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
professor and former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; - John H. MorrisonJohn H. MorrisonJohn H. Morrison is a former senior partner of Kirkland & Ellis and former President of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars...
, former President of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars; and - Kenneth StarrKenneth StarrKenneth Winston "Ken" Starr is an American lawyer and educational administrator who has also been a federal judge. He is best known for his investigation of figures during the Clinton administration....
, Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law, former U.S. Solicitor General, former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and former independent counsel that investigated President Bill Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Whitewater scandal.