Jon A. Ballis

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Jon A. Ballis is the Chairman of Kirkland & Ellis, [1] the largest law firm in the world by revenue. [2] In 2018 Ballis was named to succeed Jeffrey Hammes as Chairman beginning in February, 2020. [3]

Contents

Jon A. Ballis
Born1970
Alma mater Lehigh University (B.A.), Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Employer Kirkland & Ellis

Early Life and Education

Ballis grew up in the Chicago area. Ballis attended Highland Park High School, where he played basketball with Jonathan Gray, now COO of Blackstone Inc. [4] [5] In 1987, Ballis went to attend Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, graduating with High Honors in 1991. He then matriculated to Harvard Law School, graduating cum laude in 1994. [6]

Career

Ballis began working at law firm Sidley Austin in 1994 and earned partner in 2002. He joined Kirkland & Ellis as a partner in 2005. At Kirkland & Ellis he has concentrated on private equity deals. He has handled legal services for major private equity companies including Bain, Blackstone, Centerbridge, Cerberus, Hellman & Friedman, KKR, Madison Dearborn, Pritzker Group, Silver Lake, TPG, and Thomas H. Lee. [7] [8] [9]

As chairman he has continued Kirkland & Ellis's increasing focus on advising private equity deal s and poaching revenue producing lawyers from other firms by incentivizing them with high pay. [10] [11] [12] [13] Kirkland & Ellis has the second highest profit per partner of any United States law firm. [14]

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References

  1. ↑ "Jon A. Ballis, P.C. | Professionals | Kirkland & Ellis LLP". web.archive.org. 2024-11-23. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  2. ↑ "The 2023 Global 200 Ranked by Revenue | Law.com International". web.archive.org. 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  3. ↑ "Kirkland & Ellis Names New Chairman to Replace Jeffrey Hammes". web.archive.org. 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  4. ↑ "While pandemic loomed, Kirkland & Ellis boomed". Crain's Chicago Business. 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  5. ↑ "Kirkland's Blackstone Fees Slip as Legal Chief's Pay Also Falls". web.archive.org. 2024-03-04. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  6. ↑ "Legal 500 - Kirkland & Ellis - Jon Ballis".
  7. ↑ "Jon Ballis". Crain's Chicago Business. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  8. ↑ "After the hammer, a scalpel – Kirkland confirms long-groomed successor to 'visionary' chair Hammes". Legal Business. 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  9. ↑ "Jon A Ballis". chambers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  10. ↑ Louch, Will (2023-12-12). "Kirkland & Ellis: is it party over for the world's most profitable law firm?". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  11. ↑ "Kirkland & Ellis hires senior Macfarlanes tax partner in London".
  12. ↑ "Wall Street 'Nightmare' Alive as Kirkland Poaches From Wachtell".
  13. ↑ "Kirkland & Ellis Adds Two Partners to Growing Structured Finance & Structured Private Credit Practice | News | Kirkland & Ellis LLP". www.kirkland.com. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  14. ↑ "The 2024 Am Law 100: Ranked by Profits Per Equity Partner". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
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