Kirkland & Ellis is ramping up its hiring ambitions as competition intensifies across the legal industry for partners specialising in AI-driven real estate and infrastructure work.
Michelle Kelban, a New York-based real estate partner at Kirkland & Ellis, made clear the firm intends to be aggressive in its recruitment efforts as demand for specialist legal talent surges.
“You will definitely see more hires. You hear a lot about the talent war, and we plan to play to win. We are always in the market for top-level talent,” Kelban said in comments given to Bloomberg Law.
Her remarks relate to the firm’s expansion across its real assets practice group, which combines Kirkland’s real estate practice with its infrastructure, energy and minerals and mining teams.
The consolidation of those practices reflects a strategic move to capture growing client demand at the intersection of property, energy, and technology infrastructure advisory work.
Real estate partners with expertise in data centre development and AI infrastructure are among the most sought-after legal professionals in the market right now.
The rapid proliferation of AI data centres has created an urgent need for lawyers who understand the complex real estate, planning, and regulatory issues underpinning large-scale technology infrastructure projects.
Law firms across the market are competing fiercely to attract and retain partners who can advise on the real estate transactions and developments that underpin the global AI buildout.
Kirkland & Ellis, one of the world’s highest-grossing law firms, appears determined to use its scale and resources to position itself as a dominant force in this emerging area of practice.
The firm’s comments signal that further lateral hires are likely in the near term as it looks to build out capability across its combined real assets group.
For clients, the consolidation of real estate, infrastructure, energy, and minerals expertise under a single practice umbrella offers a more integrated advisory offering for complex, multi-dimensional transactions.
The broader battle for AI-related legal talent shows no sign of easing, with firms investing heavily to secure the partners best placed to serve technology and infrastructure clients in a rapidly evolving market.