Kirkland & Ellis: 15 Married Couples and Counting
Kirkland & Ellis is something of a love machine. The law firm employs 15 married couples and two other couples whose engagements are pending.
The firm is one of many that have relaxed bans on married employees, leading to a proliferation of married couples who practice together, the National Law Journal reports.
Kirkland changed its policy in the 1990s when an associate mentioned that her fiancé, a securities lawyer, might be interested in jumping to the firm. “Firm leaders decided they needed securities attorneys more than the policy,” according to the NLJ. The two lawyers– Linda and Dennis Myers–are now married and partners at Kirkland.
Other big-law couples include Charna Sherman and David Weiner, white-collar criminal defense lawyers hired as a package by Squire Sanders & Dempsey; Patricia Refo and Don Bivens of Snell & Wilmer; and Solomon and Adrienne Wisenberg, hired together by Barnes & Thornburg.
“I married him because I love him, and what a great thing to get to spend your work day with your mate,” Refo told the NLJ, referring to husband Don Bivens.
Clients also benefit, according to Laurel and Joel Bellows, who practice in their own Chicago law firm. “Our pillow talk is often about a case–and there’s no billing going on,” Joel Bellows told the NLJ.
