April 8, 2026

Bay Area - Lateral Associate

CorporateM&APrivate Equity

Kirkland & Ellis LLPSan Francisco

Practice area

Corporate · M&A · Private Equity

PQE

3+ years

Location

San Francisco, California

Employment type

Full-time

Overview

This Senior Associate role is within the M&A/Private Equity practice group at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco, CA.
Advise corporate and private equity clients on complex M&A and corporate transactions.
Requires a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or LLM, or a foreign equivalent.
Requires active admission to the California state bar.
Requires at least three years of experience as an Associate focusing on complex corporate transactions at an international law firm.
Experience must include supporting M&A deals across sectors such as software, industrial manufacturing, consumer goods, healthcare, and telecommunications.
Experience must include supporting private equity funds, strategic acquirers, and their portfolio companies.
Draft and negotiate a range of transactional documents, including merger agreements, asset transfer agreements, equity purchase agreements, and related financing/governance documents.
Support due diligence processes, coordinating with specialist legal teams on regulatory compliance issues such as HIPAA and CFIUS.
Provide post-transaction integration support and ongoing legal advice for private equity funds and portfolio companies on matters like equity grants, employment agreements, and corporate governance.
The hiring salary for this position is $310,000.

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Last updated: April 9, 2026