Mr Jon Ballis > Kirkland & Ellis LLP > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile
Kirkland & Ellis LLP Offices
333 West Wolf Point Plaza
Chicago, IL 60654
United States
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Mr Jon Ballis
Position
Jon Ballis is Chairman of Kirkland’s Executive Committee, where he is responsible for establishing and executing upon Kirkland’s strategic priorities, including advancing business initiatives and promoting a culture of elite performance, collaboration, collegiality and continual improvement. He has long been recognized as one of the leading private equity attorneys in the United States, with Chambers USA recognizing him in every edition since 2004 and The Best Lawyers in America listing him in every edition since 2006. Private Equity Manager named him one of the top 10 private equity lawyers in the country and The Legal 500 U.S. selected Jon as one of only 10 private equity lawyers for its elite “Leading Lawyers” list.
Clients describe Jon as a “go-to guy in the marketplace,” a lawyer with “stellar legal judgement,” and someone with the ability “to take a big picture, strategic perspective on transactions.”
During his career, Jon has handled matters on behalf of many of the leading private equity firms in the country, including Bain, Blackstone, Centerbridge, Cerberus, Hellman & Friedman, KKR, Madison Dearborn, Pritzker Group, Silver Lake, TPG, and Thomas H. Lee.
Memberships
Civic Committee
Commercial Club of Chicago
Economic Club
Legal Aid Chicago’s Justice Circle
Vision for Tomorrow Foundation
Education
Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1994; Lehigh University, B.A., with High Honors, 1991.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
(Hall of Fame)Regularly working with some of world’s most prestigious private equity firms, Kirkland & Ellis LLP continues to be a powerhouse in the US market, advising on substantial takeovers, investments and disposals across a multitude of sectors. Based in Chicago, Jon Ballis
’ extensive expertise is sought after by a range of high-end financial sponsors, while Richard Campbell, also based in Chicago, has recently advised on multi-billion-dollar investments in alternative credit managers, investment management firms, and packaging solutions providers. New York’s Srinivas Kaushik and Peter Martelli handle complex domestic and cross-border M&A and leveraged buyouts, while Los Angeles’ Hamed Meshki has played a key role in advising Oaktree Capital Management on several highly structured acquisitions and disposals. Jennifer Perkins and Sanford Perl are based in New York and Chicago respectively and are noted for their broad sector coverage, with the latter also recognised for his venture capital and growth equity practice. Michael Weisser acts on a number of deals for TPG from New York, including investments in the food and beverage sector and major tech disposals. San Francisco’s Sean Kramer and New York’s Maggie Flores also come recommended. Claire Campbell joined in July 2024.
Lawyer Rankings
- Hall of Fame United States > M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+) United States > M&A/corporate and commercial
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: litigation
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy litigation: oil and gas
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Tax > International tax
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Real estate > Real estate
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Government > State attorneys general
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Transport > Aviation and air travel: litigation and regulation
- Finance > Commercial lending > Advice to direct lenders/private credit
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- International trade and national security > National Security
- Finance > Project finance
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Government > Government relations