William S. Kirsch

Attorney William S. Kirsch has extensive involvement in the Chicago legal and commercial community, much of that time spent as a top partner with Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Most recently, Mr. Kirsch served as Chairperson of an international law firm’s global private equity practice in Chicago. From 2007 to 2011, he effectively raised the international law firm’s profile in private equity transactions, providing counsel to Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC (MDP), in its potential acquisition of BCE Inc. With a valuation of $42 billion, this represented the largest leveraged private equity buyout ever signed. William S. Kirsch also assisted MDP in acquiring The Topps Company, Inc., and aided a group of private investors in the potential purchase of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball franchise. Earning a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at Northwestern University in Chicago, Mr. Kirsch undertook legal studies at Stanford University. He accepted a position with Kirkland & Ellis after receiving his Juris Doctor, becoming a partner at the age of 30. He was pivotal in structuring the 1992 establishment of Madison Dearborn Partners as a spinout from First Chicago Corporation For six years William S. Kirsch served as MDP’s outside general counsel while with Kirkland & Ellis. His 2002 assistance in MDP’s leveraged acquisition of the Jefferson Smurfit Group plc, an Irish packaging company, achieved the Chambers Award for Private Equity Deal of the Year. Valued at $3.7 billion, the transaction was the largest such acquisition in Europe that year. Mr. Kirsch represented Thomas H. Lee Partners on several major deals including TransWestern Publishing and United Industries Corporation, known now as Spectrum Brands, Inc. He also provided experienced counsel on corporate bankruptcy proceedings and 363 sales, as well as restructurings and refinancings. He performed an integral role in advising Trans World Airlines through the company’s bankruptcy and its acquisition by American Airlines, Inc. in 2001. Prior to joining an international law firm in 2007, William S. Kirsch served for two years as President and CEO of a financial services company. Mr. Kirsch also has extensive experience in collegiate sports and devoted much of his time to youth sports organizations.