A little more than a year after entering Philadelphia, Kirkland & Ellis is now planting a flag in Nashville. The largest firm in the world by revenue said Tuesday that it's opening in the Tennessee capital with a handful of litigation partners. The firm also said it has "a number of partners” in deal work, too, who are ready to launch a full-service office. The city of Nashville, observers say, has gained “outsize investment” over the last few years because of its talent base and its status as a health care hub. Kirkland, in a release Tuesday, said Nashville is “an ideal environment” for continued, “aggressive” growth, calling the office launch "part of its strategy to attract top legal talent and meet growing client demand." The firm is opening in Music City with current Kirkland litigation partners Tara Blake, Matt Smith, Paul Rosenblatt and Travis Swearingen—currently based in Houston, the Bay Area and Washington, D.C., according to a statement Tuesday. It also said the firm will add “a number of additional partners and associates” with extensive experience in trial, complex commercial disputes and mass torts, among other areas. All told, the firm has about 10 litigators who have joined recently or will join the office soon. The firm also will add “a number of additional partners and associates across its transactional practices," Kirkland said. "Nashville offers an ideal environment for our continued growth by enhancing our ability to attract exceptional legal talent in a vibrant and growing city with talented lawyers and a strong law school community,” said Jon Ballis, Kirkland’s chairman, in a statement. “We’re excited to open our doors in the Music City with a terrific group of lawyers across our litigation and transactional practice areas.” The move comes off a year where Kirkland invested heavily in litigation, adding Ali Brown and a team from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom to open in the City of Brotherly Love in January, as well as partners Kristen Fournier, Kim Bueno and a team from King & Spalding in May . The firm also capped the year by adding former co-leaders in Orrick’s complex litigation and dispute resolution group, Meghan Kelly and Bill Oxley, saying in December that those additions brought its litigation lateral total last year to more than 150 attorneys. Nashville is one of several secondary markets observers say is particularly hot at the moment, along with cities such as Austin, Atlanta, Denver and Miami. Factors such as corporate client movement, a more mobile and remote workforce and more business-friendly policies make those places that were not traditional legal strongholds more appealing. Kirkland opened in Salt Lake City back in 2021, helping set off a chain of Big Law entrants into Utah, as well as Miami in 2022, before adding Philadelphia to its map. “Law firms ultimately follow the money, and in recent years outsize investment has flowed to places like Miami and Nashville,” Kent Zimmermann, of Zeughauser Group, told The American Lawyer . “At the same time, many high-performing firms are increasingly aligning their geographic growth strategies with their priority practices and industry sectors.” As Big Law grows in the area, the city is also home to more legal talent, both in the senior ranks and the associate ranks, which attracts even more firms. Last year, Foley & Lardner and McDermott Will & Emery moved into the market. Andy Calder, a corporate partner and member of Kirkland’s executive committee, said in the statement that the firm is looking forward to building a “full-service office engaged on high-profile and complex transactional matters alongside lawyers across our national platform. Andrew Kassof, a litigation partner and member of the firm’s executive committee, said the firm’s litigation department has “never been stronger” and that litigators in Nashville will add skill and depth to their group. “Our launch in Nashville is part of our aggressive nationwide growth strategy in litigation, which we intend to continue in 2026,” Kassof added in the statement.