Two from The Lawyer. First up, the headliner, October 28:
Weil Gotshal & Manges is preparing to dissolve, marking one of the most dramatic collapses in BigLaw history.
The 95-year old New York firm has suffered a series of high-profile exits to rival firms following the departure of M&A partner Michael Aiello to Cravath Swaine & Moore.
With 1,200 lawyers and 16 offices, Weil – a prestigious firm which made $2.1bn in revenue last year – will rank among the biggest ever collapses for the legal market.
In a statement on Wednesday, the firm said:
“For more than 90 years, Weil, Gotshal & Manges has had the privilege of advising clients on some of their most consequential matters.
“Following a careful review of strategic alternatives, the Firm’s Management Committee has recommended to the partnership that the Firm pursue an orderly wind-down. The partners are expected to vote in the coming days.
“During the wind-down process over the coming months, the Firm will continue serving clients with the dedication and excellence that have defined it since its founding and will remain committed to supporting its colleagues.”
Michael Aiello, one of the world’s leading M&A partners, began a flurry of partner exits last month....
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And October 29:
“This is a culture issue”: Weil insiders vent about shock collapse of New York firm
As Weil prepares to wind down operations after almost a century of legal practice, some lawyers who have spoken with The Lawyer expressed frustration with leadership and seem bemused at the situation given the financial health of the Wall Street firm.
On 28 October Weil’s management committee – led by Barry Wolf in the closing weeks of his 16-year tenure as executive partner – gathered all partners at 2pm Eastern Time. They were informed that the firm would be dissolved. With 1,200 lawyers and 16 offices, Weil – which turned over $2.1bn in revenue last year – will rank among the largest ever law firm collapses.
Among its most significant liabilities, the size of firm’s real estate spend could become a focal point, experts have suggested, as the firm dissolves. Weil’s real estate spending currently stands at roughly £4.3m in London and is estimated to be over $50m in New York, according to analysis by The Lawyer.
One firm insider was keen to stress the fiduciary health of the firm, however, and saw it as a point of contention given the decision to wind down. “There are no financial problems,” the partner told The Lawyer. “The firm is more than $2bn in revenue. It’s operating in normal course, with big receivables coming. The pension liability is largely funded and managed.”
Despite apparently solid finances, Weil was on track to see a black hole in its results for 2027. Though the bulk of the losses would not yet appear in its 2026 financials due to healthy retrievable funds even from exiting rainmakers, the following year would have seen a dent perhaps worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
But if financial pressures were not the cause for Weil’s demise, then what was?
Culture wars
Polarised opinions have emerged within the transactional groups. There were those at Weil who wished for the firm to retain the elite star culture it was renowned for, and those whose argument was that the firm ought to pursue growth in the private equity market. The former camp felt that the election of Ramona Nee to lead the firm reflected Wolf’s dogged determination to grow the firm’s private equity franchise at all costs.
One source said Wolf “doubled down on bankruptcy and PE”, while another reckons the leader allowed public M&A to become “the wicked witch” or “the big bad wolf”. That person went on: “From their point of view, Aiello was an impetus to growth. So when he left, why weren’t they like: ‘Now the sky’s the limit, the weight is off my neck’? They were paper tigers.”
Some commentators have suggested Mike Aiello was responsible for more than $200m, although that figure seems to others to be overblown. Though he was not the first senior partner to take leave of the firm, his departure was the splashiest – and it is easy to see why. The six-partner departure struck a blow to Weil’s collective confidence.
Historically, Weil’s leadership placed a lot of stock in the firm’s bankruptcy business. John Bringardner, head of Debtwire, said the collapse is “particularly bittersweet for the law firm that built the modern bankruptcy practice in the US”. Bringardner noted Weil’s share of restructuring mandates had “diminish[ed] in recent years as partners have left for other big shops”. The firm’s former global restructuring co-chair Ray Schrock, for example, landed at Latham & Watkins in 2024....
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