Bill Savitt left the long‑established Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz after a coffee meeting with Orin Snyder of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. The move, announced this week, brings five Wachtell partners to Gibson Dunn, a 2,200‑lawyer megafirm with revenue approaching $5bn.

The departure is a rare first for a managing partner to switch from one Wall Street powerhouse to another, and it signals the reach of the talent battle that has until now focused on M&A and private‑equity lawyers. Pay packages for superstars can exceed $20mn a year, and now litigation practice heads are also being courted.

Savitt’s specialty in defending Fortune 500 boards and handling disputes from M&A and shareholder activism is vital at Wachtell, especially in Delaware where most U.S. companies are incorporated. His exit, along with colleagues Sarah Eddy and Randall Jackson, undermines Wachtell’s Delaware litigation core.

Wachtell’s lockstep pay system and heavy focus on dealmaking have left its litigation partners—now fewer than 20—reassessing their value. Gibson Dunn, by contrast, can absorb the talent without compromising high‑profile clients such as Elon Musk or Exxon Mobil.