Wachtell Lipton faces an earthquake as Bill Savitt and five other litigation partners depart for rival Gibson Dunn. The move shatters the firm's famously cohesive culture. Savitt, a co-managing partner and Delaware litigation expert, previously helped Wachtell secure a $90mn success fee forcing Elon Musk to close his $44bn Twitter acquisition.

Tensions emerged over compensation and recognition. Savitt believed his Delaware case law specialists weren't getting their due internally, while M&A partners bring in steadier revenue. Wachtell's brass view the departure as betrayal. The firm now has fewer than 20 litigation partners, raising questions about handling deal lawsuits for corporate clients.

The impact is already visible. In recent client alerts on Delaware court decisions, Savitt's name — usually listed first given his encyclopedic M&A law knowledge — was conspicuously absent. The defections come amid a red-hot lateral market in corporate law, but Wachtell Lipton insists its core deals advisory business remains stronger than ever.