Kaye Wiggins, Oliver Barnes, Sujeet Indap and Amelia Pollard in New York Published October 29 2026. On Wednesday afternoon, Weil Gotshal & Manges' management committee gathered in Manhattan to announce the dissolution of the 95-year-old firm. Partners were stunned as chair Barry Wolf revealed the firm had exhausted its options.
The collapse was triggered by a wave of lateral departures, beginning with Private equity partners Christopher Machera and Brian Parness moving to Paul Weiss and Simpson Thacher respectively. The most significant blow was M&A rainmaker Michael Aiello's departure to Cravath, Swaine & Moore, taking a group of partners with him. Together, Aiello, Machera and Parness were responsible for between $100mn and $150mn of revenue a year, roughly 5-7 per cent of the firm's total.
Rival firms now offer huge sums to scoop up rainmakers, and hopefully their clients. "These firms are just people," said one senior lawyer at a competitor. "It’s not like there are hard assets or other widgets or intellectual property. They can be pretty fragile." Weil had largely missed out on the bonanza for legal talent, with chair Barry Wolf marveling at how the market for legal talent had evolved. The firm's pristine balance sheet and more than a thousand lawyers could not withstand the mercenary culture of Big Law.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing