Weil Gotshal & Manges’s leadership team recommended on Wednesday that the law firm wind down after nearly a century of advising many of America’s largest corporations. In a statement, Weil said the recommendation followed a “careful review of alternatives” and that the firm’s partners would vote on the matter in the coming days.
The dissolution would be a stunning collapse of one of America’s most prominent white shoe law firms, delivering a painful blow to the firm’s 2,000 employees, including its roughly 1,200 lawyers, who will have to find work elsewhere. Weil had recently hired advisers from Davis Polk & Wardwell to help weigh a range of options, and discussions eventually turned to winding down the firm. Weil said it would continue serving clients during the process, which would take place over the coming months.
Once one of the most sought-after firms for top lawyers, Weil has been rocked by an exodus of partners, including the chair of its global corporate practice. It has also suffered a failed succession plan and a scuttled merger with its rival Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Ramona Nee, co-head of private equity, had been expected to succeed Barry Wolf as leader, but in August she declined the top role, according to two people familiar with the matter. Many lawyers have since begun sending out a deluge of résumés.
Weil’s struggles reflect broader changes in Big Law, where the largest firms are drawing in talent and business with lavish pay packages. Weil was once the marquee name for bankruptcy advice but has had difficulty competing with these giants. At law firms, whose primary assets are their employees, downward spirals can happen fast, and rivals had already been circling to pick up lawyers. Similar collapses have befallen major firms before, including Dewey & LeBoeuf in 2012.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing