Overview
- Weil Gotshal & Manges engaged a Davis Polk team led by Neil Barr and Brian Resnick to advise on restructuring, firm mergers and the possibility of an orderly wind-down.
- Merger talks that the firm pursued, reportedly with Willkie Farr & Gallagher, have collapsed and leadership has accelerated searches for strategic options.
- Senior partners have been leaving for rival firms, including Michael Aiello and multiple M&A lawyers moving to Cravath and others joining Simpson Thacher, Paul Weiss and Sullivan & Cromwell.
- Weil’s incoming executive partner, Ramona Nee, told the firm she will not take the leadership role and the management committee has been meeting intensively as departures thin its ranks.
- Financial consultancies are being sounded out to review obligations tied to office leases and pensions, a move that could determine whether Weil seeks a last-minute merger, a smaller standalone model, or an orderly wind-down.