Weil Gotshal Plans to Dissolve After Partner Exits, Failed Merger
Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the 95-year-old firm behind the Lehman and Enron bankruptcies, plans an orderly wind-down after defections and failed merger talks.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the New York law firm that helped build modern corporate bankruptcy practice and steered Lehman Brothers, General Motors and Enron through Chapter 11, plans to wind itself down, its leaders told partners on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The decision follows months of high-profile partner departures and collapsed merger talks, and it ranks among the most dramatic failures of a major U.S. law firm in more than a decade.
What happened
After a review of strategic alternatives, the firm’s management committee recommended to the partnership that Weil pursue an “orderly wind-down,” a spokesperson said, according to Bloomberg Law. Bloomberg Law reported that partners are expected to vote on the plan in the coming days. Reuters reported that the firm said it would keep serving clients while the process unfolds over the coming months.
The announcement came only days after a Weil spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that “no decision has been made to dissolve the firm,” as the legal news site Above the Law noted. An adviser told Bloomberg Law the firm believes it can complete a solvent wind-down, meaning it expects to meet its obligations without a bankruptcy filing.
Brian Resnick, a bankruptcy lawyer at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, is advising Weil on the process, Above the Law reported. Reuters said Weil had brought in Davis Polk to help with restructuring as departures mounted.
Who is affected
Reuters said it was unclear what the dissolution would mean for the firm’s roughly 1,200 lawyers, its staff and its creditors. According to Bloomberg Law, associates and staff were told they would receive salary and benefits for 90 days, plus bonuses if they remain until year-end payouts. A firmwide video meeting led by Barry Wolf, Weil’s longtime executive partner, reportedly left no time for questions, Bloomberg Law said, and at least one practice group leader told associates to look for jobs elsewhere while still employed.
The firm is also in the middle of major litigation. Weil represents grocery chain Kroger in a Delaware Chancery Court trial against Albertsons over their failed $24.6 billion merger, with closing arguments expected in early 2027, Bloomberg Law reported.
How the firm unraveled
Weil was founded in 1931 by Frank Weil, Sylvan Gotshal and Horace Manges and is headquartered in the Fifth Avenue tower in Manhattan often called the General Motors Building. Reuters reported that the firm generated more than $2 billion in revenue last year, while Bloomberg Law and Above the Law put the figure at roughly $2.1 billion, placing it among the 30 largest U.S. firms. Average profit per equity partner was about $5.4 million, roughly half of what elite rivals such as Kirkland & Ellis and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz earn, Reuters reported, citing the trade publication American Lawyer.
The sources describe a rapid sequence of setbacks:
- Leadership transition: Weil signaled in late 2024 that it would seek a successor to Wolf. Bloomberg Law said at least seven management committee members have since left or were reported to be leaving.
- Early summer 2026: A group of private equity partners left for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, according to Bloomberg Law and Reuters.
- September: Michael Aiello, chair of Weil’s corporate department and a leading mergers lawyer, announced he would join Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and Reuters said five partners went with him. Two London-based mergers partners also left for Sullivan & Cromwell.
- October: Leaders told partners on Oct. 19 that the firm was in merger talks, Bloomberg Law reported. Discussions with New York firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher were then called off.
- Late October: Ramona Nee, who had been slated to succeed Wolf as executive partner in January, reportedly decided not to take the job, according to Bloomberg Law and Above the Law.
Why it matters
The collapse has drawn comparisons with Dewey & LeBoeuf, which filed for bankruptcy in May 2012 in what was then the largest law firm failure in U.S. history. Reuters noted that Dewey had more than 1,300 lawyers after its 2007 merger and failed amid departures, heavy debt and obligations to current and retired partners. Above the Law reported that Weil reportedly carries no debt, though it still has lease obligations.
Industry observers say the episode reflects intense competition for top dealmakers and litigators, with rivals offering large pay packages to lure partners in private equity, mergers and litigation. “This is a sign of the times for law firms,” Kent Zimmermann, a consultant at the Zeughauser Group, told Bloomberg Law.
John Morley, a Yale Law School professor who studies law firm failures, told Bloomberg Law that firms often move quickly once collapse looks unavoidable, partly because partner pay can be clawed back in bankruptcy. “Once the end of the firm becomes inevitable, you want to start the wind-down as quickly as possible,” he said.
The legal industry has also been consolidating. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft merged with Hogan Lovells this year, and Shearman & Sterling combined with Allen & Overy in 2024 to form A&O Shearman, Reuters noted.
What comes next
The partnership vote is the next formal step. Beyond that, the key questions are where Weil’s remaining partners and their client relationships land, how pending matters such as the Kroger case are handed off, and whether the firm can meet its rent and other obligations without a court-supervised process.
