Weil Gotshal & Manges hasn’t finished turning off the lights, and the people who used to work there are already calling their lawyers.
The Financial Times reported Tuesday that, while the firm is planning an an orderly wind-down outside bankruptcy, a group of Weil alumni has hired counsel:
Former Weil Gotshal partners have hired legal counsel to represent them in the law firm’s impending wind-down amid a rush by the current and past practitioners to recover part of the value of their stakes in the business.
A group of about 10 former partners, including lawyers who left in the past five years but none who departed in the wave of exits over recent months, is working with Peter Wang, a litigator at Foley & Lardner, according to people familiar with the matter.
Note who is not in that group: anyone from the stampede for the exits over the past two months. It’s the partners who left years ago who got a stake in a firm that, until about a week ago, looked like it would be around forever. Now those equity stakes will only be paid out if there’s anything left after the wind-down, potentially wiping out millions in partner equity. This is exactly why one veteran of the Dewey & LeBoeuf bankruptcy compared the process to managing hundreds of divorces.
And, yes, litigation is on the table. The Financial Times reports the lawyered-up group is probing the leadership of Barry Wolf and the firm’s management at the end of its run to see if there was a breach of fiduciary duty.
Meanwhile, the partners who aren’t waiting around for a payout are busy making their own arrangements.
Ramona Nee, the private equity partner who, until last month, was set to become Weil’s first woman executive partner, is taking a big-ass team to Kirkland & Ellis. Bloomberg Law reported Friday that Nee is in advanced talks to bring 40 or more Weil professionals with her, and on Tuesday Law.com reported Kirkland is close to signing her and a team of about 20. Whatever the final headcount, that’s a chunk of Weil people that are finding a nice safe landing spot amid the chaos.
If you’ve been following along, Nee’s departure was foretold a week ago. After corporate chair Michael Aiello left for Cravath, the “let Weil be Weil” rebuilding pitch was a pitch about Ramona Nee. Then she told the firm she wouldn’t take the top job, flirted with Simpson Thacher, and sparked a run on the bank. Now it seems like she’s landing at the wealthiest law firm in the world.
Former partners lawyering up a week after the vote is a pretty good sign this wind-down is going to be a lot less orderly than advertised.
Earlier: Till Dissolution Do Us Part: Inside Weil’s Biglaw Breakup
Weil Associate Blasts ‘Greed’ And ‘Lack Of Leadership’ As Firm Collapses
What Killed Weil? Rainmakers Who Left In Packs
Weil’s Collapse Is Biglaw’s Halloween Nightmare
Weil’s Wind-Down Message To Associates: Good Luck Out There, And Don’t Forget Your Timesheets
Before Weil, The Biggest Collapse In Biglaw History Ended In Criminal Court
After 95 Years, Weil Gotshal Is Winding Down
Weil Practice Head Tells His Associates To Start Looking For Work Elsewhere
Weil Cancels Webinar Inviting 1Ls To ‘Explore What A Career Here Could Look Like’
Weil Gotshal Is Now Discussing A Possible Wind-Down
Weil Partners Are ‘Frantically Sending Résumés’ As Leadership Weighs Its Options
Weil’s Successor Walked Away, And Now The Firm Has A ‘Run On The Bank’ Problem
Weil’s Incoming Leader Won’t Take The Job, And Might Take One At Simpson Thacher Instead
Weil’s Merger With Willkie Is Dead, But Its Partner Exodus Is Very Much Alive
Weil Gotshal Is Reportedly Negotiating A Merger, About A Month After Saying It Wasn’t In Merger Talks
Cravath And Weil Are Just Trading Partners At This Point
Weil’s Revolving Door Now Spins In Both Directions
Weil Is Relieved To Lose Its Biggest Rainmaker. Cravath Is Thrilled To Get His ‘Values.’
The Cravath Shade Wasn’t A One-Off: Weil Insiders Line Up To Say Good Riddance
Weil’s Corporate Chair Decamps For Cravath, Which Weil Would Like You To Know Is ‘A Smaller Platform’
Top Biglaw Firm Announces Its First Female Executive Partner In History
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
The post Former Weil Partners Lawyer Up As The Firm’s Wind-Down Turns Into A Fight Over What’s Left appeared first on Above the Law.
Weil Gotshal & Manges hasn’t finished turning off the lights, and the people who used to work there are already calling their lawyers.
The Financial Times reported Tuesday that, while the firm is planning an an orderly wind-down outside bankruptcy, a group of Weil alumni has hired counsel:
Former Weil Gotshal partners have hired legal counsel to represent them in the law firm’s impending wind-down amid a rush by the current and past practitioners to recover part of the value of their stakes in the business.
A group of about 10 former partners, including lawyers who left in the past five years but none who departed in the wave of exits over recent months, is working with Peter Wang, a litigator at Foley & Lardner, according to people familiar with the matter.
Note who is not in that group: anyone from the stampede for the exits over the past two months. It’s the partners who left years ago who got a stake in a firm that, until about a week ago, looked like it would be around forever. Now those equity stakes will only be paid out if there’s anything left after the wind-down, potentially wiping out millions in partner equity. This is exactly why one veteran of the Dewey & LeBoeuf bankruptcy compared the process to managing hundreds of divorces.
And, yes, litigation is on the table. The Financial Times reports the lawyered-up group is probing the leadership of Barry Wolf and the firm’s management at the end of its run to see if there was a breach of fiduciary duty.
Meanwhile, the partners who aren’t waiting around for a payout are busy making their own arrangements.
Ramona Nee, the private equity partner who, until last month, was set to become Weil’s first woman executive partner, is taking a big-ass team to Kirkland & Ellis. Bloomberg Law reported Friday that Nee is in advanced talks to bring 40 or more Weil professionals with her, and on Tuesday Law.com reported Kirkland is close to signing her and a team of about 20. Whatever the final headcount, that’s a chunk of Weil people that are finding a nice safe landing spot amid the chaos.
If you’ve been following along, Nee’s departure was foretold a week ago. After corporate chair Michael Aiello left for Cravath, the “let Weil be Weil” rebuilding pitch was a pitch about Ramona Nee. Then she told the firm she wouldn’t take the top job, flirted with Simpson Thacher, and sparked a run on the bank. Now it seems like she’s landing at the wealthiest law firm in the world.
Former partners lawyering up a week after the vote is a pretty good sign this wind-down is going to be a lot less orderly than advertised.
Earlier: Till Dissolution Do Us Part: Inside Weil’s Biglaw Breakup
Weil Associate Blasts ‘Greed’ And ‘Lack Of Leadership’ As Firm Collapses
What Killed Weil? Rainmakers Who Left In Packs
Weil’s Collapse Is Biglaw’s Halloween Nightmare
Weil’s Wind-Down Message To Associates: Good Luck Out There, And Don’t Forget Your Timesheets
Before Weil, The Biggest Collapse In Biglaw History Ended In Criminal Court
After 95 Years, Weil Gotshal Is Winding Down
Weil Practice Head Tells His Associates To Start Looking For Work Elsewhere
Weil Cancels Webinar Inviting 1Ls To ‘Explore What A Career Here Could Look Like’
Weil Gotshal Is Now Discussing A Possible Wind-Down
Weil Partners Are ‘Frantically Sending Résumés’ As Leadership Weighs Its Options
Weil’s Successor Walked Away, And Now The Firm Has A ‘Run On The Bank’ Problem
Weil’s Incoming Leader Won’t Take The Job, And Might Take One At Simpson Thacher Instead
Weil’s Merger With Willkie Is Dead, But Its Partner Exodus Is Very Much Alive
Weil Gotshal Is Reportedly Negotiating A Merger, About A Month After Saying It Wasn’t In Merger Talks
Cravath And Weil Are Just Trading Partners At This Point
Weil’s Revolving Door Now Spins In Both Directions
Weil Is Relieved To Lose Its Biggest Rainmaker. Cravath Is Thrilled To Get His ‘Values.’
The Cravath Shade Wasn’t A One-Off: Weil Insiders Line Up To Say Good Riddance
Weil’s Corporate Chair Decamps For Cravath, Which Weil Would Like You To Know Is ‘A Smaller Platform’
Top Biglaw Firm Announces Its First Female Executive Partner In History
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
The post Former Weil Partners Lawyer Up As The Firm’s Wind-Down Turns Into A Fight Over What’s Left appeared first on Above the Law.
