{"id":166421,"date":"2026-10-29T13:01:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T21:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/29\/weils-wind-down-message-to-associates-good-luck-out-there-and-dont-forget-your-timesheets\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T13:01:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T21:01:23","slug":"weils-wind-down-message-to-associates-good-luck-out-there-and-dont-forget-your-timesheets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/29\/weils-wind-down-message-to-associates-good-luck-out-there-and-dont-forget-your-timesheets\/","title":{"rendered":"Weil\u2019s Wind-Down Message To Associates: Good Luck Out There, And Don\u2019t Forget Your Timesheets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weil Gotshal & Manges is winding down after 95 years<\/a>, but the billable hour, it seems, will outlive it.<\/p>\n

When firm leaders announced the shutdown to all attorneys, they had a message for associates, according to Above the Law tipsters. It started out about as well as these things can:<\/p>\n

\n

We also recognize that many of you will begin exploring new professional opportunities, if you have not already. We understand that and we want to be helpful, we intend to support your efforts to find new opportunities and facilitate introductions where we can. We know that Weil\u2019s associates, counsel and staff are among the most talented professionals in the industry, and we will do what we can to help you take the next step in your careers. We will provide additional information about available resources and transition support as the process develops.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Weil associates spent the past week watching partners frantically send r\u00e9sum\u00e9s<\/a> to rivals, and at least one practice head had already told his associates to look for work elsewhere<\/a>. These are lawyers who pinned their careers to the Weil partnership, and the partnership couldn\u2019t keep it together<\/a>. Helping them land on their feet is nice\u2026 or at least the barest of professional courtesies.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s money attached, too. According to insiders, the firm will provide up to 90 days of salary and benefits to associates, counsel, non-capital partners, and staff who remain with the firm. Eligible staff will get bonuses in mid-December, and eligible associates, counsel, and non-capital partners who stay through January 1, 2027, will get bonuses paid in early January 2027. That\u2019s a real cushion for people who didn\u2019t create this mess. <\/p>\n

Of course, it isn\u2019t just career services time at Weil, there\u2019s legal work that still has to be attended to:<\/p>\n

\n

While we work through the next steps, it is imperative that we continue operating the firm and serving our clients, our clients must continue receiving the same exceptional legal service they have always expected from Weil. We have important obligations to our clients, our colleagues and one another. Those obligations do not change [because of the wind-down]. We need to continue billing for work performed, collecting outstanding fees and managing the firm\u2019s operations responsibly. These efforts are essential to meeting the firm\u2019s obligations, supporting our people and carrying out an orderly process.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So\u2026 we\u2019ll help you find your next job, but first, timesheets! And, that makes sense \u2014 attorneys are acutely aware of their professional responsibilities and an orderly wind-down runs on collected receivables, and Weil has been having consultants comb through obligations like pensions and office leases<\/a>. It\u2019s just that \u201cthe ship is sinking, please remember to record your time in six-minute increments\u201d is hard to hear for the people with the least say in steering it.<\/p>\n

At least leadership closed with an acknowledgment that it\u2019s asking a lot:<\/p>\n

\n

We recognize that asking everyone to remain focused on their work during a period of such personal uncertainty is difficult. We do not take that for granted. But your continued professionalism and commitment, will make an enormous difference for our clients your colleagues and success of this transition.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Leadership also acknowledged that \u201cuncertainty\u201d has been a pain point throughout this process, said the firm \u201cwants to do better as we move forward,\u201d and committed to sharing information \u201cas promptly and clearly as possible.\u201d Which, I guess\u2026 better late than never? Because don\u2019t forget in September the firm was \u201cnot engaged in merger discussions with any firm,\u201d<\/a> then negotiating one<\/a> a month later, and told the Wall Street Journal \u201cNo decision has been made to dissolve the firm,\u201d days before deciding to dissolve the firm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

None of which changes the fact that this is a shitty time to be a Weil associate. So if you know one, buy them a drink, give them a hug, or offer to proofread their r\u00e9sum\u00e9, because they need the kindness right about now.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> After 95 Years, Weil Gotshal Is Winding Down<\/a>
Weil Cancels Webinar Inviting 1Ls To \u2018Explore What A Career Here Could Look Like\u2019<\/a>
Weil Practice Head Tells His Associates To Start Looking For Work Elsewhere<\/a>
Weil Gotshal Is Now Discussing A Possible Wind-Down<\/a>
Weil Partners Are \u2018Frantically Sending R\u00e9sum\u00e9s\u2019 As Leadership Weighs Its Options<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Successor Walked Away, And Now The Firm Has A \u2018Run On The Bank\u2019 Problem<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Incoming Leader Won\u2019t Take The Job, And Might Take One At Simpson Thacher Instead<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Merger With Willkie Is Dead, But Its Partner Exodus Is Very Much Alive<\/a>
Weil Gotshal Is Reportedly Negotiating A Merger, About A Month After Saying It Wasn\u2019t In Merger Talks<\/a>
Weil Seeks To Strengthen Its \u2018Platform\u2019 As Merger Rumors Swirl<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Corporate Chair Decamps For Cravath, Which Weil Would Like You To Know Is \u2018A Smaller Platform\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Weil\u2019s Wind-Down Message To Associates: Good Luck Out There, And Don\u2019t Forget Your Timesheets<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Weil Gotshal & Manges is winding down after 95 years<\/a>, but the billable hour, it seems, will outlive it.<\/p>\n

When firm leaders announced the shutdown to all attorneys, they had a message for associates, according to Above the Law tipsters. It started out about as well as these things can:<\/p>\n

\n

We also recognize that many of you will begin exploring new professional opportunities, if you have not already. We understand that and we want to be helpful, we intend to support your efforts to find new opportunities and facilitate introductions where we can. We know that Weil\u2019s associates, counsel and staff are among the most talented professionals in the industry, and we will do what we can to help you take the next step in your careers. We will provide additional information about available resources and transition support as the process develops.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Weil associates spent the past week watching partners frantically send r\u00e9sum\u00e9s<\/a> to rivals, and at least one practice head had already told his associates to look for work elsewhere<\/a>. These are lawyers who pinned their careers to the Weil partnership, and the partnership couldn\u2019t keep it together<\/a>. Helping them land on their feet is nice\u2026 or at least the barest of professional courtesies.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s money attached, too. According to insiders, the firm will provide up to 90 days of salary and benefits to associates, counsel, non-capital partners, and staff who remain with the firm. Eligible staff will get bonuses in mid-December, and eligible associates, counsel, and non-capital partners who stay through January 1, 2027, will get bonuses paid in early January 2027. That\u2019s a real cushion for people who didn\u2019t create this mess. <\/p>\n

Of course, it isn\u2019t just career services time at Weil, there\u2019s legal work that still has to be attended to:<\/p>\n

\n

While we work through the next steps, it is imperative that we continue operating the firm and serving our clients, our clients must continue receiving the same exceptional legal service they have always expected from Weil. We have important obligations to our clients, our colleagues and one another. Those obligations do not change [because of the wind-down]. We need to continue billing for work performed, collecting outstanding fees and managing the firm\u2019s operations responsibly. These efforts are essential to meeting the firm\u2019s obligations, supporting our people and carrying out an orderly process.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So\u2026 we\u2019ll help you find your next job, but first, timesheets! And, that makes sense \u2014 attorneys are acutely aware of their professional responsibilities and an orderly wind-down runs on collected receivables, and Weil has been having consultants comb through obligations like pensions and office leases<\/a>. It\u2019s just that \u201cthe ship is sinking, please remember to record your time in six-minute increments\u201d is hard to hear for the people with the least say in steering it.<\/p>\n

At least leadership closed with an acknowledgment that it\u2019s asking a lot:<\/p>\n

\n

We recognize that asking everyone to remain focused on their work during a period of such personal uncertainty is difficult. We do not take that for granted. But your continued professionalism and commitment, will make an enormous difference for our clients your colleagues and success of this transition.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Leadership also acknowledged that \u201cuncertainty\u201d has been a pain point throughout this process, said the firm \u201cwants to do better as we move forward,\u201d and committed to sharing information \u201cas promptly and clearly as possible.\u201d Which, I guess\u2026 better late than never? Because don\u2019t forget in September the firm was \u201cnot engaged in merger discussions with any firm,\u201d<\/a> then negotiating one<\/a> a month later, and told the Wall Street Journal \u201cNo decision has been made to dissolve the firm,\u201d days before deciding to dissolve the firm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

None of which changes the fact that this is a shitty time to be a Weil associate. So if you know one, buy them a drink, give them a hug, or offer to proofread their r\u00e9sum\u00e9, because they need the kindness right about now.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> After 95 Years, Weil Gotshal Is Winding Down<\/a>
Weil Cancels Webinar Inviting 1Ls To \u2018Explore What A Career Here Could Look Like\u2019<\/a>
Weil Practice Head Tells His Associates To Start Looking For Work Elsewhere<\/a>
Weil Gotshal Is Now Discussing A Possible Wind-Down<\/a>
Weil Partners Are \u2018Frantically Sending R\u00e9sum\u00e9s\u2019 As Leadership Weighs Its Options<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Successor Walked Away, And Now The Firm Has A \u2018Run On The Bank\u2019 Problem<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Incoming Leader Won\u2019t Take The Job, And Might Take One At Simpson Thacher Instead<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Merger With Willkie Is Dead, But Its Partner Exodus Is Very Much Alive<\/a>
Weil Gotshal Is Reportedly Negotiating A Merger, About A Month After Saying It Wasn\u2019t In Merger Talks<\/a>
Weil Seeks To Strengthen Its \u2018Platform\u2019 As Merger Rumors Swirl<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Corporate Chair Decamps For Cravath, Which Weil Would Like You To Know Is \u2018A Smaller Platform\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weil Gotshal & Manges is winding down after 95 years, but the billable hour, it seems, will outlive it. When firm leaders announced the shutdown to all attorneys, they had a message for associates, according to Above the Law tipsters. It started out about as well as these things can: We also recognize that many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":166394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}