{"id":166775,"date":"2026-11-04T15:50:48","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T23:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/11\/04\/former-weil-partners-lawyer-up-as-the-firms-wind-down-turns-into-a-fight-over-whats-left\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T15:50:48","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T23:50:48","slug":"former-weil-partners-lawyer-up-as-the-firms-wind-down-turns-into-a-fight-over-whats-left","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/11\/04\/former-weil-partners-lawyer-up-as-the-firms-wind-down-turns-into-a-fight-over-whats-left\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Weil Partners Lawyer Up As The Firm\u2019s Wind-Down Turns Into A Fight Over What\u2019s Left"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weil Gotshal & Manges hasn\u2019t finished turning off the lights, and the people who used to work there are already calling their lawyers.<\/p>\n

The Financial Times reported<\/a> Tuesday that, while the firm is planning an an orderly wind-down<\/a> outside bankruptcy, a group of Weil alumni has hired counsel:<\/p>\n

\n

Former Weil Gotshal partners have hired legal counsel to represent them in the law firm\u2019s impending wind-down amid a rush by the current and past practitioners to recover part of the value of their stakes in the business.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Note who is not<\/em> in that group: anyone from the stampede for the exits over the past two months. It\u2019s 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\u2019s 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<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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\u2019s management at the end of its run to see if there was a breach of fiduciary duty.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the partners who aren\u2019t waiting around for a payout are busy making their own arrangements.<\/p>\n

Ramona Nee, the private equity partner who, until last month, was set to become Weil\u2019s 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<\/a>, and on Tuesday Law.com reported Kirkland is close to signing her and a team of about 20<\/a>. Whatever the final headcount, that\u2019s a chunk of Weil people that are finding a nice safe landing spot amid the chaos. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been following along, Nee\u2019s departure was foretold a week ago. After corporate chair Michael Aiello left for Cravath<\/a>, the \u201clet Weil be Weil\u201d rebuilding pitch was a pitch about Ramona Nee<\/a>. Then she told the firm she wouldn\u2019t take the top job, flirted with Simpson Thacher, and sparked a run on the bank<\/a>. Now it seems like she\u2019s landing at the wealthiest law firm in the world.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> Till Dissolution Do Us Part: Inside Weil\u2019s Biglaw Breakup<\/a>
Weil Associate Blasts \u2018Greed\u2019 And \u2018Lack Of Leadership\u2019 As Firm Collapses<\/a>
What Killed Weil? Rainmakers Who Left In Packs<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Collapse Is Biglaw\u2019s Halloween Nightmare<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Wind-Down Message To Associates: Good Luck Out There, And Don\u2019t Forget Your Timesheets<\/a>
Before Weil, The Biggest Collapse In Biglaw History Ended In Criminal Court<\/a>
After 95 Years, Weil Gotshal Is Winding Down<\/a>
Weil Practice Head Tells His Associates To Start Looking For Work Elsewhere<\/a>
Weil Cancels Webinar Inviting 1Ls To \u2018Explore What A Career Here Could Look Like\u2019<\/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>
Cravath And Weil Are Just Trading Partners At This Point<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Revolving Door Now Spins In Both Directions<\/a>
Weil Is Relieved To Lose Its Biggest Rainmaker. Cravath Is Thrilled To Get His \u2018Values.\u2019<\/a>
The Cravath Shade Wasn\u2019t A One-Off: Weil Insiders Line Up To Say Good Riddance<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Corporate Chair Decamps For Cravath, Which Weil Would Like You To Know Is \u2018A Smaller Platform\u2019<\/a>
Top Biglaw Firm Announces Its First Female Executive Partner In History<\/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 Former Weil Partners Lawyer Up As The Firm\u2019s Wind-Down Turns Into A Fight Over What\u2019s Left<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

Weil Gotshal & Manges hasn\u2019t finished turning off the lights, and the people who used to work there are already calling their lawyers.<\/p>\n

The Financial Times reported<\/a> Tuesday that, while the firm is planning an an orderly wind-down<\/a> outside bankruptcy, a group of Weil alumni has hired counsel:<\/p>\n

\n

Former Weil Gotshal partners have hired legal counsel to represent them in the law firm\u2019s impending wind-down amid a rush by the current and past practitioners to recover part of the value of their stakes in the business.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Note who is not<\/em> in that group: anyone from the stampede for the exits over the past two months. It\u2019s 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\u2019s 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<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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\u2019s management at the end of its run to see if there was a breach of fiduciary duty.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the partners who aren\u2019t waiting around for a payout are busy making their own arrangements.<\/p>\n

Ramona Nee, the private equity partner who, until last month, was set to become Weil\u2019s 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<\/a>, and on Tuesday Law.com reported Kirkland is close to signing her and a team of about 20<\/a>. Whatever the final headcount, that\u2019s a chunk of Weil people that are finding a nice safe landing spot amid the chaos. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been following along, Nee\u2019s departure was foretold a week ago. After corporate chair Michael Aiello left for Cravath<\/a>, the \u201clet Weil be Weil\u201d rebuilding pitch was a pitch about Ramona Nee<\/a>. Then she told the firm she wouldn\u2019t take the top job, flirted with Simpson Thacher, and sparked a run on the bank<\/a>. Now it seems like she\u2019s landing at the wealthiest law firm in the world.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> Till Dissolution Do Us Part: Inside Weil\u2019s Biglaw Breakup<\/a>
Weil Associate Blasts \u2018Greed\u2019 And \u2018Lack Of Leadership\u2019 As Firm Collapses<\/a>
What Killed Weil? Rainmakers Who Left In Packs<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Collapse Is Biglaw\u2019s Halloween Nightmare<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Wind-Down Message To Associates: Good Luck Out There, And Don\u2019t Forget Your Timesheets<\/a>
Before Weil, The Biggest Collapse In Biglaw History Ended In Criminal Court<\/a>
After 95 Years, Weil Gotshal Is Winding Down<\/a>
Weil Practice Head Tells His Associates To Start Looking For Work Elsewhere<\/a>
Weil Cancels Webinar Inviting 1Ls To \u2018Explore What A Career Here Could Look Like\u2019<\/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>
Cravath And Weil Are Just Trading Partners At This Point<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Revolving Door Now Spins In Both Directions<\/a>
Weil Is Relieved To Lose Its Biggest Rainmaker. Cravath Is Thrilled To Get His \u2018Values.\u2019<\/a>
The Cravath Shade Wasn\u2019t A One-Off: Weil Insiders Line Up To Say Good Riddance<\/a>
Weil\u2019s Corporate Chair Decamps For Cravath, Which Weil Would Like You To Know Is \u2018A Smaller Platform\u2019<\/a>
Top Biglaw Firm Announces Its First Female Executive Partner In History<\/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 Former Weil Partners Lawyer Up As The Firm\u2019s Wind-Down Turns Into A Fight Over What\u2019s Left<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weil Gotshal & Manges hasn\u2019t 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":166776,"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-166775","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\/166775","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=166775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}