Weil Gotshal & Manges, one of the biggest names in American corporate law, is preparing to wind down operations after its management committee recommended dissolution to partners following a brutal stretch of departures and a collapsed merger. The firm's leadership told partners the New York-based firm plans to shut down, a stunning end for a nearly century-old institution that has helped steer landmark bankruptcies, corporate takeovers and litigation for decades, as reported by Reuters. The recommendation could affect roughly 2,000 employees, including about 1,200 lawyers.
According to Reuters, Weil failed to stem an exodus of partners that ultimately overwhelmed the firm. The wind-down recommendation followed the management committee's review of strategic alternatives, and Law.com reports the committee recommended to the partnership that the firm pursue an orderly wind-down. Weil's partners were expected to vote on the proposal in the coming days, according to The New York Times, though the outcome of that vote has not been reported. Weil said it will continue serving clients during the wind-down process over the coming months, and the firm has indicated it will remain committed to supporting its colleagues through the transition.
A Firm That Shaped Decades of Corporate Law
Weil generated nearly $2.1 billion in revenue last year and ranked among the 30 largest firms in the country, per Bloomberg Law. That scale makes the potential dissolution all the more jarring: the firm's financial trajectory had fallen behind peers including Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Paul Weiss, and Davis Polk & Wardwell, the outlet reports. Its challenges included a failed succession plan for the firm's next leader and a scuttled deal to merge with rival Willkie Farr & Gallagher, according to the Times.
The Weil-Willkie talks ended after the two sides had signed a nondisclosure agreement, Bloomberg Law's reporting notes. Had it gone through, the combination would have created a firm with more than $4 billion in annual revenue, placing it among the five largest based in the U.S.
Partner Exodus Accelerated the Crisis
The firm has been rocked by an exodus of partners, including the chair of its global corporate practice, the Times reports. Michael Aiello announced in September that he would leave for Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and Bloomberg Law counts at least seven members of Weil's management committee who have left or were reported as planning to leave since late 2024. Weil's next executive partner also declined the top role amid departures on both sides of the Atlantic, according to Law360.
Aiello's departure rattled lawyers left behind, and some lawyers sent résumés to other firms, according to The New York Times. Weil recently hired advisers from Davis Polk & Wardwell to evaluate its options, the Times reports, and the firm is working with Brian Resnick, one of Davis Polk's top bankruptcy lawyers, per the Financial Times. Options under consideration reportedly include a last-minute merger or a slimmed-down standalone entity, in addition to the wind-down, the paper adds.
Why Storied Firms Suddenly Unravel
Past Law-Firm Failures
Research from the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession describes how partner ownership can create a self-reinforcing cycle: declining profits prompt departures, which further erode profits and trigger more departures. A typical collapse begins with the exit of a senior rainmaker, followed within months by additional partner and practice-group departures, the center's review of 37 firm collapses found, spanning cases from Finley Kumble in 1988 through Bingham McCutchen in 2014.
Dewey LeBoeuf filed for bankruptcy in 2012, the Financial Times notes.
A Hot Lateral Market Elsewhere
Weil's turmoil comes as the broader lateral hiring market has been expanding. U.S. law firm lateral hiring rose 16% in 2025, marking the second consecutive year of growth, according to NALP. Lateral partner hiring climbed 17.8% and lateral associate hiring rose 17.1% compared with 2024, giving unsettled lawyers plenty of other doors to walk through.
Smaller firms benefited most from that churn: those with 250 or fewer lawyers saw lateral hiring jump nearly 44% overall in 2025, with lateral partner hiring up 88.7% at those firms, NALP's data shows. Firms with more than 1,000 lawyers — the category Weil belongs to — saw the smallest increase, at 10.6%. NALP also found that firms increasingly leaned on strategic partner hires in 2025 not just for added capacity but to expand market share or build out specific practice areas, the exact kind of lateral raiding that has hammered Weil's ranks.
