95-Year-Old Wall Street Law Firm Weil Gotshal Suddenly Lurches Towards Shutdown

Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times,

Weil, Gotshal & Manges is poised to close after a wave of senior partner departures and failed merger talks, bringing a potential end to a Wall Street law firm known for handling some of America’s highest-profile bankruptcies.

“Following a careful review of strategic alternatives, the firm’s management committee has recommended to the partnership that the firm pursue an orderly wind-down,” a Weil spokesperson said in a statement to the Epoch Times on Thursday.

“During the wind-down process over the coming months, the firm will continue serving clients with the dedication and excellence that have defined it since its founding and will remain committed to supporting its colleagues.”

Partners are expected to vote on the recommendation in the coming days, the spokesperson said.

A shutdown would represent a striking reversal for the 95-year-old firm.

Weil represented Enron in its 2001 bankruptcy, the largest in U.S. history at the time.

It served as chief debtors’ counsel in Lehman’s 2008 bankruptcy, which remains the largest Chapter 11 filing in U.S. history, involving approximately $630 billion in assets.

The following year, Weil helped steer General Motors through a government-backed restructuring and sale of the automaker’s viable assets.

As of 2025, Weil ranked 29th in The American Lawyer’s revenue rankings with approximately $2.1 billion in revenue. Its website lists approximately 1,200 lawyers in offices across the world.

Those figures, however, did not protect it from the departure of prominent partners and their business relationships.

Among the biggest losses Weil suffered over recent months was corporate department chair Michael Aiello, who left for Cravath, Swaine & Moore with five partners.

Private equity partner Christopher Machera joined Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. David Avery-Gee, formerly a London co-managing partner at Weil, moved to Sullivan & Cromwell, where he now co-heads its European mergers and acquisitions practice.

The failed merger talks with rival Willkie Farr & Gallagher dealt another blow. The combination would have created a firm generating more than $4 billion in annual revenue.

The upheaval comes amid fierce competition for experienced lawyers in the market. BCG Attorney Search’s 2026 Legal Talent Movement Report recorded 3,009 lateral partner hires in 2025, the highest total in five years. Overall lateral hiring – recruiting lawyers from other employers – rose 15 percent, according to the report.

Yet Weil’s troubles are unfolding against a broadly healthy market for legal services. Thomson Reuters Institute’s second-quarter report said demand remained strong enough to put 2026 on course for the strongest annual growth since 2021.

Billing rates continued rising sharply, while productivity improved among the country’s 200 largest firms and contracted among midsize firms, according to Reuters.

Consolidation in the legal market remains active. Consultancy Fairfax Associates tracked 58 completed law firm mergers through September, slightly down from 61 during the same period in 2025.

The deals nevertheless include major combinations. Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft joined forces on July 1, bringing together firms with approximately 2,700 and 430 lawyers, respectively.

Fairfax expects continued merger activity as firms seek greater scale, broader geographic reach, and stronger practices in an increasingly competitive market.