In March, the New York law powerhouse Weil, Gotshal & Manges set off on a cautious and carefully crafted succession plan as its longtime chair Barry Wolf prepared to retire. The transfer of power to Ramona Nee, a private equity specialist who has worked at Weil for almost 25 years, was set to take almost two years. She had been selected by a panel of firm leaders with little competition, and the long timeline was designed to smooth the process at a turbulent moment for the legal industry. Since then, however, things have been far from smooth. Weil is experiencing an exodus of talent. It has this year lost several of its most important partners to rivals, including its best-known US corporate dealmaker, the co-head of its US private equity business and the leader of its London M&A practice. The former, Michael Aiello, was a close ally of Wolf. This month, Aiello said he was taking a team of five partners with him to Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
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Aiello has yet to leave the firm. But already, Weil’s leaders are considering whether the firm should find a merger partner, people with knowledge of the matter said — a move that would become more difficult if departures continue. Other large law firms say they are receiving CVs from Weil lawyers on a regular basis. Some Weil lawyers are being approached by recruiters and law firms trying to capitalise on the turmoil by poaching them. To Weil’s leaders, the departures are a symptom of a broader change in Big Law, where talent wars have heated up in recent years.