Key facts
- Weil Gotshal & Manges announced on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 that it will wind down operations.
- Nearly 600 associates are looking for work, including a first-year class that started earlier in October.
- A Weil human resources official said the firm will use an internal job board to post openings elsewhere.
- Paul Weiss hired a number of junior Weil lawyers; Gibson Dunn is reportedly set to take a 40-strong London team.
- Ramona Nee is in talks to join Kirkland & Ellis with 40 or more colleagues, per Bloomberg Law.
- Large law firms hired 7.5% fewer new graduates last year, per the National Association for Law Placement.
Weil Gotshal & Manges announced plans to wind down its operations on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, ending a nearly century-old New York law firm, Bloomberg Law reported. Executive Partner Barry Wolf delivered the news on a firmwide Zoom call, according to an associate who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The collapse sends nearly 600 associates into the job market, including a first-year class that started at Weil earlier in October. A Weil human resources official said in a Friday email to US associates that the firm will use an internal job board to post openings elsewhere.
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison hired a number of junior Weil lawyers, and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher is reportedly set to bring on a 40-strong London private funds team including several associates, Bloomberg Law reported. Ramona Nee, the private equity lawyer previously tapped to take over Wolf's role, is in talks to join Kirkland & Ellis with 40 or more colleagues.
The associate said more than 100 LinkedIn connection requests from headhunters arrived in the two days after Wolf's announcement. "I understand that Big Law is a very cut-throat environment, but just the level of greed combined with the lack of leadership from the top of the firm was truly disappointing," the associate said.
Large law firms hired 7.5% fewer new graduates last year, according to data released last month by the National Association for Law Placement. Recruiter Summer Eberhard of Lateral Link said the developments could saturate the market for associate jobs in New York, where roughly two-thirds of Weil's junior lawyers are based, but that Weil associates remain highly marketable.