Weil Gotshal partners vote to wind down law firm after 95 years
Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced on 28 October 2026 that it will wind down after partners backed a management committee recommendation. The move follows a year of partner departures and failed merger talks.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 2Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the 95-year-old New York-headquartered law firm, announced on 28 October 2026 that it would wind down. ReasonRC “Today the law firm of Weil Gotshal announced that it would wind down.” Read at Reason ↗ City A.M.RC “The 95-year-old law firm has over 2,000 staff worldwide.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1City A.M. reported that the firm's partners voted to liquidate it. City A.M.RC “US legal giant, Weil Gotshal and Manges’ partners have voted to liquidate the firm.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1Citing Bloomberg, City A.M. quoted a Weil spokesperson as saying the management committee, after a careful review of strategic alternatives, had recommended to the partnership that the firm pursue an orderly wind-down. City A.M.RC ““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.”” Read at City A.M. ↗
Right · 1The spokesperson said the firm would keep serving clients during the wind-down process over the coming months. City A.M.RC ““During the wind-down process over the coming months, the firm will continue serving clients with the dedication and excellence that have defined it,”” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1Staff were reportedly called to a company call on Wednesday afternoon and told the firm was set to be dissolved. City A.M.RC “reportedly called on its staff to join a company call on Wednesday afternoon, where staff were informed the firm was set to be dissolved.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1The firm, described as a $2bn business, has more than 2,000 staff worldwide, and about 400 in London, where it has had an office since 1996. City A.M.RC “The firm has had an office in London since 1996, where the headcount sits around the 400 mark.” Read at City A.M. ↗
Right · 1City A.M. said Weil lost senior partners in the US and London this year, including former corporate co-managing partner Michael Hickey and private equity co-head Christopher Machera, who left for rival Paul Weiss in August. City A.M.RC “including former corporate co-managing partner Michael Hickey and private equity co-head Christopher Machera, who left the firm for US competitor Paul Weiss in August.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1Earlier in October, leadership were reportedly negotiating a memorandum of understanding with an unnamed firm, understood to be Willkie Farr & Gallagher, but the talks fell through. City A.M.RC “It was understood that the firm in a merger negotiations was its fellow competitor, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, but the talks fell through.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1Reason's Josh Blackman, who said he has no connection to the firm, marked the news with an anecdote about Greg Coleman, a former Texas Solicitor General who left Weil after his partners objected to his 2006 challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. ReasonRC “I don't have any connections to the firm, though I did have one vignette to share that I wrote for another project.”“Coleman, who was dedicated to his client and the Constitution, left that firm and joined what would become Yetter Coleman LLP.” Read at Reason ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- City A.M. covers the wind-down as a business and legal-sector story built on partner departures, failed merger talks and a spokesperson statement. Reason's Volokh Conspiracy post is a short opinion piece that recalls an anecdote about a former partner.
- Emphasis
- City A.M. stresses the exodus of partners, the collapsed Willkie Farr talks, the firm's size and its London office. Reason stresses a Voting Rights Act case and the firm's reaction to it.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Reason gives no detail on why the firm is closing. City A.M. does not say how many partners voted or what the vote was.
- Charged language
- “lost their freaking minds”“legal powerhouse”
What every side reports
- Weil Gotshal announced on 28 October 2026 that it would wind down.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges organisation
Through a spokesperson, the firm says its management committee recommended an orderly wind-down after reviewing strategic alternatives, and that it will keep serving clients in the coming months.
““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.”” — City A.M.
Paul Weiss organisation
Paul Weiss appears only as the rival that two senior Weil partners joined in August.
“who left the firm for US competitor Paul Weiss in August.” — City A.M.
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right2 articles
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ReasonRC · · Opinion
Mixed A brief opinion post that notes the wind-down and uses it to recount a former partner's break with the firm over a Voting Rights Act case.
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Legal powerhouse Weil Gotshal votes to liquidate after 95 years
Neutral A news report that sets the liquidation vote against the year's partner departures and failed merger talks, with the firm's statement.
- 28 Oct 20:55 First ReasonRC Farewell to Weil Opinion
- 28 Oct 21:00 +5m City A.M.RC Legal powerhouse Weil Gotshal votes to liquidate after 95 years
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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