The proposed move of Weil’s London private funds team to Gibson Dunn marks another major development in the break-up of one of Big Law’s most prominent firms and shows how fast legal teams can move between firms.
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher is preparing to recruit almost 40 lawyers from Weil Gotshal & Manges’ London private funds practice, as Weil moves towards a planned closure following months of damaging partner departures.
The group includes eight partners, led by London private funds co-heads James Bromley and James Sargent, together with approximately 30 counsel and associates.
The proposed move, reported by Reuters and The Global Legal Post, has not yet been formally confirmed by Gibson Dunn.
Other partners expected to join include Philip Baynes, Fiona Cumming, Aron Joy, Marc Schubert, Sophie Smith and Jacquelyn Volpe.
The recruitment would deliver Gibson Dunn an established private funds practice in one move, strengthening its position in London’s lucrative private capital market.
A Move Planned Before Weil’s Collapse
It appears from reports that the recruitment appears to have been under discussion long before Weil’s management recommended winding down the 95-year-old firm.
According to the Law Society Gazette, negotiations involving the London funds team had been underway for almost a year.
That detail adds another dimension to Weil’s troubles. The departure was apparently not simply a reaction to the firm’s proposed closure, but part of a longer-running shift of valuable practices towards rival firms.
Weil’s London office employs approximately 221 lawyers, making it the firm’s second-largest office after New York.
The loss of nearly 40 lawyers would represent a substantial reduction in its London legal workforce.
The Bigger Big Law Problem
Weil’s management committee recommended an orderly wind-down this week, with partners expected to vote on the proposal.
The firm has engaged restructuring advisers AlixPartners and lawyers from Davis Polk to assist with the process.
For Gibson Dunn, the proposed recruitment represents a significant opportunity but for Weil and other big law firms it highlights the speed at which an established international law firm can lose entire practice groups once confidence in its future begins to disappear.
