More on LawFuel
- $230bn in Five Days, Two Partners Out the Door – Wachtell’s High-Stakes Reckoning
The firm that pays its partners $12 million a year just can’t stop losing them. Here’s why that paradox may be the most important story in Big Law right now. Wachtell Lipton broke every profitability record in Am Law 100 history in 2026 — and watched nine partners walk out the door to rivals offering something the numbers alone couldn’t match. What’s really driving the exodus from Wall Street’s most envied firm, whether the lockstep model can survive the age of the $80 million guarantee, and what it all means for the future of elite legal practice: it’s all inside. Log in to read the breaking Big Law story . . - The Elite Law Pipeline to Prison And How a Decade-Long Insider Trading Ring Pierced Big Law’s Inner Circle
A 30-person federal indictment has implicated attorneys from Wachtell, Latham, Willkie, Goodwin, Cleary, Sidley, Weil and DLA Piper in what prosecutors call one of the most sweeping M&A intelligence networks ever prosecuted on American soil. The access a law firm grants its attorneys is built on a simple, foundational covenant: what comes through the door stays within those walls. For a decade, federal prosecutors allege, a network of Ivy League-trained lawyers decided that covenant was negotiable — and that confidential merger data was simply a different kind of billable asset. L:og in to read more . . . - Paul Weiss Sheds Litigation Associates Citing Performance Reviews as Firm Navigates Litigation Slowdown
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has parted ways with several litigation associates following its annual performance review cycle, possibly marking a structural change from the relatively recently annointed firm chair Scott Barshay (pictured). According to reporting by The American Lawyer, the New York-based firm, which has long prided itself on avoiding public layoffs, including during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2022 financial correction . . Log in to read more . . . - A&O Shearman Job Cuts Amidst Post-Merger Push For Tech-Driven Ops
- Average Lawyer Salary 2026: BLS Data by State, Practice Area & Experience
If you are a lawyer reviewing your options in 2026, the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and major legal compensation surveys makes one thing clear: location, specialty, and experience still dictate everything. The national median lawyer salary stands at $151,160 as of the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for May 2024 — the most recent official release — with approximately 747,750 lawyers in paid employment across the country. The national mean wage for lawyers is $182,760, reflecting how strongly the top earners pull the average upward. Log in for the full report . .
