Orrick adds Fenwick & West IP partner Mark Jansen in New York
Mark Jansen, an IP partner, joins Orrick in New York after 15 years with Fenwick & West.
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Mark Jansen, an IP partner, joins Orrick in New York after 15 years with Fenwick & West.
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani welcomed six partners: Christopher Cathey in Miami; Jordan Neiderland, Allan "A.J." Parker and Craig Sarner in Nashville; Sharhonda Robinson-Edwards in Jacksonville; and Scott Vincent in Memphis. Their backgrounds span commercial litigation, insurance, professional liability, healthcare, construction and general liability.
A leading in-house employment attorney for Amazon has left to join Ogletree Deakins' Seattle office. The attorney brings expertise helping Fortune 50 companies navigate workforce challenges to the firm.
SourceLaw360 — Legal Industry
Arman Zadeh is at least the third funds partner to join Sidley from Kirkland in the last month.
Dentons says the new insurance litigation team, previously based in Faegre Drinker's Philadelphia office, will help its strategic growth in the U.S. Dentons has added 100 lateral partners, principals and counsel across key practice areas in the U.S. since 2022.
Faegre Drinker announced that Andreas Andrews joined its corporate group as a tax partner in the Philadelphia office, coming from a global law firm (not named). He advises on US federal income tax matters, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, private investment funds and renewable energy transactions.
SourceAttorney at Law Magazine
Barnes & Thornburg announced that Andrew Almand, Darnell J. Morrow and Jeremy J. Nauman joined as partners in its Real Estate Finance practice, from Ballard Spahr.
SourceAttorney at Law Magazine
Law.com reports that more Freshfields lawyers are exiting the partnership. The departures happen against a strategy focused on a "deliberate transformation of the firm". No names, numbers, offices or dates are given.
Honigman has established a presence in Boston by recruiting intellectual property partners Cristin Cowles, Danielle Herritt and Deborah Vernon from Womble Bond Dickinson. The hires strengthen the firm's life sciences practice. Honigman has more than 400 attorneys.
SourcePulse 2.0 — Law
Gibson Dunn is set to hire Weil's nearly 50-lawyer New York private funds team, amid Weil's proposed wind-down announced Wednesday 28 October. It follows Gibson's hire of Weil's London funds team of nearly 40 lawyers a week earlier. The team is led by global private funds head Andrew Chizzik.
SourcesLegal BusinessLaw360 — Legal IndustryAbove the LawBluesky — Big Law search
Social post states Goodwin Procter and Quinn Emanuel are taking on partners from Weil, Gotshal & Manges less than a week after the New York-based firm indicated it plans to wind down its operations. Post links to a Reuters article. Number and names of partners not stated.
Ball Janik LLP welcomed Orlando associate Nicholas Wright to its Construction Defect Practice Group. Wright has nearly a decade of civil litigation experience, including construction defect, premises liability, automobile negligence, negligent security and wrongful death matters. He will represent community associations, property owners and other clients pursuing recovery for construction-related damages.
SourceAttorney at Law Magazine
Julissa Reynoso, former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra and to Uruguay, is described as Hogan Lovells Cadwalader's new partner. She brings government experience to investigations and disputes.
DLA Piper added John Wall, former Director of the IRS Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement Program, as a partner in its Tax practice. He will be based in Washington, D.C. and has more than 14 years of APMA leadership experience. He will advise on transfer pricing disputes, advance pricing agreements and competent authority proceedings.
SourcePulse 2.0 — Law
Law.com reports Kirkland is getting closer to hiring Ramona Nee of Weil along with a 20-member team. Nee's group is viewed as one of the highest-performing groups left at Weil. Multiple Big Law firms are competing for it.
Weil Gotshal & Manges litigator Adam Fee is joining Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. The post says a storied New York law firm is winding down its operations. It does not say which firm that is.
SourcesBloomberg LawBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law searchLegal Business
FBT Gibbons said Christopher Villa has joined its Dallas office as a partner in the real estate practice group. He comes from The Beck Group, where he served as senior counsel.
SourceThe Texas Lawbook
Sidley chair Yvette Ostolaza praised Jonathan Gaynor's ability to work "both sides," lenders and borrowers, as new entrants continue to enter the market via private capital.
Goodwin said Thomas Henry will join the firm as partner and co-leader of its real estate industry group.
SourcesLaw.com — The American LawyerLegal BusinessBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law search
Ethen Ostroff Law announced that trial attorneys Timothy A. Nolte Jr., Bryan M. Hanratty and Christopher P.
William Nicholson joins Orrick's New York office after about four years with Kirkland & Ellis.
Kennedys has gained a Dallas office and an aviation-focused trial group in the U.S. by bringing on a 14-attorney team from boutique Cunningham Swaim LLP. Cunningham Swaim is winding down after more than a decade of operations.
SourcesPR Newswire (Kennedys press release)Bluesky — Big Law search
Troutman Pepper Locke welcomed Jennifer Gullotti East as a partner in its Private Equity and Investment Funds Practice Group. She joins from Kirkland & Ellis, where she counseled institutional fund sponsors on structuring, negotiating, forming and operating private investment funds and management companies, including multibillion-dollar infrastructure and credit funds.
SourceAttorney at Law Magazine
After nearly 25 years in New York's court system, First Department Justice John Higgitt is entering private practice at Quinn Emanuel. He plans to focus on commercial litigation, arbitration and broader civil litigation work.
SourcesBluesky — Big Law searchLaw.com — New York Law Journal
Snell & Wilmer has hired two environmental lawyers in Phoenix, per the title. Partner Karlene Martorana rejoins the firm after more than six years as in-house counsel with mining company Rio Tinto.
SourceLaw.com — The Recorder
Freshfields announced New York-based private funds and secondaries partner Brett Bush is joining its Private Capital practice. The firm says this is its 11th strategic U.S. partner addition this year. Freshfields says the Private Capital practice has more than 300 lawyers globally.
SourceFreshfields — news
Latham & Watkins adds partners working in energy and infrastructure in Houston and Washington, D.C. The text cites high demand in projects.
SourcesThe Global Legal PostLaw.com — The American LawyerThe Texas LawbookBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law searchLegal Business
Barnes & Thornburg announced the promotion of 25 attorneys to partnership, effective January 1, 2027, across six practice groups and 10 offices. The firm recruited more than 160 attorneys in 2026, including 80 partners and five lateral groups. Thirteen of the promotions are in Litigation.
SourcePulse 2.0 — Law
Latham & Watkins LLP announced 70 associates have been promoted to counsel, effective January 1, 2027. The group is described as global, with listed promotees in Asia and Europe, including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris, Frankfurt and London. Rich Trobman, Chair and Managing Partner, and Michelle Carpenter, Chair of the Associates Committee, are quoted.
SourcesPR Newswire — Personnel AnnouncementsLTO — Kanzleien & Unternehmen
BCLP has made up 15 new partners, its smallest promotions round since the 2018 merger of Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner. The US has 12, down from 13 last year, including three each in St Louis and Denver. Two were made up in London.
SourceLegal Business
Proskauer promoted five London lawyers to its partnership as part of a 21-strong firmwide promotions round. London had the second-highest number of new partners after New York. Both figures are in line with last year, when Proskauer made up five partners in London and 22 globally.
SourceLegal Business
Milbank now occupies about 48,000 square feet at Anderson Towers in Century City, in its new Los Angeles office.
Anderson Mori, a Big Four Japanese firm, plans to open offices in Dallas and Houston in spring 2027. The move joins a growing push by Japan's leading legal practices to follow corporate clients into the U.S. market.
Kennedys, a U.K. law firm, opens in Dallas. It sought to add an aviation practice to its U.S. operations, which led to a combination with trial boutique Cunningham Swaim.
Arnall Golden Gregory, an Atlanta-founded Am Law Second Hundred firm, is picking Boston for its second new office in 77 years. Leaders call New England a "natural market" because of its substantial life sciences client base.
SourcesLaw.com — The American LawyerAttorney at Law Magazine
Former Weil partners have hired lawyers. The firm's wind-down has turned into a fight over what is left. The item is a social post linking to an Above the Law article.
A social post says Weil Gotshal & Manges, a 95-year-old US law firm, collapsed after failed merger talks. The post attributes the report to Bloomberg. The source is a social post, not a primary, trade or wire source.
SourcesAbove the LawBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law search
Latham & Watkins confirmed it has taken on five current trainees from Weil's London office. Weil's management committee recommended an "orderly wind-down" last week. Latham was named among 11 US and City firms supporting Weil's future trainees.
Just over a week after Weil informed partners it was in merger discussions, management called another meeting and recommended dissolving the business entirely. Partners are set to vote on dissolution this week. Consultancy AlixPartners is mentioned, and the article discusses wind-down steps and bankruptcy risks.
SourceLegal Business
Dentons announced on November 3, 2026 that it is adding the legal practice of HSM Chambers in the Cayman Islands. HSM's lawyers and support staff will join Dentons. Dentons will acquire HSM's offices at 68 Fort Street, George Town, as its Cayman headquarters.
Weil Gotshal's planned dissolution would require hundreds or more clients to decide whether to follow departing partners to new firms or retain replacement attorneys. The firm has a large stable of litigators with lead roles in high-stakes lawsuits and bankruptcy cases. The post links to a Reuters short link.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges' planned dissolution will scatter its lawyers across rival firms. Latin American firms hope the decades-old relationships underpinning their cross-border work will endure beyond the firm's name.
SourcesLaw.com — International EditionLaw.com network — Legal News (FeedBlitz)
Two Weil staff members told Law.com that, as of Monday morning, the firm had given professional staff no additional information about the dissolution beyond what was shared at a company town hall in the middle of last week.
Per Financial News, citing a person familiar, 11 firms are supporting future trainees whose Weil training contracts will not proceed, including streamlined applications. Weil's management committee recommended an "orderly wind-down" last week; the proposal is expected to go to a partner vote in coming days. Weil has around 1,200 lawyers globally.
SourceLegal Cheek
Crosby, a two-year-old law firm built around artificial intelligence, wants to buy pieces of Weil, Gotshal & Manges as the firm prepares to shut down. A person familiar with the offer confirmed it. The item is a social post.
SourcesThe InformationBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law search
Social post carries an opinion statement that the lesson from the sudden collapse of Weil is that the largest law firms are now businesses in every sense and can fail the way businesses fail. No details, dates or figures are given.
SourcesCNBCBluesky — Big Law search
The post states Weil, Gotshal & Manges experienced a rapid collapse. It says marquee dealmakers left the firm in recent months or had uncertain futures there. It adds that Weil has a large stable of litigators with lead roles in high-stakes lawsuits and bankruptcy cases.
SourcesFortuneBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law search
Weil Gotshal, described as nearly century-old, is preparing to wind down, sending nearly 600 associates into the job market. Executive Partner Barry Wolf announced the news. Associates and staff are told they will receive salary and benefits for 90 days, with bonuses for those who stay until near year-end.
SourcesAbove the LawBluesky — Big Law searchExpansión — JurídicoAbove the LawLawFuel
According to industry observers, step one in a large law firm dissolution is to appease creditors while avoiding bankruptcy. No specific firm is named in the text.
SourcesLaw.com — The American LawyerLaw.com network — Legal News (FeedBlitz)
Social post says the collapse of Weil Gotshal this week marked the downfall of a 95-year-old firm. It says interviews with people close to Weil show the decision to unwind was the culmination of a slow deterioration that turned into a relatively swift collapse.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges was still profitable when its leaders moved to wind down the 95-year-old firm. Current and former partners say a long-running fight over growth, including how hard to invest in Texas, cost the firm talent. Its roughly 70 Texas lawyers, who brought in roughly $118.2 million last year, are weighing offers.
SourcesThe Texas LawbookAbove the LawBluesky — Big Law search
A social post says Weil Gotshal & Manges has had a 'stunning collapse'. It says the firm's nearly 600 associates are going out on the job market and that their career paths are newly upended.
Weil's management committee recommended an orderly wind-down, with a partner vote expected in coming days. Ramona Nee, chosen to lead Weil from 2027, is reportedly in advanced talks with Kirkland & Ellis, per Bloomberg Law. Gibson Dunn reportedly may take almost 40 London private funds lawyers.
SourcesLegal CheekDécideurs Juridiques — NominationsAbove the LawAbove the Law
Winston Taylor and DLA Piper are two more BigLaw firms that have opted to match the new associate salary scale set by Milbank LLP in June.
SourcesLaw360 — Legal IndustryBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law searchAbove the LawBluesky — Big Law searchAbove the LawLegal Business
The New York Law Journal publishes its yearly article on Seyfarth's annual mid-year Middle Market M&A Survey. No survey findings are given in the item text.
A Bluesky post says Weil Gotshal & Manges' wind-down puts a prized restructuring team within rivals' reach. It says this intensifies a fierce talent war as firms prepare for growing demand for out-of-court debt workouts. The post does not say what is being wound down.
SourcesCNBCBluesky — Big Law search
Weil entered 2026 with little obvious indication of economic deterioration. The developments that followed raise a broader question for similarly structured firms.
Hill Dickinson has held the number-one position in the AIM adviser rankings for a second consecutive quarter.
Canada has nine top-tier firms. More Canadian firms are ranked in the Global 200 than firms from Germany, Spain and France combined. Canadian Big Law is eyeing foreign markets as U.S. ties grow more complicated.
The American Lawyer published the 2026 Am Law 100 on 14 April 2026, covering fiscal 2025. Kirkland & Ellis ranked first at $10.556 billion revenue; Latham & Watkins second at $8.3 billion. Wachtell led PEP at $12.152 million.
SourceLegal Desire
Holland & Hart LLP and two of its attorneys were accused of malpractice in Colorado state court on Tuesday by a former client. She claims they failed to inform her that a wealth transfer plan with her then-husband left her iced out of the couple's most valuable asset. The headline cites a $23M stake.
Law.com Radar data shows nearly 50 lawsuits last month named major law firms as defendants. No individual firms are named in the text.
SourcesLaw.com — The RecorderLaw.com network — Legal News (FeedBlitz)
Melat Kiros worked at Sidley as a first-year associate in New York for about a year.
SourcesLaw.com network — Legal News (FeedBlitz)Above the LawBluesky — Big Law search
Morning Docket roundup of linked items. Includes: Democrats will now have power to dig into Biglaw's deals with Trump (Bloomberg Law News); Reuters traces the Weil exodus; NY clarifies lawyers can't bill for time saved by AI (ABA Journal). No details of the Weil departures are given.
SourceAbove the Law
At least two AI-native law firms have put in bids for Weil Gotshal & Manges' data. This raises the question of whether internal law firm data qualifies as an asset and whether it can be sold to an outside buyer.
A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday tossed a malicious prosecution claim against a former volunteer for Breaking Code Silence on free speech grounds. He called the broader case against DLA Piper and the nonprofit "stronger than most."
A Colorado real estate developer and his company allege Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP negligently drafted their settlement agreement. The agreement related to a dispute with members of cannabis dispensary chain Native Roots over a sale of the chain's entities. The developer's company received a roughly $100 million arbitration award against it.
Hybrid firm Athena completed a $2.5M pre-seed funding round. It is led by founders with experience at Legora and Baker McKenzie. The firm aims to accelerate legal work in real estate, M&A and venture financing.
SourceLaw.com — The Recorder
A Connecticut federal judge ruled that a Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner and his wife cannot hold a solo practitioner liable for directing a New York Post reporter to an insult-laced affidavit a landlord filed in a lawsuit over a mansion lease.
SourceLaw360 — Legal Ethics
Cooley advised Cresta on its agreement to be acquired by Salesforce. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2028, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Cooley previously advised Cresta on its Series B (2021), Series C (2022) and Series D (2024) financings.
SourceCooley — media feed
Marathon and MPLX are selling two refineries to CVR for $4.2B. Jones Day advised Marathon, led by Houston partner Jeff Schlegel, who heads the firm's global energy practice. Latham & Watkins provided outside legal counsel to the conflicts committee of MPLX.
SourceThe Texas Lawbook
Eisenberg Winkler Jeck Schwartz Schoenhaus & Sherry announced that shareholder Daniel Jeck was elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) at its national board meeting in Philadelphia on Oct. 17.
GE Vernova, a US energy company, is acquiring Trench Group, a maker of high-voltage components, from private equity investor Triton Partners. The purchase price is equivalent to nine billion US dollars. The deal awaits regulatory approvals and is expected to close at the end of 2027.
SourceJUVE
Cooley pro bono partner Maureen Alger was quoted in Bloomberg Law about the firm's participation in nationwide election protection efforts during the 2026 midterm elections. The efforts include staffing the Election Protection hotline, monitoring election misinformation in coordination with the Legal Defense Fund, and serving as poll monitors.
SourcesCooley — media feedCooley — media feedCooley — media feed
Weil's top-performing partners in M&A and private equity were frequent targets of poaching. According to Law.com's Deal Watch, this partly led to its downfall.
Lawdragon says Susman Godfrey's New York contingent, led by Bill Carmody, won NFL $4.8B, Baha Mar $1.6B, Everly $1.07B, Opioids $693M and Google $440M in the past two years, plus a $787M Dominion Voting Systems settlement against Fox. Carmody moved from Dallas, arriving in New York on Jan. 4, 2007.
SourceLawdragon
Blackstone partnered with Canadian institutional investors to acquire a 49.9% non-controlling interest in Mitsubishi's LNG Canada liquefaction business for $3.1 billion. Kirkland & Ellis and Stikeman Elliott provided outside legal counsel to Blackstone.
SourceThe Texas Lawbook
Davis Polk and Wilson Sonsini have the lead roles as Marvell Technology agrees to acquire Lumentum in a $115bn deal. Wilson Sonsini is acting for Marvell, with a team led by M&A partners Rob Ishii in San Francisco and Ethan Lutske.
SourcesLegal BusinessBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law searchBluesky — Big Law search
Morning Docket for 11.02.26 links to the New York Times on Biglaw firms preparing to protect election integrity while firms that surrendered to the Trump administration are on the sidelines. It also links Bloomberg Law News on Weil's demise tracing to its closest relationship, and the ABA Journal on law firms facing increasing cyberattacks.
SourceAbove the Law
Wilson Sonsini acts for Anthropic on its IPO. Freshfields guides the underwriters. Orrick, Cleary and Cravath are also involved.
SourceThe Global Legal Post
The 11.01.26 edition of Original Jurisdiction's Judicial Notice is titled "Who Killed Weil Gotshal?". It lays blame for Weil's woes. It also covers a federal judge fed up with DOJ, a Ninth Circuit case with many leading litigators, and a $17 billion deal.
Law.com International Edition headline says Weil has collapsed. It lists compensation models, lateral hiring and artificial intelligence as factors disrupting a business model that has lasted 200 years. No specifics of the collapse are given.
SourcesLaw.com — International EditionLaw.com — The American LawyerLaw.com network — Legal News (FeedBlitz)
Weil Gotshal will close after 95 years, following a partner exodus and a failed merger. Its farewell message to associates promises up to 90 days of salary and benefits and January bonuses for those who stay. Fenwick & West moves its 1,950-hour associates to the $235K scale from January 1, 2027.
Confirmed items are announced by the firm or reported as fact by the cited outlets. Unconfirmed items are reports the firms have not confirmed. Every item links to its sources; we add nothing the sources do not say.
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