- U.S. & Americas
- Lateral moves
- Capital Markets
Michael Hickey, co-managing partner of Weil's corporate department and co-head of its capital markets practice, is joining Sullivan & Cromwell, The American Lawyer confirmed on 19 October 2026.
Sullivan & Cromwell has drawn at least six Weil partners in a 2026 City buildout
Hickey's move comes during a stretch in which Sullivan & Cromwell has recruited at least six partners from Weil in 2026, a London buildout focused on private capital, Legal Business reported. S&C has added at least nine lateral partners in London since autumn 2025, among them former Weil London managing partner Mike Francies and former Kirkland partner Kon Asimacopoulos, The Lawyer reported.
Weil finance partners Chris McLaughlin and Alastair McVeigh joined in January 2026, McLaughlin leading private equity and leveraged finance and McVeigh European private credit, Sullivan & Cromwell said. Finance partner Jenny Choi followed in March 2026, the third Weil finance partner to move that year, The Global Legal Post reported. Weil's London co-managing partner and M&A head David Avery-Gee and partner Sarah Flaherty are also moving, Avery-Gee as co-head of European M&A, Legal Business reported. Hickey's arrival extends that pattern into Weil's US corporate leadership.
Roughly 30 partners have left Weil in 2026 across M&A, finance and restructuring
About 30 partners have departed Weil since the start of the year, with 23 exits since April reported by the Financial Times, Legal Business noted. The destinations extend well beyond S&C. Corporate department chair Michael Aiello left for Cravath with a five-partner M&A team, private equity co-head Christopher Machera moved to Paul Weiss, and private funds partners including Murray Cox joined Simpson Thacher in September 2026, Above the Law reported. London finance head Tom Richards went to Simpson Thacher, a restructuring trio to Akin and white-collar co-chair Daniel Stein to Freshfields, the same outlet reported.
Weil, founded in 1931 with about 1,200 lawyers and headquartered in New York, is known for M&A, restructuring and bankruptcy work, Legal Cheek reported. The firm has recruited in response, adding private equity partners from Dechert and Kirkland, a Cravath private equity chief as US practice co-head and a Freshfields private credit co-leader, Above the Law reported. It is weighing strategic options including a possible merger while stating it is not in merger discussions with any firm, Legal Cheek reported.
Hickey's capital markets focus tracks a 2026 IPO rebound with proceeds up nearly 400%
Hickey co-led Weil's capital markets practice and co-managed its corporate department, which puts his work in equity and debt capital markets, The American Lawyer reported. US IPO deal count rose 36% quarter-over-quarter and 78% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026, with issuance on pace to exceed $200 billion for the year, approaching 2021 levels, Morgan Stanley reported. A small number of mega-IPOs lifted proceeds by nearly 400%, the same research found, driven by AI and aerospace and defense themes and by private equity sponsors using public markets to exit mature portfolios.
Sullivan & Cromwell's technology practice and lateral hires contributed to more than $1 trillion in deals, including xAI's $250 billion merger, BTI Consulting reported. A capital markets and corporate leader of Hickey's profile sits close to that work.
Sullivan & Cromwell's lateral hiring departs from a lockstep tradition of promoting within
S&C historically treated US lateral partner hires as extraordinarily rare, promoting from within under a lockstep model, Bloomberg Law reported. The firm has begun hiring and promoting at a special counsel rank between associate and partner, a break from that structure, the same outlet reported. BTI Consulting found that 73% of clients will now follow their lead partner to a new firm, up from 44% in 2023, BTI Consulting reported, a change that raises what an individual hire brings with it.
Hickey's move places a US capital markets and corporate leader inside a hiring run that began in London and has drawn at least six Weil partners to Sullivan & Cromwell in 2026. It comes as Weil absorbs roughly 30 partner departures across M&A, finance, restructuring and funds, recruits replacements of its own and weighs strategic options, and as capital markets issuance recovers toward levels last recorded in 2021.
More US legal market news.
