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Ramona Nee, named in March 2026 as Weil, Gotshal & Manges' first female executive partner, was due to start on 1 January 2027. She has told the firm's leadership committee that she will not take the job, Bloomberg Law reported. Above the Law's morning briefing also reported the decision.
Nee is a nearly 25-year Weil veteran and Boston private equity rainmaker
Nee spent nearly 25 years at Weil. She was co-managing partner, co-head of the US private equity practice and co-managing partner of the Boston office. She was also a significant rainmaker, rather than an outside appointment, according to Legal Business.
She was due to succeed Barry Wolf, who has led Weil since shortly after the 2008 financial crisis, a tenure of roughly 16 years. Wolf has reportedly been in discussions to join Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Semafor reported.
Willkie merger called off days earlier as partner departures mount
Weil and Willkie Farr & Gallagher called off merger talks on 23 October 2026, The American Lawyer reported. Weil generated $2.077bn in revenue and $5.593m in profits per partner the previous year. Days later, Weil told practice group chiefs that it was negotiating a merger with an unnamed firm. That came about a month after the firm publicly stated that it was not in merger discussions, Above the Law reported.
The firm has lost more than 25 partners in 2026, while Legal Business cited over 50. Firms recruiting its lawyers now include Simpson Thacher, Paul, Weiss and Davis Polk, according to Bloomberg Law. Two management committee members, Drew Tulumello and Chantale Fiebig, are leaving for Davis Polk & Wardwell, The American Lawyer reported. In London, M&A leader David Avery-Gee and corporate partner Sarah Flaherty moved to Sullivan & Cromwell. Finance head Tom Richards is heading to Simpson Thacher, Bloomberg Law reported.
Nee came from inside the partnership and was a known rainmaker. Her refusal has therefore been read as a signal about the succession itself, rather than as one more departure, LawFuel reported.
Corporate, private equity and bankruptcy draw Cravath, Paul Weiss and Simpson Thacher
The upheaval has centred on corporate and private equity. Paul, Weiss added six lawyers from Weil in August, including PE co-head Christopher Machera, PE M&A partner Timothy Burns and tax partner Noah Beck, Legal Business reported. In September, Cravath, Swaine & Moore recruited corporate department chair Michael Aiello and five more M&A partners, Bloomberg Law reported.
Weil responded by naming Michael Lubowitz and Silicon Valley PE lawyer Kyle Krpata to co-lead its 600-lawyer corporate practice. Leadership was split between a public M&A specialist and a PE specialist as Weil sought to compete with Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins in high-growth private equity work, Bloomberg Law reported. The firm also made defensive hires, bringing Peter Feist back from Cravath and rehiring Debra Sinclair from Willkie, Above the Law reported. It added two PE partners in San Francisco from Kirkland and Dechert, and rehired M&A partner Iliana Karaoglan from Simpson Thacher, The American Lawyer reported.
Weil's bankruptcy and restructuring practice, described as highly regarded, is now being targeted by Simpson Thacher and Paul, Weiss. Simpson is also pursuing lawyers in the Boston office, The American Lawyer reported. The same outlet described the lateral market as very active into the fourth quarter, with rivals characterising the recruitment of Weil partners as predatory or opportunistic.
Weil grew revenue at half the rate of rivals since 2008
Weil grew revenue at half the annualised rate of competitors between 2008 and 2025, LawFuel reported. Last year, its revenue rose less than 3%, while the 50 largest firms grew more than 13%. Wolf has been criticised internally for the firm's position on AI and its compensation structure. Some partners say those decisions left Weil exposed to recruiting, Semafor reported.
Across the autumn: a merger was called off, a second merger approach was reported, more than 25 partners departed across private equity, M&A, finance and the management committee, and an insider successor declined the top job she was due to start on 1 January 2027. These developments point to a succession and strategy under pressure from firms actively recruiting Weil's work and partners.
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