Key Takeaways
- • Kirkland & Ellis confirmed it has hired Weil co-managing partner Ramona Nee along with a team of 40 private equity M&A and debt finance lawyers from Weil, ahead of the firm's planned dissolution.
- • The Nee hire is one of the largest group hires from Weil since the firm's decision in late October to recommend an orderly wind-down to its partnership.
- • Joining Nee are Boston-based PE and M&A partners Jakub Wronski, Emily Willey and Michael Messina, and New York debt finance partners Benton Lewis and Paul Overmyer.
- • Gibson Dunn is reportedly set to hire up to 120 funds lawyers from Weil across the US and UK, while Sidley Austin and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett are also reportedly adding partners and teams.
- • Weil has appointed AlixPartners and Davis Polk to manage its planned closure, which the firm intends to pursue out of court rather than through bankruptcy, provided it can meet its obligations.
Summary
Kirkland & Ellis confirmed on Friday that it has hired Ramona Nee, co-managing partner of Weil, together with a team of 40 private equity M&A and debt finance lawyers from the firm. The move follows reports the previous week that Nee was in talks to join Kirkland with a large team. Kirkland's executive committee chairman, Jon Ballis, said the partners bring relationships with leading private equity sponsors and "outstanding experience across sophisticated PE/M&A and finance and will be a terrific fit with our platform and our clients." Nee, a Weil lifer who co-leads the firm's US private equity practice, had been due to succeed longtime leader Barry Wolf as executive partner next January, but it emerged last month that she had told the management committee she would not take the post.
The hires come as Weil winds down. The firm recommended an orderly wind-down to its partnership in late October, and dozens of partners have left in recent months. Among them is Michael Aiello, former chair of the corporate department, who joined Cravath, Swaine & Moore in September with five other M&A partners. According to Reuters, Weil has appointed restructuring consultancy AlixPartners to help manage the closure, alongside lawyers from Davis Polk. The firm intends to pursue an out-of-court wind-down rather than bankruptcy, provided it can meet its financial obligations.
Other firms are also recruiting from Weil. Gibson Dunn is reportedly set to hire up to 120 funds lawyers across the US and UK, including more than 20 partners. Sidley Austin was reported to be nearing a deal to bring in London private equity partners Marco Compagnoni and Jonathan Wood, along with further PE partners in Germany and potentially its entire 22-partner Paris office; Sidley did not respond to requests for comment. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is reportedly hiring around 20 finance associates and support staff in London, according to Law.com, after adding several London finance partners, including practice head Tom Richards last month.
Separately, the Financial Times reported that a group of around 10 former Weil partners is working with Foley & Lardner litigator Peter Wang, a move that suggests possible disputes over payouts and management decisions. The group includes lawyers who left in the past five years but not those from the recent wave of departures.
The hires come as Weil winds down. The firm recommended an orderly wind-down to its partnership in late October, and dozens of partners have left in recent months. Among them is Michael Aiello, former chair of the corporate department, who joined Cravath, Swaine & Moore in September with five other M&A partners. According to Reuters, Weil has appointed restructuring consultancy AlixPartners to help manage the closure, alongside lawyers from Davis Polk. The firm intends to pursue an out-of-court wind-down rather than bankruptcy, provided it can meet its financial obligations.
Other firms are also recruiting from Weil. Gibson Dunn is reportedly set to hire up to 120 funds lawyers across the US and UK, including more than 20 partners. Sidley Austin was reported to be nearing a deal to bring in London private equity partners Marco Compagnoni and Jonathan Wood, along with further PE partners in Germany and potentially its entire 22-partner Paris office; Sidley did not respond to requests for comment. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is reportedly hiring around 20 finance associates and support staff in London, according to Law.com, after adding several London finance partners, including practice head Tom Richards last month.
Separately, the Financial Times reported that a group of around 10 former Weil partners is working with Foley & Lardner litigator Peter Wang, a move that suggests possible disputes over payouts and management decisions. The group includes lawyers who left in the past five years but not those from the recent wave of departures.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.