Kirkland hires Weil's Ramona Nee and a 40-lawyer team as the Weil wind-down scatters its clients' lawyers

Weil, Gotshal & Manges is losing its private equity bench and other practice leaders to rivals within days of leadership's call to wind the firm down, and its clients' matters are moving with them.

Kirkland & Ellis confirmed on Friday, Nov. 6, that it has hired Ramona Nee, Weil's co-managing partner, along with a team of 40 private equity M&A and debt finance lawyers. Nee, who co-leads Weil's US private equity practice, had been due to succeed longtime leader Barry Wolf as executive partner in January. It emerged last month that she had told the management committee she would not take the post. Five partners move with her: Jakub Wronski, Emily Willey and Michael Messina in Boston, and Benton Lewis and Paul Overmyer in New York.

Latham and others circle

Bloomberg Law reported that the head of Weil's real estate practice is headed to Latham & Watkins with five colleagues.

How the wind-down is being run

Weil's Management Committee recommended to the partnership in late October that the firm pursue an orderly wind-down, according to a statement the firm gave Fox Business.

Weil has retained AlixPartners, alongside lawyers from Davis Polk, according to Reuters. It intends an out-of-court wind-down, provided it can meet its financial obligations. Associates and staff were told they will keep receiving pay for 90 days and get year-end bonuses. It was unclear what Weil may owe certain partners under the partnership agreement.

On the partner side, Bloomberg Law reported that equity partners are exempted from the normal 60-day notice period in December and will be treated as withdrawn.

What this means for in-house counsel

If Weil is on your panel, start with matter continuity. Reuters noted that Weil's lawyers must balance their duty to keep serving clients against taking jobs elsewhere. Ask your relationship partner in writing where each active matter will be staffed, who owns the file, and what the transition plan is for deals with signing or closing dates before year-end. Expect several firms to pitch for the same lawyers, so decide which relationships you are following before the proposals arrive.

The client, not the firm, usually decides where a matter goes. In In re Thelen LLP (2014), New York's Court of Appeals held that pending hourly matters are not partnership property. Before moving work, review the new firm's conflicts clearance, fee terms and engagement letter, and confirm how any unpaid Weil invoices and retainers will be handled. Instruct Weil in writing on file transfer and on privileged material, so nothing is stranded in a dissolving firm's systems.

More broadly, treat partner mobility as a supplier-risk item. A firm can lose a practice quickly once key partners leave. Consider naming the individual lawyers you rely on in outside counsel guidelines, asking panel firms about succession and retention in the practices you use most, and keeping a secondary firm warmed up for critical work. Weigh these steps against the cost of switching, and avoid assuming that a lateral team's new platform will deliver the same service on day one.