Weil Gotshal & Manges is facing a significant loss as top dealmaker Michael Aiello and five other partners are reportedly departing for Cravath. This move comes after a challenging period for Weil Gotshal, which has experienced multiple high-profile partner exits recently. The departures are particularly impactful for the firm's private equity practice, a highly competitive area in the legal industry.
This latest exodus follows a series of partner shuffles within Weil Gotshal's private equity team. In the last two weeks, the firm reportedly lost at least two private equity partners to Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and two others to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Earlier reports also indicated that Christopher Machera, co-head of Weil's private equity practice, moved to Paul Weiss, and Brian Parness, a prominent partner in the firm's secondary and GP-stakes practice, was in talks to join Simpson Thacher.
The firm has been grappling with partner defections for at least the past two years, with sources noting that this is the second such series of departures in that timeframe. Despite these challenges, a Weil spokesperson stated that the firm was on track to achieve record revenue and profitability in 2026, leading to a "very significant increase in profits per equity partner." The firm attributed this success to its growth strategy, including adding over 50 lateral partners since the beginning of 2025.
