Good morning,
The biggest story in BigLaw this week is also the biggest story in BigLaw this year: Weil Gotshal & Manges is winding down. The management committee recommended an orderly dissolution on October 28, and the talent exodus that triggered the collapse is now reshaping the lateral market in real time. Gibson Dunn is set to absorb a 37-lawyer team, including eight partners, from Weil’s City of London funds practice.
Simpson Thacher continues its aggressive Chicago build-out with four new partners from White & Case and Kirkland & Ellis, bringing its headcount there to nearly a dozen partners since opening in August. Paul Weiss landed Weil's global private equity co-head Doug Warner, a partner at the firm since 1986. Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins keeps stacking talent across privacy, private equity, and IP, while DLA Piper raided Latham’s capital solutions bench for three partners.
On the executive side, FedEx appointed Jamere Jackson as CFO, pulling him from AutoZone in a Fortune 50 finance leadership change. HF Sinclair named Steve Ledbetter as CEO, effective January 1, and auto parts distributor LKQ installed Salvatore Abbate as CEO after a sudden leadership vacancy. In the asset management world, Blackstone expanded its footprint in India, and Christine Lagarde announced she will step down as European Central Bank president in February 2027, nine months ahead of schedule.
Now, on to what matters for your practice today.
BigLaw Moves Sentiment
The Weil Gotshal dissolution is the single largest reallocation of BigLaw talent in recent memory, and it is far from over. With the firm's restructuring roster’s, one of the best-paid practice groups in BigLaw, now hitting the open market, firms with strong balance sheets are positioning to absorb liability-management and workout specialists.
Private equity and fund formation talent remains the most contested asset class in the lateral market, as Gibson Dunn's 37-lawyer London lift and Simpson Thacher's multi-city build demonstrate. Government-to-firm pipelines continue to feed white collar, regulatory, and privacy practices, signaling sustained demand from clients navigating enforcement risk.
For practice leaders, the takeaway is clear: the firms hiring most aggressively in M&A, PE, and capital markets are the ones betting on a robust deal cycle through 2027.
BigLaw Moves
A few quick patterns worth noting: This week's lateral activity is dominated by the accelerating Weil Gotshal wind-down, which drove at least ten named partner departures across private equity, M&A, white collar, and corporate governance. Simpson Thacher was the week's most active acquirer, adding six partners across three cities, four in Chicago from White & Case and Kirkland, plus executive compensation and corporate talent in New York.
DLA Piper made a notable three-partner capital solutions lift from Latham, while Latham itself hired across four practice areas (PE M&A, IP, privacy, and data center finance). Government-to-firm moves remain strong, with three hires from the SDNY U.S. Attorney's Office, one from the SEC, one from the IRS, and one from the California Privacy Protection Agency.
Geographically, New York led hiring volume, followed by Washington, D.C. and Chicago, with notable activity in London tied to Weil's dissolution.
Antitrust and Competition
Ryan Shores lateralled to Sullivan & Cromwell as partner and antitrust group co-head in Washington, D.C., from Cleary Gottlieb.
Aviation
Dave Pflieger was hired by Clyde & Co as aviation partner across Atlanta, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., from PrimeAI.
Tannie Kwong joined Clyde & Co as aviation partner in Hong Kong from Cathay Pacific.
Capital Markets and Finance
Jesse Sheff, Seung-Ju Paik, and Preeta Paragash moved to DLA Piper as partners in its capital solutions practice from Latham & Watkins.
David Gremling lateralled to Simpson Thacher as capital structure solutions partner in Chicago from Kirkland & Ellis.
Edwin Nazario was hired by Mayer Brown as capital markets and commodities derivatives partner in Washington, D.C., from Reed Smith.
Mac Campbell joined Paul Hastings as fund finance partner in London from Reed Smith, reuniting him with Leon Stephenson.
Sahar Kamali was recruited by Kirkland & Ellis as digital infrastructure finance partner in New York from Blue Owl.
Susan Poklemba, a former SEC attorney, joined Venable as Counsel in its Securities Regulatory practice.
Corporate M&A
Lisa Morales lateralled to Vinson & Elkins as corporate M&A partner in New York from Simpson Thacher.
Shiva Sandill moved to Simpson Thacher as M&A partner in Chicago from White & Case.
Trevor Currie joined Shoosmiths as banking and finance partner in London from Hogan Lovells.
Brook Mestre joined Cadwalader as capital markets partner in New York from Dechert.
Lyuba Goltser lateralled to Cadwalader as CLO and leveraged finance partner in New York from Milbank.
Cybersecurity
Kimberly Horne joined Luther Laurier as cybersecurity partner in Washington, D.C., from Reed Smith.
Emerging Companies
David Nathan joined Fresley & Johner as startup and emerging companies partner in Chicago from McDermott.
Energy and Infrastructure
Christine Paschall joined Latham & Watkins as project development and finance partner in Houston from Norton Rose Fulbright.
James Buckingham was hired by Locke Lord as grid-scale solar partner in Houston from Haynes Boone.
Executive Compensation
Alicia Wright lateralled to Weil Gotshal as executive compensation partner in New York from Simpson Thacher.
Family Law
Sibylle Clark and Ben King joined Greenspoon Marder as family law partners in Denver from Montgomery Little & Soran.
Healthcare Regulatory
Roger Cohen was hired by Fenwick as healthcare regulatory partner from Goodwin.
Immigration
Ashley Doret Dees joined Clark Hill as immigration partner in Houston from Berry Appleman & Leiden.
Intellectual Property
Jason Raeburn lateralled to Latham & Watkins from Paul Hastings in London, where he had served as IP and technology litigation head, to build Latham's technology and AI disputes practice.
Cristin Cowles, Danielle Herritt, and Deborah Vernon moved to Honigman as patent partners in Boston from Womble Bond Dickinson.
Scott Karren and Thomas Anderson joined Sterlington as patents partners in Salt Lake City from Holland & Hart.
Matthew Warenzak was hired by Saul Ewing as IP partner in Atlanta from Smith Gambrell Russell.
Holly Melton joined Haynes Boone as trademark and advertising partner from Frankfurt Kurnit.
Labor and Employment
Christina Wernick moved to Ogletree Deakins as labor and employment partner in Chicago from Laner Muchin.
Carmen Jo Rejda-Ponce joined Jackson Lewis as employment litigation partner in Omaha from Germer.
Litigation
Andrew Thomas was hired by Milbank as litigation partner in New York from the SDNY U.S. Attorney's Office, where he served as co-chief of the Securities and Commodities Task Force.
Austin Evers joined Ashurst Perkins Coie as complex litigation partner in Washington, D.C., from Freshfields.
Utibe Ikpe was recruited by Cole Schotz as litigation partner in Miami from Meland Budwick.
Matt Sloan joined Valle Makoff as white collar and commercial litigation partner in Los Angeles from Skadden.
Rachel Riso moved to Spencer Fane as litigation partner in Springfield, Missouri, from Ellis Ellis Hammons & Johnson.
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani added seven litigation partners across San Francisco, Walnut Creek, and Sacramento.
Maritime
Joseph Staph joined Kaufman Dolowich as maritime partner in New York and Hackensack from Hill Rivkins.
Private Equity
Kevin Burke was recruited by Latham & Watkins as private equity M&A partner in New York from Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.
Mark Pflug lateralled to Cleary Gottlieb as M&A and private equity partner in New York from Simpson Thacher.
Doug Warner, global private equity co-head at Weil Gotshal and a partner at the firm since 1986, moved to Paul Weiss in New York. He is at least the fourteenth leader to leave Weil this year.
Christian Vareika was hired by Kirkland & Ellis as investment funds and secondaries partner in Boston from Ropes & Gray.
Gibson Dunn is set to hire a 37-lawyer team, including eight partners, from Weil Gotshal's City of London funds practice as the firm winds down.
Simpson Thacher is set to hire a London private equity partner from Weil Gotshal.
Product Liability
Jessica Grant was hired by DLA Piper as product liability and mass torts partner in San Francisco from Shook, Hardy & Bacon.
Public Law and Projects
Brendan Ryan joined Womble Bond Dickinson as public law and projects partner in London.
Real Estate
Eddie Frastai was recruited by King & Spalding into its real estate and funds practice in New York from Clifford Chance.
Cori Rosen joined Spencer Fane as real estate partner from Rosenberg & Estis.
Robert Bello moved to Womble Bond Dickinson as real estate partner in Houston from Porter Hedges.
TJ Kuban lateralled to Orrick as data center real estate partner in Chicago from Kirkland & Ellis.
Tax
Greg Arutiunov was hired by Akin as tax partner in New York from White & Case.
John Wall, a former IRS director, joined DLA Piper as international tax partner in Washington, D.C.
Brady Cox moved to Buchalter as tax partner in Dallas from Jackson Walker.
Jens Hafemann joined Gibson Dunn as tax partner in Frankfurt.
White Collar Crime and Government Investigations
Andrew Dean lateralled to Skadden into its white-collar and investigations group in New York from Weil Gotshal, where he had arrived from the SEC.
Christopher Mulligan lateralled to Skadden into its investment management group in Washington, D.C., from Weil Gotshal, where he had arrived from the SEC.
Jason Richman was hired by Bracewell as government enforcement and investigations partner from the SDNY U.S. Attorney's Office.
Drew Tulumello departed Weil Gotshal for Davis Polk.
Chantale Fiebig departed Weil Gotshal for Davis Polk.
Caroline Zalka departed Weil Gotshal for Paul Weiss.
Corporate Moves Sentiment
The CTO and CIO appointments at Tractor Supply, Avantor, Toro, and BrightStar Care point to a sustained enterprise appetite for digital transformation leadership, particularly in sectors where technology has historically lagged: retail, life sciences, manufacturing, and healthcare services.
FedEx's CFO appointment from AutoZone underscores a pattern of Fortune 500 companies recruiting finance leaders with multi-sector operational experience. For law firms, these leadership transitions signal potential advisory work across executive compensation structuring, corporate governance, and the M&A and integration activity that often follows new C-suite leadership. Christine Lagarde's early departure from the ECB could reshape European monetary policy advisory mandates heading into 2027.
Corporate Moves
Central Banks
European Central Bank: Christine Lagarde announced she will step down as European Central Bank president on February 7, 2027, nine months before her term is set to expire.
Investment Banking
Moelis: David Pett joined Moelis as a managing director from Bridgepoint Financial Technology.
Asset Managers
Astira Capital Partners: Manoj Kothiyal joined Astira Capital Partners as partner and head of AI from LTM, where he served as chief business officer and global head of AI.
Blackstone: Susan Yung, a Blackstone senior managing director on its credit and insurance investment operations team, relocated to lead a new office in Bengaluru.
Blue Sea Capital: Brian Singer joined Blue Sea Capital as a principal from RSi, where he served as CTO.
Cerity Partners: Karin Geldfeld joined Cerity Partners as a principal of private markets from Marinta Investments, where she was managing partner.
Clean Energy Ventures: Aruna Ramsamy joined Clean Energy Ventures as a managing partner from Extantia, where she was venture partner.
Dragonfly: Lisa Liu joined Dragonfly, a New York-based crypto venture capital firm, as a partner focused on fintech, crypto, and AI from SignalFire, where she was a principal.
Rob Hadick and Tom Schmidt were promoted to managing partners at Dragonfly.
Eclipse: Ryan Gibson and Michael Laser were promoted to partners at Eclipse, a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm.
Franchise Equity Partners: Chris Holzshu joined Franchise Equity Partners as an operating partner focused on the auto industry from Lithia & Driveway, where he was executive vice president.
General Catalyst: Daryl Tol is stepping down as president of General Catalyst's HATco, the effort that bought an Ohio hospital.
HarbourVest Partners: Peter Larsen joined HarbourVest Partners as a managing director and head of infrastructure distribution from Hamilton Lane, where he spent over 17 years.
HighPost Capital: Ron Sylvestri joined HighPost Capital as managing director of marketing from Quail Ridge Asset Management, which he founded and led.
LGT Capital Partners: Sascha Gruber was promoted to CEO at LGT Capital Partners of Switzerland.
Silversmith Capital Partners: Jean Gulliver joined Silversmith Capital Partners as head of investor relations from Court Square Capital Partners.
Standard Investments: Peter Marturano was promoted to chief investment officer at Standard Investments.
Threadmark: Andrew Symons joined Threadmark as a managing director from Sustainable Development Capital.
Corporates
Ardent Health: Gaurav Khanna was named chief digital and information officer at Ardent Health, the hospital operator. He previously served as VP and segment CIO for Humana's healthcare services business, CenterWell Pharmacy, and before that was chief information and digital officer for Contessa Health.
Avantor: Mikey Santiago was appointed CIO at Avantor, the life science tools company. He most recently served as CIO at Danaher since 2023 and was previously CIO at Cytiva and Beckman Coulter.
BrightStar Care: Amer Waheed was appointed CTO at BrightStar Care, the in-home care services provider. He previously served as CTO at Fuze Health and at Neighborly.
FedEx: Jamere Jackson was appointed CFO of FedEx, effective November 30. He currently serves as CFO of AutoZone and previously was CFO of Hertz Global Holdings. He will succeed Claude F. Russ, who has served as interim CFO since June 1.
Firm360: Richard Calhoun was appointed chief product officer at Firm360, a newly created role at the accounting software company. He most recently served as CPO at Stratus.
Heritage Financial: Pat Casey was appointed CIO at Heritage Financial, effective November 2. He previously held senior technology roles at Kite Realty Group, CNO Financial Group, Ahold Delhaize, and OfficeMax/Office Depot.
HF Sinclair: Steve Ledbetter was appointed CEO of HF Sinclair, effective January 1, 2027. He has served as the company's President and COO since July and previously held roles at Shell. He will succeed Franklin Myers, who will remain an Officer and Executive Chair.
LKQ: Salvatore A. "Sal" Abbate was appointed CEO of LKQ, effective December 15. He previously served as CEO of Veritiv. He will succeed Justin Jude, who left the company on October 23.
PairSoft: Vijay Vidiyala was named chief product and technology officer at PairSoft, overseeing product and engineering. He most recently led teams at Model N across the U.S., Europe, and India.
Toro: Neal M. Lackritz will join Toro as CTO, effective November 2, a newly created role. He joins from Whisker and previously held technology roles at Ariens, Genesis Motion Solutions, Apple, and Bose.
Tractor Supply: Fahim Siddiqui was appointed chief technology and digital officer at Tractor Supply. He previously served as CIO at Home Depot from April 2022 to May 2025 and held senior roles at Staples, Vidyo, and Intralinks.
Heard on the Street
The Weil Gotshal dissolution has dominated legal industry commentary this week. David Lat, writing in Original Jurisdiction on October 29, described the collapse as a "partner run" and noted that Weil reported $2.078 billion in revenue (No. 29 in the 2026 Am Law 100) and $5.593 million in profits per equity partner, making it the largest firm by revenue to dissolve in modern BigLaw history. Lat observed that Weil had no debt and that the dissolution was driven entirely by talent flight rather than financial insolvency. Davis Polk and AlixPartners are advising on the wind-down. Associates and staff were told they will receive 90 days of pay and year-end bonuses.
Bloomberg Law reported in September that through the end of August, the top 50 firms had hired 1,086 partners, versus 901 moves in the same period a year earlier, according to SurePoint Legal Insights data, a roughly 20 percent increase year over year. Recruiter Kay Hoppe told Bloomberg that "we are in the process of the most significant realignment in the history of the profession." Kent Zimmermann of Zeughauser Group noted that firms are giving top leaders more hiring authority, "causing them to get up to bat more often for great laterals and teams."
On the executive side, LHH's 2026 View from the C-Suite survey found that high-turnover leadership teams fell from 43 percent in 2025 to 19 percent in 2026, suggesting C-suite stability is returning after years of volatility. At the same time, AI and emerging technology was cited as the top executive skill gap, with 49 percent of leaders naming it a top priority. Juan Luis Goujon, SVP and global head of LHH's ICEO practice, noted: "Executive careers are lengthening, and that is good news, but only if organizations use that experience intentionally."
Above the Law reported on October 28 that Weil brought in Davis Polk bankruptcy lawyer Brian Resnick to advise on restructuring options, and that partners across several practices were "frantically sending resumes" to Sidley, White & Case, and Simpson Thacher, per the Wall Street Journal. With the firm's restructuring practice, one of the most profitable in BigLaw, now in play, the next several weeks will determine which firms emerge with the most valuable portfolios of talent from the wind-down.
That’s the rundown. See you next where law meets the markets.
-The BigLaw Markets Team
*DISCLAIMER: BigLaw Markets analyzes publicly available information, filings, press releases, and news stories published by reputable media sources to deliver content that highlights demand for legal services. Certain production processes may be supported by proprietary AI tools and are subject to human editorial judgement and review.
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