Weil’s Ramona Nee in talks to join Kirkland & Ellis

{"text":[[{"start":10.8,"text":"Ramona Nee, the lawyer who was poised to run Weil Gotshal before the legal powerhouse’s collapse, is in talks to join Kirkland & Ellis along with a team of partners."}],[{"start":21.08,"text":"Weil’s rapid demise, following a series of high-profile departures, has left more than 1,000 lawyers searching for a landing spot at rivals. The 95-year-old firm’s management committee on Wednesday told partners of plans to dissolve the firm."}],[{"start":36,"text":"Nee, the one-time successor to Weil’s longtime chair Barry Wolf, is discussing joining Kirkland alongside six other Weil departees, including specialists in mergers and acquisitions, debt finance and executive pay, according to people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":50.84,"text":"Dozens of other more junior lawyers could follow Nee to Kirkland in the coming weeks, some of the people said."}],[{"start":56.56,"text":"Nee, whose clients include private equity group Advent International, is among the most coveted deal lawyers left at Weil as it begins to wind down and has been approached by several rival firms in recent days, some of the people said."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":70,"text":"It comes as rivals Paul Weiss, Gibson Dunn and Simpson Thacher have all hired other Weil lawyers in the past 24 hours amid a rush by the firm’s practitioners to find new jobs."}],[{"start":80.8,"text":"Nee had been set to become Weil’s executive chair from the start of next year but told the firm’s leadership in August that she would no longer take the top job, the FT previously reported."}],[{"start":91.48,"text":"Weil was famed for its work on the Enron, Lehman Brothers and General Motors bankruptcies. A succession of high-profile departures plunged the firm into crisis and the decision to shut its doors has stunned Wall Street."}],[{"start":103.44,"text":"Chris Machera, a top private equity dealmaker, left to join Paul Weiss in August. Michael Aiello, Weil’s top M&A rainmaker, departed for rival firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore a month later along with five partners."}],[{"start":117.66,"text":"Kirkland & Ellis has cemented its position as a behemoth of the legal industry in recent years, generating more than $10bn in annual revenues."}],[{"start":126.14,"text":"Nee had privately expressed that she favoured a move to Kirkland, the people said. It was possible she would agree to join in the coming days but plans could still change, they added."}],[{"start":137.52,"text":"Nee has spent all of her 24-year career at Weil, ascending to co-head the firm’s Boston office in 2022 and becoming co-managing partner last year. In March, it was announced she would succeed Wolf as executive partner from the start of 2027."}],[{"start":153.8,"text":"The potential hiring of Nee and her team would boost Kirkland’s Boston office where the firm is trying to grow its roster of private equity and corporate clients. Last year, Kirkland hired Graham Robinson, a top biotech deal adviser, from Skadden."}],[{"start":168.52,"text":"Kirkland, Weil and Nee did not immediately respond to requests for comment."}],[{"start":178.34,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793429974_9938.mp3"}