With the news that incoming executive partner Ramona Nee will no longer be taking the top job at Weil come January, the embattled US firm took another hit, just days after it called off merger discussions with Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Nee’s move to decline the executive partner role, which has been held by Barry Wolf for the last 16 years, comes at a tumultuous time for the New York-headquartered firm, which has reportedly turned to Davis Polk for advice on options, including a potential restructuring, according to both the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.
Legal Business has tracked over 50 partner exits from Weil since January this year – many of them concentrated in Weil’s New York headquarters and its London office.
Moreover, several of the partners who have left had held leadership positions at the firm. Here, we tally up those departures, from office and practice heads to members of the management committee.
Christopher Machera – PE group co-head
The latest wave of Weil exits kicked off this August with the departure of private equity partner Christopher Machera (pictured right), who moved to Paul Weiss in New York.
In addition to co-heading Weil’s US PE practice, Machera also had a role on its global leadership and strategy committee, which was created in February 2025 to oversee the firm’s strategy and growth in preparation for Wolf’s planned retirement in December 2027.
At the same time, Weil’s management committee also appointed Nee and private funds partner Jonathan Soler as co-managing partners of the firm, with Nee announced as Wolf’s successor this March.
Machera had spent over a decade at Weil before his exit, and is recognised by Legal 500 as a leading partner for high-value PE.
He is one of only three Weil partners recognised in the practice area, alongside Nee, who also co-heads the firm’s US PE practice, and global practice co-head Doug Warner.
Michael Aiello – corporate department chair
Weeks later, corporate department chair Michael Aiello (pictured right) also left the firm, heading to Cravath – and bringing with him a team of five additional partners, including Weil’s co-head of M&A, Matthew Gilroy.
In addition to his role leading the firm’s corporate department, Aiello also chaired the global strategy and leadership committee.
Aiello is also in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for high-value M&A, where Gilroy is also a leading partner. The departures mean Weil now has no individuals recognised in the practice area.
Chantale Fiebig – global leadership and strategy committee member
A third committee member is also set to leave the firm, with trial lawyer Chantale Fiebig (pictured right) set to leave for Davis Polk in Washington DC.
With Fiebig’s exit, the global leadership and strategy committee has been reduced by half.
At time of its appointment, the committee included Aiello, Machera, and Fiebig, as well as former restructuring co-chair Gary Holtzer and global litigation department co-chair John Neurwith in New York, and London-based global PE co-head Marco Compagnoni.
Alongside her committee role, Fiebig previously served as co-managing partner of Weil’s DC office, and is recognised as a next generation partner for premium commercial disputes.
Fiebig leaves Weil after just over five years, having joined from Gibson Dunn in 2021.
Drew Tulumello – global litigation department co-chair
Alongside Fiebig, fellow DC litigation partner Drew Tulumello (pictured right) is also understood to be moving to Davis Polk.
Tulumello has been a member of Weil’s management committee and co-chair of its global litigation department since 2025, and is also recognised for premium commercial disputes, as a leading partner.
Like Fiebig, Tulumello joined Weil from Gibson Dunn in 2021. Tulumello spent more than two decades at his previous firm, and held multiple management roles, including positions on its management and executive committees, and as co-partner in charge of the DC office.
Fellow management committee member Caroline Zalka is also reportedly set to leave the firm, for Paul Weiss.
David Avery-Gee – London co-managing partner
Outside of the US, Weil has also seen partners with leadership roles leave from its London office.
These include the co-managing partner of its city office, David Avery-Gee (pictured right), who left for Sullivan & Cromwell with fellow M&A partner Sarah Flaherty in September, leaving PE partner Jonathan Wood as the sole London managing partner.
Avery-Gee left Weil after six years, having joined from Linklaters in 2020. He is a Legal 500 leading partner for high-value M&A, where Flaherty is a next-generation partner.
Tom Richards – London finance practice head
These exits were followed by that of London finance practice head Tom Richards (pictured right), who is set to move to Simpson Thacher with a three-partner team.
Richards joined Weil as an associate in 2012 from legacy Hogan Lovells, quickly moving up the ranks to partner in 2015.
Like many of the partners listed here, he is also recognised by Legal 500, as a leading partner for acquisition finance – the firm’s sole individual ranking in the practice area.
Weil has replaced a number of its departed practice leads, with California partner Kyle Krpata and New York partner Michael Lubowitz appointed as co-chairs of the corporate department after Aiello’s departure in September.
Lubowitz also leads the firm’s M&A practice, while Krpata co-heads US PE.
In addition, the firm rehired PE partner Peter Feist from Cravath in September, bringing him in to co-head the US PE practice alongside Nee and Krpata.
Weil has also made a number of hires in recent months, including the additions of New York antitrust partner Yuni Yan Sobel from Paul Weiss, and London-based PE partner Rebecca Ward from Freshfields.
