Weil, Gotshal & Manges

{{Infobox law firm

| name = Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

| logo = Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP logo.svg

| headquarters = General Motors Building
New York City, New York, United States

| num_offices = 15

| num_attorneys = 1,217 (2024)

| num_employees =

| practice_areas = General practice

| key_people = Barry M. Wolf, Executive Partner, Management Committee Chair{{Cite web|url=http://www.weil.com/people/barry-wolf|title=Barry M. Wolf |publisher=Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP}}

| revenue = {{profit}}$1.86 billion (2021){{cite web |author=Patrick Smith |date=March 31, 2022 |url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2022/03/31/weil-rides-balance-to-double-digit-revenue-net-income-growth-in-2021/#:~:text=Photo%3A%20YouTube-,Weil%20Rides%20Balance%20to%20Double%2DDigit%20Revenue%2C%20Net%20Income%20Growth,crossed%20the%20%245%20million%20threshold.|title=Weil Rides Balance to Double-Digit Revenue, Net Income Growth in 2021 |work=The American Lawyer |via=Law.com |access-date=August 30, 2022}}

| profit_per_equity_partner =

| date_founded = {{Start date|1931}} (New York City)

| founder = Frank Weil
Sylvan Gotshal
Horace Manges

| company_type = Limited-liability partnership

| slogan =

| homepage = [http://www.weil.com weil.com]

}}

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP{{efn|Currently abbreviated as "Weil", previously as "Weil Gotshal"{{cite news |last1=Creswell |first1=Julie |last2=Donovan|first2=Karen |date=2006-12-08 |title=Happy Birthday. Vacate Your Office. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/08/business/08legal.html |url-access=subscription |issn=1553-8095 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210010829/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/08/business/08legal.html |archive-date=2008-12-10 |access-date=2025-02-26}} and "WGM". {{cite news |last1= |first1= |date=2009-04-14 |title=Weil's Big Bill to Lehman Brothers |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/weils-big-bill-to-lehman-brothers/ |url-access=subscription |issn=1553-8095 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226171727/https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/weils-big-bill-to-lehman-brothers/ |archive-date=2025-02-26 |access-date=2025-02-26}}|name=Abbreviation|group=lower-alpha}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|aɪ|l|'|ɡ|ɑː|t|ʃ|ə|l|'|m|æ|n|.|d|ʒ|iː|z||audio=Weil, Gotshal & Manges.ogg}} {{respell|WHILE GOT|chul and MAN|jeez}}) is an American law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1931, it employs approximately 1,100 attorneys and reported annual revenues of over $1.8 billion, ranking it withinThe American Lawyer{{'s}} AmLaw 100 top tier.{{dead link|date=October 2012}} [http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1131542411426 "2005 The National Law Journal 250"]. The National Law Journal. Retrieved October 9, 2012.{{cite web |url=http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1119875747796 |title=The Am Law 100: The Billion-Dollar Club Expands |format=Abstract |url-access=subscription |work=The American Lawyer |via=Law.com |date=July 1, 2005 |access-date=October 9, 2012}}

Overview

The firm was founded in New York City in 1931 by Frank Weil, Sylvan Gotshal, and Horace Manges. Since 1968, Weil has been headquartered in the General Motors building, overlooking Central Park, in New York City's Manhattan borough.{{Cite web|title=Weil {{!}} Company Profile {{!}} Vault.com|url=https://www.vault.com/company-profiles/law/weil-gotshal-manges-llp|access-date=2021-07-28|website=Vault|language=en}}

After its founding in 1931, the firm grew steadily in the following decades, taking on clients including General Electric and General Motors, and becoming one of the largest law firms in the country.{{Cite web|title=Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP - The Inside View|url=https://www.chambers-associate.com/weil-gotshal-manges/true-picture/3667/1##true-picture|access-date=2021-07-28|website=chambers-associate.com|language=en}} In 1975, the firm opened an office in Washington, D.C., its first outside New York City, followed in the 1980s by locations in Miami, Houston and Dallas. In 1991 Weil was the first global, non-California law firm to open a Silicon Valley office, in Redwood Shores, California. Later, the firm further spread its practice, notably in non-contentious finance and private equity practice.{{Cite web|title=Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, USA {{!}} Chambers Profiles|url=https://chambers.com/law-firm/weil-gotshal-manges-llp-usa-5:3667|access-date=2021-07-28|website=chambers.com}}

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent move by Central and Eastern European countries toward market-based economies prompted the firm to launch its international expansion. It established offices in Budapest, Prague and Warsaw in the early 1990s, followed by the establishment of offices in Frankfurt, London, Munich and Paris. In the 21st century, the firm established offices in Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. {{As of|2012}}, one-quarter of the firm's lawyers have practiced outside the U.S.

In November 2023, amid a wave of antisemitic incidents at elite U.S. law schools, Weil, Gotshal & Manges was among a group of major law firms who sent a letter to top law school deans warning them that an escalation in incidents targeting Jewish students would have corporate hiring consequences. The letter said "We look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses."{{cite news |last1=Sorkin |first1=Andrew Ross |last2=Mattu |first2=Ravi |last3=Warner |first3=Bernhard |last4=Kessler |first4=Sarah |last5=Merced |first5=Michael J. de la |last6=Hirsch |first6=Lauren |last7=Livni |first7=Ephrat |title=Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/02/business/dealbook/law-firms-schools-antisemitism.html |access-date=2 November 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=2 November 2023}}

In July 2024, Weil opened new offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, bringing on private equity partners Tana Ryan and Navneet Rekhi from Latham & Watkins to lead the expansion.{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=David |last2=Thomas |first2=David |date=2024-07-09 |title=Law firm Weil opens L.A., San Francisco offices with private equity dealmakers |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/law-firm-weil-opens-la-san-francisco-offices-with-private-equity-dealmakers-2024-07-09/ |access-date=2025-05-25 |work=Reuters |language=en}}

Notable cases

Olympus Corporation's Olympus scandal deal for British medical-equipment maker Gyrus earned Weil an undisclosed portion of the extraordinary $687 million fee; the $2 billion acquisition was the largest in Olympus's history; the fee was shared with the deal's financial advisor and its broker. The auditor KPMG refused to issue an unqualified audit report due to issues with the Gyrus deal, for which a 21-attorney Weil team was legal advisor{{cite web |date=October 27, 2011 |url=http://www.olympus-global.com/en/corc/ir/tes/pdf/nr111027.pdf |title=Additional Information on Our Previous Acquisition Deals |format=PDF format |publisher=Olympus Corporation |access-date=October 9, 2012}}
General Electric's $11.6 billion sale of GE Plastics to Saudi Basic Industries{{Cite news |author1=Layne, Rachel |author2=Cronin, Sean |date=May 21, 2007 |title=Saudi Basic to Buy GE Plastics Unit for $11.6 Billion (Update 5) |publisher=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a1VdEW0lgM40&refer=home |access-date=October 9, 2012}}
DirecTV's $25 billion stock-for-stock merger with Liberty Entertainment{{Cite news |last=Nolter |first=Chris |date=May 15, 2009 |title=Malone's Fancy Turns to Tax-Free Spinoffs |work=The Deal |url=http://www.thedeal.com/magazine/ID/026739/dealmakers/malones-fancy-turns-to-tax-fre.php |access-date=October 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126012603/http://www.thedeal.com/magazine/ID/026739/dealmakers/malones-fancy-turns-to-tax-fre.php |archive-date=November 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}
Sanofi Aventis's $18 billion acquisition of Genzyme{{Cite news|last=Nicholson |first=Chris V. |date=February 16, 2011 |title=Sanofi Agrees to Buy Genzyme for $20.1 Billion |work=DealBook blog at The New York Times |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/sanofi-agrees-to-buy-genzyme-for-at-least-20-1-billion/ |access-date=October 9, 2012}}
General Electric's $35 billion joint venture with Comcast for ownership of NBC Universal{{Cite news |last1=Shields |first1=Todd |last2=Bliss |first2=Jeff|date=January 18, 2011 |title=Comcast Wins U.S. Approval to Buy NBC Universal From GE for $13.8 Billion |publisher=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-18/comcast-nbc-universal-deal-said-to-be-near-u-s-fcc-approval.html |access-date=October 9, 2012}}
Apple Inc.'s favorable settlement of litigation with Burst.com
Sears Holding's 2018 Restructuring Plan {{cite news |last=DiNapoli |first=Jessica |title=Fill or kill: The three weeks that saved Sears |work=Reuters |date=January 14, 2019 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/business/fill-or-kill-the-three-weeks-that-saved-sears-idUSKCN1PG138 |access-date=April 29, 2025}}{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}
CBS Corporation's successful defense against a lawsuit filed by former reporter and news anchorman Dan Rather{{cite web |last=Reagan |first=Gillian|date=January 12, 2010 |title=Dan Rather's $70 Million Lawsuit Against CBS Finally Dies |website=Business Insider |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/dan-rathers-70-million-lawsuit-against-cbs-finally-dies-2010-1 |access-date=May 17, 2019}}
ExxonMobil's successful breach of contract suit against Saudi Basic Industries resulting in a $400 million jury award, one of the largest in history{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}
eBay's successful defense in trademark litigation with Tiffany & Co.{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Ashby|date=April 1, 2010 |title=Second Circuit Rules for eBay in Counterfeit Goods Case |work=Law Blog at The Wall Street Journal |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/04/01/second-circuit-rules-for-ebay-in-counterfeit-goods-case/ |access-date=October 9, 2012}}
Enron bankruptcy{{Cite news |last=Glater |first=Jonathan D.|date=December 4, 2001 |title=Enron's Collapse: The Lawyers; And the Winners in the Case Are |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/04/business/enron-s-collapse-the-lawyers-and-the-winners-in-the-case-are.html?scp=2&sq=Enron%20Weil&st=cse }}
Lehman Brothers bankruptcy{{Cite news |last=Glater |first=Jonathan D. |date=December 13, 2008 |title=The Man Who Is Unwinding Lehman Brothers |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/business/14miller.html }}
Washington Mutual bankruptcy{{Cite news |last=Chasan |first=Emily |date=September 28, 2008 |title=WaMu Files Bankruptcy Petition in Delaware |work =Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2008/09/28/afx5480077.html }}{{dead link|date=January 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

WorldCom bankruptcy{{Cite news |last=Schmitt |first=Richard |date=July 23, 2002 |title=Recent Bankruptcy Filings Become A Field of Gold for Weil Gotshal |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1027375577475718720}}

General Motors bankruptcy{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Lisa |date=June 1, 2009 |title=GM Files Bankruptcy to Spin Off More Competitive Firm |publisher=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aA_QjYuWXWzI}}
DirecTV's $49 billion sale to AT&T{{Cite news |last=Chiem |first=Linda |date=June 24, 2014 |title=Sealing The Deal: Weil Steers DirecTV In $49B Sale To AT&T |publisher=LexisNexis |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/550228/sealing-the-deal-weil-steers-directv-in-49b-sale-to-at-t}}
Lenovo's $2.9 billion acquisition of Motorola from Google{{Cite news |last=Mahoney |first=Brian |date=January 14, 2014 |title=Law360's Weekly Verdict: Legal Lions & Lambs |publisher=LexisNexis |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/505565/law360-s-weekly-verdict-legal-lions-lambs}}
Verizon's $4.4 billion acquisition of AOL{{cite news |last=Mahoney |first=Brian |date=May 12, 2015 |title=Verizon to buy AOL in $4.4 billion mobile video push |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aol-m-a-verizon-commn-idUSKBN0NX18820150512}}
Intel's $16 billion acquisition of Altera{{Cite news |last=King |first=Ian |date=June 1, 2015 |title=Intel's $16.7 Billion Altera Deal Is Fueled by Data Centers |publisher=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-01/intel-buys-altera-for-16-7-billion-as-chip-deals-accelerate}}
Facebook's $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp{{Cite news |last=Rosen |first=Ellen |date=February 21, 2014 |title=Weil Advises Facebook as WhatsApp Uses Fenwick: Business of Law |publisher=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-02-21/weil-advises-facebook-as-whatsapp-uses-fenwick-business-of-law}}
Oracle's $9 billion acquisition of NetSuite{{cite news |last=Greene |first=Jay |date=July 28, 2016 |title=Oracle to Buy Cloud-Software Provider NetSuite for $9.3 Billion |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/oracle-to-buy-netsuite-for-9-3-billion-1469708380}}

Notable alumni

Richard Ben-Veniste, member of the 9/11 Commission
Adam Bodnar, former Polish Ombudsman for Citizen Rights and current Minister of Justice
Jason Boyarski, music industry lawyer
Vernon S. Broderick, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Robert B. Charles, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Greg Coleman, first Solicitor General of Texas
Gregg Costa, judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Christopher Nixon Cox, grandson of Richard Nixon
Mekka Don, rapper
Barry Eisler, novelist, creator of John Rain novels
Michael Francies, managing partner of the firm's London office
Jill M. Friedman, who represented Guantanamo Bay detention camp prisoners, author of The Saudi Repatriates Report
Martin D. Ginsburg, lawyer, husband of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Sylvan Gotshal, founding partner
Lawrence Otis Graham, best-selling author
Caitlin Halligan, former Solicitor General of New York
George J. Hazel, judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Melinda Katz, Queens County District Attorney
Jeffrey L. Kessler, noted sports industry lawyer
Horace Manges, founding partner
Harvey R. Miller, Vice Chairman of Greenhill & Co.
Ira Millstein, current partner at the firm, longest-practicing partner in big law
Tamika Montgomery-Reeves, associate justice of the Delaware Supreme Court
Raymond Nimmer, former dean of the University of Houston Law Center
Robert Odle, Assistant Secretary in the United States Department of Energy under Ronald Reagan
Harriet Pilpel, women's rights activist
John A. E. Pottow, professor at the University of Michigan Law School
Rob Simmelkjaer, television journalist and executive
Stanley Sporkin, senior judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Robert R. Summerhays, judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Theodore Tannenwald Jr., judge of the United States Tax Court
Heath Tarbert, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Suzanne Israel Tufts, Assistant Secretary in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
Frank Weil, founding partner
Jon F. Weber, former corporate lawyer.{{Cite web |title=Jon Weber |url=https://veritux.com/consultants/jon-weber/ |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=Veritux |language=en-US}}

Notes

References

External links

{{Official website|http://www.weil.com}}
{{OpenCorp|Weil Gotshal & Manges}}
[http://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA/Firms/3667-32533 Chambers and Partners firm profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314011645/http://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA/Firms/3667-32533 |date=March 14, 2012 }}

Category:1931 establishments in New York City

Category:Companies based in Manhattan

Category:Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong

Category:Law firms based in New York City

Category:Law firms established in 1931

Category:Partnerships

Category:Multinational law firms