Weil Gotshal made some unfortunate posts about being a great place to work

If you're a student embarking upon a legal career in 2026 and you see social media posts about a law firm running a mentoring panel promising "deep commitment to developing the next generation of outstanding lawyers," you might feel intrigued. If that same law firm announces plans for its own dissolution 24 hours later and then fires its newly-hired associates with 90 days' pay, you might feel confused. 

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This is what appears to have occurred at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the law firm which handled Lehman's bankruptcy, but which is suddenly winding down after experiencing its own Lehman moment following the departure of key staff. 

Last week, Weil Gotshal ingested 150+ new legal associates globally and put them through a week of 'new associate orientation' which it said was intended to "build and develop relationships, and learn more about the values that make Weil unique." 

This week, in a now-deleted post across multiple social media platforms, the firm declared its deep commitment to young employees and celebrated sessions where "partners and associates spoke candidly about the relationships that have helped them grow throughout their careers."

One day later, the firm was revealed to be winding down. "That "deep commitment" to developing their futures went less than 24 hours," observed one person commenting on the post.  The Financial Times said there were tears among Weil Gotshal partners yesterday as they learned the firm is to be dissolved after 95 years. 

Bloomberg said rival law firms like Gibson Dunn, Simpson Thacher, Paul Weiss and Sullivan & Cromwell are rushing to hire Weil Gotshal's displaced staff. Unexpectedly Palantir has also thrown its hat into the ring, with CFO David Glazer pitching on LinkedIn for Weil's unwanted summer associates to get "a real summer job (with way less lunches) but way more fun."

In the meantime, Weil Gotshal's post (above) survives as a memory of what might have been. Comments suggested that it should be deleted. A previous post last week welcoming the new associates and promising them an opportunity to "learn more about the values that make Weil unique," is described in comments as having "aged like milk."

Last year, Sunny Singh, co-chair of Weil's restructuring department and a member of the management committee, sent a now viral email relating to the First Brands bankruptcy. Manny Grillo at rival firm Orrick asked Singh (who was working for First Brands) whether First Brands received $1.9bn in factoring funds and how much was in segregated accounts to cover those funds. Singh responded, "“# 1 — We don’t know #2 — $0.” Maybe Orrick will now employ him.

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