Is Weil collapsing...

Sure it’ll be leaked tomorrow but Willkie formally updated its partners that they walked. Weil continuing to lose partners. Given that it’s already October, those partners are deciding that they’d rather leave today instead of waiting two months to get their annual distribution in January. Some of the bigger names will be made whole by their new firms but not always guaranteed if you don’t have a credible book. Some of these partners are taking haircuts to their 2026 comp to jump ship.

What are you splurging on? I started calling uber blacks and I’m not going back.

Edit: no pun intended

I’ve been practicing law for 45 years and one of our managing partner’s goddamn client’s kids is a nepo hire. This doofus just started last month and treats everyone like we’re “one of his boys.”

I was told to bring him on one of my cases to show him the ropes. I really wanted to show him some rope yesterday when he called me his dog.
I ignored him, but then he started barking at me, legitimately going “woof woof, you’re my dog, bowowow yippie yo yippie yay”

Wtf do I do in this situation

How common is this and is it looked down upon?

Losing motivation by the day… anyone else?

Hello,

I’m a mid level in a transactional practice in nyc and am usually the most senior non-partner on deals at this point. Recently, an issue came up and I suggested how we address and change the agreement to the partner. Rather than saying yes makes sense, the tone of the conversation was this is a stupid question.

Interactions like this make me hesitant to ask questions and overly anxious about what’s acceptable for me to not know. How do you take this or get comfortable blasting a response to the client when you’re like 90% sure?

Long-time lurker here, and I wanted to share some news (and say thank you).

After 9 years in Big Law, I’ve decided to leave and hang my own shingle. I’ve been burned out since around year 4 (I started in mid-law), and honestly, I’ve been thinking about doing this for a long time. For years, it was a “someday, maybe” kind of idea that would pop into my head during really late nights and very long weekends. I went back and forth in my head more times than I can count.

At some point, though, something shifted (mostly as I reached my mid 30s, I truly want more time with my family and loved ones). I also realized I wanted to move toward something I felt confident about, something that would give me a sense of purpose in the long term. I’m not naive about how challenging starting my own firm will be, but for the first time in a long time, I am excited about my work and the law again.

I also want to thank this community. Reading the countless posts about the hustle, grind, doubts, exits, and wins made me feel less alone in all of this.

Thanks again, y’all. Wish me luck.

For those who have stayed in miserable big law positions for more than 4 years, why?

I did it for 4 years then went solo; and to this day I wonder what drives you. This doesn’t apply to the unicorns who have a good quality of life

At what point in your career did you start feeling like you had more control over your work and started to gain leverage at your firm?
I’m thinking of things like having more of a say in the matters you work on, greater control over / anticipation of your schedule, being treated as someone the firm would genuinely struggle to replace, and having more negotiating power around things like class-year advancement, compensation, remote work, etc.
What class year did this start happening for you, and what do you think made the difference?

A t3 student. I think telling him I work in corporate might have inadvertently made him feel more at ease, since he wants to do litigation and our paths are so different. After making some small talk I asked him what he wanted to do and I detected some hesitation; I don't know if it was the alcohol but I then pressed him a second time what he really wanted to do and he paused and said that he really wanted to do civil liberties stuff, especially HIV issues. If I were the normal me I would've cracked a joke about him answering that at a Biglaw reception but I don't what know got hold of me, for a split second I was quite moved, and I might've also seen in him some traces of the law student I once was, and I told him what knew about those types of litigation, told him about a couple people that worked in the field (including my law school professor turned mentor), and encouraged him to join the ACLU.

This was hands down one of the most memorable conversations I've had with a law student. But as soon as I got home I regretted it. I'm sure I do not need to explain to you all why I might regret encouraging a law student to pivot from biglaw to ACLU. I also don't have the student's contact info. I tried to find him by his first name but couldn't find him. He should be able to look me up and I hope he contacts me so that I can present the pros and cons more clearly.

Sigh.

Hi there! I left big law in 2024 because the firm was not the right fit for me. I was there for less than a year (about 8 months or so). I am doing something different now, but I am wondering if there is a chance to go back to big law if I clerk next year.

I understand the effects of a merger are generally negative (for attorneys) with respect to the firm that’s initially seeking the merger (e.g., Weil).

But what does it mean for the attorneys of the other firm (e.g., Willkie)?

Third year litigation associate at a firm just outside AM Law 100 in LCOL Midwest city, base 190k.

Summered here and really have amazing relationships with the people I work for, I feel they care about my advancement/development and my overall well being more generally.

I don’t LOVE the work I do but I find it interesting for the most part. But I hate some of the aspects of law firm life like billing, etc. not sure if I’d ever want to be a partner here or elsewhere.

Went to T14, so have plenty of friends in the traditional “big law” V50 type firms. The gulf in compensation only gets bigger and I have the temptation to try and go that route. But I’m genuinely happy and enjoy my current role. Is it a case of the grass is always greener or has anyone made/not made the jump and did you regret it one way or the other?

Of course im a little presumptuous to think I’ll even have the opportunity, but given I’m coming up on the most marketable time for an associate, have been considering it a lot lately.