Weil Rebuilds Private Equity Team as BigLaw Revenue Hits New Highs
Peter Feist, former head of private equity at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, is returning to Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP as U.S. co-head of private equity alongside Ramona Nee and Kyle Krpata. A longtime private equity adviser, Feist has worked on major transactions including White Mountains Insurance Group’s $1.75 billion sale of Bamboo to CVC Capital Partners. His return marks the eighth former Weil partner to rejoin the firm this year and comes amid a broader push to expand its private equity practice and invest in top legal talent.
MARKET MOVEMENTS
O'Melveny & Myers LLP has rehired former partner David Leviss, who specializes in False Claims Act matters and recently spent more than two years with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Honigman LLP announced Monday that it has hired Crowell & Moring's chief information officer, Joel Gustafson, touting his more than decade-long history in executive management technology and operations roles at multiple BigLaw firms
Taryn Frideres, the former chief of staff to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, has returned to private practice, rejoining Squire Patton Boggs, the firm where she started her legal career
FIRM SPOTLIGHT - ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a global law firm with more than 1,100 attorneys and a history dating back to San Francisco in the late 1800s. Today, the firm focuses on four key sectors: technology and innovation, life sciences and healthtech, energy and infrastructure, and finance, while offering transactional, regulatory, litigation, and IP services. Known for representing major technology and fintech companies, as well as leading renewable energy clients, Orrick has built a reputation around innovation, with associates encouraged to develop new tools and solutions that improve legal services.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
BigLaw's billionaires' club continued to grow, with Kirkland & Ellis becoming the first firm in the Law360 Pulse Prestige Leaders ranking to break the $10 billion mark. Sixty firms reported more than $1 billion in gross revenue in 2025, with BigLaw's wealthiest earners continuing to push revenues higher.
Less than three years after Pierson Ferdinand LLP launched with a group of breakaway attorneys from FisherBroyles, LLP, the firm has reached a headcount of over 300 partners including five partner hires in September
Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP announced that it will expand its redesigned 1L split-summer program model to include 2L and 3L students in 2027. With over 50 summer associates working across the firm's Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, including 16 first-years this year, Munger said Monday that it has already confirmed that 35 second-year students will participate in its 2027 program
Lawyers convicted of felony "capping,” or illegally paying for client recruitment, in California will now face a $25,000 civil penalty and face disbarment under a bill signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom
The Rise of Fractional GCs
The rise of AI and demand for more cost-effective legal services are fueling growth in the fractional general counsel model, with experienced lawyers offering senior-level legal expertise to multiple growth-stage companies on a part-time basis. Practitioners say the model gives companies access to strategic in-house counsel without the expense of a full-time hire or traditional BigLaw rates, often through predictable monthly retainers or flat fees. The model is particularly appealing to early-stage companies that need experienced legal guidance but may not yet have the workload or budget to support a full-time general counsel.
Sullivan & Cromwell Builds with OpenAI
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP partnered directly with OpenAI to develop an AI-powered contract analyzer, giving the firm access to OpenAI’s engineering expertise while allowing OpenAI to gain insight into sophisticated legal workflows. The resulting Agreement Analyzer reviews contracts through multiple automated cycles to flag issues, compare language against negotiating playbooks, and identify potential litigation risks. The collaboration, which used hypothetical agreements rather than client documents, reflects a broader push among Big Law firms to build customized AI tools rather than rely solely on off-the-shelf products.
