Why Wachtell, football and private equity dominated the summer

Can we segue perfectly into a firm going through their own personal bit of hell? Do you see what I did there at the moment? Wachtel, Wachtel.

There's a lot been happening with Wachtel, the New York's, one of New York's premier law firms, the absolute byword for M&A class.

You know, the boutique, the corporate boutique to end all corporate boutiques, etc.

But things are not necessarily perfect.

quite so happy in the good ship Wattel at the moment.

Matt?

Yeah, let me bring you up to date in case you have missed this because it's been quite astonishing.

So the pub quiz question is, what do Gibson Dunn Sidley, Simpson, Thatcher, and Latham & Watkins all have in common now that they didn't a year ago? And the answer is, yeah, they've all hired partners from Wachtel.

And as you say, Kat, Wachtel used to be the fortress, a single-site fortress.

Goliath of the M&A world, even if it was perfectly formed and small.

And of course, no slouch on the company litigation side either, by the way.

Nobody left, ever.

Famously, some of the original founders, including the legendary Marty Lipton, are still there, still working, still walking the halls as he closes in on 100 years old.

He's not 100.

He's in his 90s.

Give the guy some

credit.

Well, I said close it.

The question is, it is truly remarkable and fabulous, but is that really what the modern law firm needs or should be now and what clients are looking for? And there's lots of stuff to unpick there.

But as I say, just bring you up to date a little bit.

Over the last few months, partners started to leave.

We make it It's hard to keep track at the moment, but we make it 16 partners over the last 18 months from a firm that has now considerably less than 100 in total.

So several big names over the last year or so.

Heavyweight finance and restructuring partner John Sobolewski, a liability management star.

Heavyweight dealmaker Zach Podolsky, public M&A partner Mark Stagliano, finance partner Emily Johnson, and executive compensation partner Erica Aho.