Welcome to the thirty-sixth edition of The Weekly Briefing!
Each week, we recap the most interesting commercial news stories shaping the market, from corporate dealmaking to regulatory shifts, and highlight why they matter to businesses and law firms.
The Downfall of Weil
Weil, one of America’s biggest legal powerhouses, is preparing to wind down its operations. Its management committee has recommended that partners approve an orderly dissolution. But how did one of America’s most established law firms reach this point?
Since January, Weil has lost around 13% of its partners (according to Vargas Partners), including 12 in London. Several have moved to competitors such as Skadden and Paul Weiss. Its best-known corporate dealmaker has also announced plans to join Cravath, taking a team of lawyers with him. Meanwhile, Ramona Nee, who was expected to become the firm’s next executive partner, has withdrawn from the appointment and is reportedly in discussions with Kirkland & Ellis.
The developments follow the collapse of merger talks with Willkie Farr & Gallagher. As previously explored, losing senior lawyers can make a firm less attractive to potential merger partners. With those discussions now over, Weil appears to have fewer options for securing its future.
The situation highlights an unusual feature of the legal industry. In Formula 1, if Lewis Hamilton leaves Mercedes for Ferrari, Mercedes retains its engineers, mechanics and technical infrastructure. It can find another driver and continue competing. Law firms face a different challenge. When senior partners leave, they can take their teams, client relationships and specialist expertise with them. After years of advising clients, these lawyers often become their trusted point of contact. Clients may therefore choose to follow them to their new firm, taking valuable business with them.
Weil’s proposed dissolution reminds us that even the biggest law firms are only as strong as the people who keep them running.
DoorDash to Acquire Instacart for $17 Billion
DoorDash has agreed to acquire Instacart in a deal valuing Instacart’s equity at about $17 billion, announced on 29 October 2026. Instacart shareholders will receive $65.00 per share, a 26% premium to the 22 October closing price, with at least 75% paid in cash and the stock element capped at 25%. DoorDash has also committed to no grocery exclusivity after completion.
Closing is not expected until the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028. Completion depends on Instacart stockholder approval, expiry of the US Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period, and clearance under the competition laws of Canada and Israel. There is no financing condition. Latham & Watkins advised DoorDash, while Cravath and Cooley advised Instacart.
For solicitors, the long timetable combined with the absence of a financing condition places regulatory risk at the centre of the transaction. Antitrust teams on both sides will need to define the relevant market and decide which commitments to offer regulators, while corporate teams manage the interim period before completion.