The wind-down of Weil Gotshal has put the legal industry on alert for signs of trouble at other major firms. Now, a series of finance partner departures and a report of a possible acquisition have brought renewed attention to Cahill Gordon & Reindel.

Legal industry commentator David Lat reported in his [Original Jurisdiction newsletter](https://davidlat.substack.com/p/cahill-gordon-reindel-merger-acquisition-partner-departures) that Cahill may be acquired by another firm, citing multiple sources with contacts in its partnership. Lat did not identify the potential buyer, describing it as substantially larger and more stable than Cahill, but with significantly lower profits per partner. Cahill did not respond to his requests for comment.

The speculation comes despite strong financial results. Cahill reported $502.5 million in revenue in 2025, an increase of 8.4%, while profits per equity partner rose 7.3% to $5.7 million. In September, managing partner Herbert Washer told Bloomberg Law that the firm expected double-digit revenue growth in 2026.

But Cahill, which has more than 300 lawyers and fewer than 80 partners, has lost eight partners this year—all in finance. The departures represent roughly 10% of its partnership and include several lawyers from the leveraged finance practice, a longtime pillar of the firm’s business.

In March, leveraged finance partner Michael Makhotin joined DLA Piper. Private credit co-head Peter Williams moved to Paul Hastings in July. Three leveraged finance partners—Brian Kelleher, Stephen Harper and Christopher Bevan—left for Proskauer in September. Another three—Ted Lacey, Anthony Wolfe and Tristan Manley—joined White & Case in October.

Cahill has faced partner exits before. After a wave of departures in 2023, Washer told Bloomberg Law that the experience “woke us up to the realities of the legal market.” Paul Hastings has recruited several Cahill partners since then, continuing a pattern of hiring from its leveraged finance ranks that stretches back years.

The recent moves have prompted comparisons with Weil, whose collapse followed group departures by influential partners. Lat invoked Yale Law School professor John Morley’s research on “partner runs,” in which initial exits can encourage other partners to leave. But Lat characterized Cahill’s situation as less dramatic and suggested a potential acquisition could provide an outcome that eluded Weil, whose merger talks with Willkie Farr and Vinson & Elkins failed.

One source told Lat that Cahill’s reliance on a small number of major institutional client relationships made it vulnerable to partners taking portions of that work elsewhere. The source also argued that Cahill’s circumstances were distinctive, rather than evidence of a broader wave of law firm failures.

For now, the acquisition remains unconfirmed. But Weil’s rapid unraveling has made partner departures harder for the industry to dismiss—even at firms reporting growth and high profits.