Weil’s dissolution would leave major lawsuits in transition

By Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The rapid collapse of Weil, Gotshal & Manges put a spotlight on marquee dealmakers who left the firm in recent months or whose futures there became uncertain. But Weil also boasts a large stable of litigators with lead roles in high-stakes lawsuits and bankruptcy cases.

The firm said last week it intends to wind down, capping its legacy as one of Wall Street's most prominent firms. A dissolution would require hundreds or more clients to decide whether to follow departing partners to new firms or retain replacement attorneys.

The upheaval could reshape the legal teams handling closely watched disputes in the federal courts, as rival firms move to recruit partners, associates and others. The firm said it will continue serving clients during its expected wind-down over the coming months.

Here are some of the firm's outstanding cases that could be affected by its planned dissolution:

Apple trade secrets

Weil partners including Gabriel Gross, Christopher Henry and Rachel Cohen are representing Apple in a lawsuit in federal court in California alleging ChatGPT maker OpenAI and two former Apple employees stole trade secrets to aid OpenAI's expansion into consumer hardware.

OpenAI has denied the claims and asked a court to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed in July. Apple and the Weil lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment

Weil has also defended Apple for years in litigation over its lucrative AppStore brought by “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games. Weil’s Mark Perry, a lead attorney for Apple in that case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case is now before the US Supreme Court.

AI and copyrights

Weil litigators are also representing clients in copyright lawsuits related to AI.

In one case, Weil is defending search-data company SerpApi in a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan lodged by online discussion platform Reddit. The case is part of a wave of copyright cases targeting AI ‌companies ⁠over their alleged use of protected content for AI training. SerpApi declined to comment about its relationship with Weil.

Weil, in another case, is representing the plaintiff, Stock photo provider Getty Images, in a lawsuit accusing artificial intelligence company Stability AI of misusing millions of Getty photos to train its Stable Diffusion AI image-generation system. Getty did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

First Brands bankruptcy

Lawyers from Weil are advising auto parts maker First Brands in its bankruptcy proceeding in a federal bankruptcy court in Texas. First Brands entered bankruptcy in September with about $14 million in cash and more than $9 billion in debt.

Matt Barr and Sunny Singh, leaders of Weil's bankruptcy practice, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Weil has a large and well-established restructuring practice that has handled major cases including Enron, GM and Lehman Brothers.

Steward Health bankruptcy

Bankrupt hospital network Steward Health has a team from Weil representing the debtor in its bankruptcy proceeding in a Houston court.

Steward, once the largest privately held hospital operator in the US, sought bankruptcy protection with about $9 billion in debt after an expansion across 10 states and the sale of hospital real estate by its former private equity owner.

A judge last year said Steward could move ahead with a liquidation plan that aims to use proceeds from lawsuits against its former owners and insiders to pay creditors.

Tennis stars’ antitrust lawsuit

Weil is leading a major sports antitrust class action in federal court in Manhattan, representing the Professional Tennis Players’ Association in a lawsuit against the sport’s governing bodies. The lawsuit, filed last year, accuses the ATP Tour and other defendants of anti-competitive practices that allegedly harmed player well-being. The players' group has agreed to settle some of its claims.

The Professional Tennis Players’ Association, co-founded by Novak Djokovic, had no immediate comment. Luna Barrington, a lead attorney at Weil on the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Class action administration litigation

In Washington federal court, Weil represents e-commerce financial services provider Blackhawk Network Holdings in coordinated litigation alleging an illegal scheme among companies involved in administering class actions.

The lawsuit alleges Blackhawk and other defendants told claims administrators they would receive funds from unredeemed gift cards and unclaimed payment cards if they chose to use their digital payment platforms.

Weil’s team includes David Lender, co-leader of the firm’s litigation department. Lender had no immediate comment.

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