In a significant move, Michael Aiello has left Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and is set to join Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP along with five others.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Michael was set to leave Weil for Cravath. What makes the move significant is that in the recent past, quiet a few Partners have left Weil for other firms.
Michael was Chairman of the over 600-lawyer Corporate Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Chair of the Firm’s Global Strategy Committee, and a member of the Firm’s Management Committee.
Michael regularly represents companies in connection with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures involving public companies. He also advises clients on corporate governance issues. Michael regularly represents acquirors, targets, buyout groups, boards of directors, special committees, investment banks, investors and shareholder groups in complex domestic and international negotiated and unsolicited merger and acquisition transactions, including Aéropostale, Dow Chemical, Goldman Sachs, Herbalife, Kroger, Ontario Teachers’, Procter & Gamble, Sanofi, Thomas H. Lee and Willis Group Holdings.
Michael has counseled clients on a broad range of corporate, securities and business-related matters, including directors’ duties and responsibilities and other aspects of corporate governance, disclosure issues and compliance matters, as well as defensive measures and takeover tactics. He has been included on the 2014 and 2017-2022 NACD Directorship 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the boardroom compiled by NACD Directorship magazine.
He has been named a “Dealmaker of the Year” multiple times by The American Lawyer for his lead roles on blockbuster M&A transactions, most recently in 2025 for his lead role advising The Home Depot in its $18.25 billion acquisition of SRS Distribution. Additionally, he is recognized by Forbes 2025 as one of America’s Top Lawyers. Michael was also named a 2023 “Dealmaker of the Year” by the New York Law Journal. In 2022, he was named a “Northeast Trailblazer” by The American Lawyer. He was also named among the honorees for “The Deal’s Impact Dealmaker Award 2022” at The Deal Awards. Michael is ranked Band 1 for Corporate/M&A by Chambers Global and Chambers USA, where clients refer to him as “a superstar” who “understands the strategic leverage on deals, how to get things done and how to solve practical issues” and “a prominent figure in the market who adeptly handles high-value M&A and cares about his clients.” He is recognized as a leading lawyer for Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense in New York by Chambers USA. He was named to the inaugural Legal 500 “M&A Powerlist: United States” in 2024 and is listed in the M&A “Hall of Fame” as well as Media, Technology and Telecoms: Transactional “Hall of Fame” by Legal 500 US, where clients note he is “an exceptional lawyer” who is “a true asset for the team and the client.” He was named a 2025 “Notable M&A Dealmaker” by Crain’s New York Business and to Crain’s New York Business 2026 “Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law.” Michael is also recognized as a “Market Leader” by IFLR1000, where clients have described him as being the “best in the business” and is consistently recognized in Best Lawyers in America. He is named among Lawdragon’s inaugural “500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management” list, as well as “500 Leading Lawyers in America” and “500 Leading Dealmakers in America” lists.
Michael is an elected Fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel. He has authored several articles discussing the fiduciary duties of corporate directors and officers, recent developments in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and corporate compliance matters, including Sarbanes-Oxley and the related rules adopted by the SEC and the securities exchanges. He is also a frequent lecturer in these areas, and participated in a panel on Developments Affecting M&A Investment Bankers and Their Clients at the Tulane University Law School Annual Corporate Law Institute. Michael received the Burton Award for Legal Achievement for his articles, “Bank M&A in the Wake of Dodd-Frank”
