The head of Cravath Swaine & Moore's private equity practice has rejoined Weil in New York, in a coup for the firm following a cluster of senior defections.
Peter Feist has returned as a partner and US co-head of Weil's private equity practice, having practised at the firm for nearly 20 years before moving to Cravath in 2023.
His practice covers leveraged buyouts, public and private acquisitions, take-private transactions, minority and structured investments, recapitalisations and exits for clients including Advent International, Hayfin Capital and Canada's OMERS Private Equity. Last year he advised the executive team of McLarens Global on the $1.6bn recapitalisation of McLarens by Lee Equity Partners and Pacific General in its acquisition of a majority stake in Lenwich.
“Peter's an exceptional private equity lawyer, trusted adviser and longtime friend and colleague to many of us at Weil,” firm executive partner, Barry Wolf, said. “He is a natural leader, and we are thrilled that he is returning in this important role.”
Feist's move follows a clutch of recent departures from Weil in the US and UK, including the former co-head of the firm's US private equity business, Chris Machera, who left for Paul Weiss in August and was followed by a team of five other private equity lawyers. Michael Aiello, the former chair of Weil's corporate department, also exited for Cravath earlier this month with five partners, while in London the defections included office co-head David Avery-Gee and M&A partner Sarah Flaherty's move to Sullivan & Cromwell.
The Financial Times reported 23 partners in total had left Weil since April, with reports surfacing the firm was exploring options for its future, including a potential merger, amid the defections.
A Weil spokesperson denied the reports, telling GLP earlier this month the firm “is not engaged in merger discussions with any firm”. They added: “Like every leading firm, we continually evaluate opportunities to strengthen our platform.”
Feist will head Weil's US private equity practice alongside Kyle Krpata and Ramona Nee, who is set to suceed Wolf as executive partner at the start of next year.
“Peter’s return reflects the scale of our ambitions and our commitment to investing in the best talent," Nee said. "He is an extraordinary lawyer and practice leader, and we're proud that he has chosen to come home to Weil and help lead one of our flagship practices. This is the kind of significant investment we intend to continue making as we build for the future.”
Weil said it had recruited more than 50 lateral partners since the start of 2025, including eight that had bommeranged back to the firm so far this year, adding it expected to announce more partner hires in the coming weeks.
The firm has been adding senior PE talent in recent months, including Jonathan Stott and Michael Hanna in San Francisco, who joined in August from Dechert and Kirkland, respectively. Last week it also announced that Freshfields partner Olga Stürmer was joining its Frankfurt office as a partner in the German private equity practice.
In a statement, the 1,200-lawyer firm said it "remains focused on executing its growth strategy – recruiting exceptional talent, investing in practices and markets that complement its core strengths, and building the capabilities and global platform to meet the evolving needs of its clients."
A Cravath spokesperson commented: "We wish Peter well in his future endeavours.”
The Wall Street firm used to be virtually immune to partner departures but has itself seen rainmakers exit in recent years amid intense competition for talent among leading law firms.
There have been at least 10 exits in 2026, among them George Schoen, Cravath’s former global M&A co-chair, who joined US building materials supplier Martin Marietta as GC in February. Scott Bennett, who had been co-head of Cravath’s venture capital and growth equity and digital assets practices in New York, also left for Sidley Austin in April.
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