McDermott Will & Emery
Global law firm, top 13 in the US, built on tax, healthcare, and PE work.
On the record
Checkpoint: Decision on whether the paused MSO/private-equity ownership restructuring gets revived
The call
The firm's size and specialty depth in tax and healthcare protect it from AI and rivals alike, leaving partner equity terms as the real open question.
McDermott Will & Emery is a large law firm that specializes in healthcare law, tax advice, and deals for private equity firms. It is hard to replace because lawyers have to pass the bar exam, carry insurance for mistakes, and make judgment calls that AI cannot legally make, even though AI can speed up document review and research. The real question is not whether the firm survives, but how it splits money among its owners if it brings in outside investors or private equity owners, which it considered but paused in late 2025.
Why
01
AI pressure: General legal AI tools (CoCounsel, ChatGPT-based doc review). AI cuts document review and research hours but cannot take on malpractice liability or bar-licensed judgment, so it feeds the practice more than it replaces it. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Kirkland & Ellis, Ropes & Gray, Skadden Arps. These firms compete hard for the same PE and healthcare clients and poach laterals, but this is rivalry, not displacement. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. Malpractice liability and bar-licensed judgment requirements that no AI product can legally assume.
What would change this call
Whether the paused MSO/private-equity ownership restructuring is revived or formally dropped. Shows if junior-partner equity economics will be repriced or diluted.
Outcome or settlement of the Ashley Ogedegbe and anonymous associate race-discrimination suits. Indicates reputational and financial exposure from litigation.
Whether senior PE-practice laterals like Robert Rizzo stay through 2027 versus moving to Kirkland or Ropes. Signals if peer firms are successfully poaching key rainmakers.
Outcome or settlement of the Ashley Ogedegbe and anonymous associate race-discrimination suits. Indicates reputational and financial exposure from litigation.
Whether senior PE-practice laterals like Robert Rizzo stay through 2027 versus moving to Kirkland or Ropes. Signals if peer firms are successfully poaching key rainmakers.
Key numbers
- Combined 2025 revenue near $3 billion
- Ranked about 13th by US revenue post-merger
- 1,750+ lawyers after merger
Named risks
- MSO/private-equity restructuring could dilute or reprice junior-partner equity if revived.
- Active race-discrimination lawsuits filed July 2025 and April 2026 pose reputational and financial exposure.
- AI compressing ~16% of billable hours could pressure the traditional hourly-billing revenue model.
- Post-merger technology-stack integration between legacy McDermott and Schulte systems still unresolved as of early 2026.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Kirkland & Ellis | contesting | Gained PE fund-formation practice via Schulte merger, effective Aug 2025, to compete directly |
| Ropes & Gray | contesting | Incumbent leader in PE-backed healthcare deals McDermott now targets post-merger, 2025 |
| Skadden Arps | losing to | Skadden ranked top in tax prestige for 16 consecutive years per Vault survey |
| Weil Gotshal | gaining on | Poached Weil's Robert Rizzo as PE Global Co-Head, July 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is McDermott Will & Emery still profitable after its 2025 merger?
- Yes. Legacy McDermott Will & Emery posted 2024 revenue of $2.2 billion with profit per equity partner of $4.6 million. After merging with Schulte Roth & Zabel on August 1, 2025 to form McDermott Will & Schulte, combined 2025 revenue reached nearly $3 billion, described by American Lawyer as a 'defining year' (reported January 2026).
- Could AI replace lawyers at McDermott Will & Emery?
- Not wholesale. A PwC-cited survey projects AI could cut chargeable hours by about 16% at top firms via document review and eDiscovery, but bar-licensed judgment and malpractice liability in healthcare and tax matters remain outside AI's reach. McDermott adopted Reveal 11 AI eDiscovery in December 2025 to handle the compressible work, not replace attorneys.
- Who is McDermott Will & Emery's biggest competitor?
- In tax and healthcare, peers include Skadden Arps (top-ranked in tax prestige for 16 consecutive years per Vault survey), Sullivan & Cromwell, Cravath, and Wachtell Lipton. For private-equity fund formation gained via the 2025 Schulte merger, Kirkland & Ellis and Ropes & Gray are the incumbent giants McDermott now contests directly.
- Did McDermott Will & Emery merge with another firm?
- Yes. Effective August 1, 2025, McDermott Will & Emery merged with New York-based Schulte Roth & Zabel to form McDermott Will & Schulte, a combined firm with over 1,750 lawyers, roughly $3 billion in 2025 revenue, and a ranking near 13th among US firms by revenue.
- Is McDermott Will & Schulte owned by private equity?
- Not yet. The firm began exploring a management service organization structure in November 2025 that could allow outside private-equity investment, an unusual move given US restrictions on non-lawyer ownership under ABA Rule 5.4. As of June 2026, PitchBook reported the plan had been paused with no deal finalized after more than six months.
- Who owns McDermott Will & Emery?
- It is a private partnership owned by its equity partners, not a publicly traded company; there is no external funding round in the venture sense. In November 2025 the merged McDermott Will & Schulte began exploring an MSO structure that could bring in outside private-equity capital, but this remained unresolved as of June 2026.
Timeline
- 2026-07-13Hired Robert Rizzo from Weil Gotshal as Global Co-Head of Private Equity Group
- 2026-06-23MSO/private-equity restructuring reported paused with no deal finalized
- 2026-04-22Sued over race discrimination claims by anonymous former Black associate
- 2026-03-27Won Legalweek 2026 award for Litigation Technology and Innovation
- 2026-01-23Reported nearly $3 billion in 2025 revenue post-merger
- 2025-12-15Selected Reveal 11 AI-powered eDiscovery platform
- 2025-11-12Began exploring MSO structure enabling private-equity ownership
- 2025-11-06Named Law Firm of the Year in Tax Law by Best Law Firms 2026
- 2025-10-27Promoted 74 lawyers to partner and 13 to counsel, largest class ever
- 2025-08-01Merger with Schulte Roth & Zabel took effect, forming McDermott Will & Schulte
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- McDermott, Schulte in merger talks to create $2.8bn firm (2025-05-09)
- In 'Defining Year' for McDermott, Revenue Reaches Nearly $3B (2026-01-23)
- McDermott, Schulte agree $2.8bn merger (2025-06-27)
- McDermott Recognized as Top Law Firm for Healthcare
- McDermott Will & Schulte named Law Firm of the Year in Tax Law (2025-11-06)
- McDermott-Schulte merger goes live (2025-08-05)
- McDermott Will & Schulte elevates 74 to partner in bumper promotions round (2025-10-27)
- McDermott eyes restructure that could enable private equity ownership (2025-11-12)
- Why US Big Law hit the pause button on private equity (2026-06-23)
- McDermott Will & Emery Number of Employees 2026 (2026-06-29)
- McDermott Selects Reveal 11 to Bolster Legal AI (2025-12-15)
- McDermott partners author new legal treatise AI Law and Business (2025-11-18)