November 1, 2026. In today's News and Commentary, an international contingent of dockworkers strike to protest arms shipments, and "Big Law" firm Weil Gotshal winds down operations. On Friday, dockworkers at over 100 ports worldwide struck as part of an international campaign calling for an "end to the militarization of ports." In addition to demands for better labor conditions, the central issue of the strike was the reliance on ports to transport weapons, ammunition, military equipment, and troops across the Middle East, especially for use in Gaza and Iran. Beyond the personal impact of rising costs of basic goods and energy associated with the various international conflicts at-issue, strikers were especially focused on the hundreds of seafarers who have died or been injured due to attacks on ships. 25 trade unions across five continents joined the effort, which was intended to disrupt shipping and ferry routes in Europe, the Mediterranean region and North America. Although affected ports in France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Morocco are directly tied to arms shipments, most are also hubs of Mediterranean commerce, with the strike leaving over $2 billion worth of cargo in limbo. With Gaza as a priority, the campaign noted that "[u]p to 95 percent of Israel's imports and exports travel by sea, relying on port infrastructure across the Mediterranean." However, some experts doubted that the strike would cause a significant disruption to global trade, noting that a single-day work stoppage would only be problematic for time-sensitive and perishable shipments. Also this week, the "law firm giant" of Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced that it will be closing its doors after 95 years of business. In addition to the over 600 associates left jobless, hundreds of legal support staff, administrative employees, and law students committed to Weil have flooded an already saturated job market in the past week. Although the firm's leadership, law schools, and teams of hiring committees have made efforts to place stranded staff at new firms, the market will likely be unable to fully accommodate the sharp uptick in demand for jobs. The closure of this once-dominant firm was itself shocked the legal community, but the true surprise was how quickly Weil began to collapse. Despite the firm's $2 billion revenue last year, analysts blame everything from inability to match competitors' growth and a failed merger attempt for Weil's unraveling. However, most agree that the true culprit was the loss of several top partners and their client books to other firms over the past two years, including Michael Aiello, who was considered to be the firm's most influential partner and one of its "biggest rainmakers." Weil's downfall has become a stark reminder to legal professionals of the fragility of the billion-dollar "Big Law" industry. Enjoy OnLabor's fresh takes on the day's labor news, right in your inbox.

Crosby bids for Weil Gotshal's brand and data as the law firm winds down. Ryan Daniels and John Sarihan's two-year-old Crosby is seeking Weil Gotshal's trademark, brand and internal data while separately trying to hire some of its 1,200 lawyers. By RuntimeWire Staff - Published Oct 31st, 2026, 2:12pm CT - 5 min read - 3 public references - Via TechCrunch Listen to article. Ryan Daniels and John Sarihan's AI-first law firm Crosby submitted a letter of intent on October 29th to buy Weil Gotshal's trademark, brand and unspecified internal data, according to Dealroom's account of The Information's reporting... Checking your browser so you can read this article. Three articles are free before registration. Already have a free or Pro account? to skip this check. When you purchase through links in its articles, RuntimeWire, Inc. may earn a small commission. This doesn't affect its editorial independence. RuntimeWire, Inc. get virtually zero search traffic. Please consider sharing this story. Signal check Noise Signal Where does this story land? Drag the dial. The startup Backed by Sequoia The startup Stay on the wire. Breaking startup & AI news, funding scoops, and launches as they happen. Follow @runtimewire on Threads and LinkedIn. Free forever - no credit card, no nagging.

Sequoia-Backed Crosby bids for Weil Gotshal's brand and data. Crosby, a two-year-old AI-first law firm, has bid to buy some of the assets of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, "including its trademark, its brand, and some unspecified internal data", TechCrunch reported on 30 October, saying it had confirmed the bid. The Information was first to report the offer. Crosby says America's top 100 law firms made a combined $69 billion in profit last year. That one year of profit is about 800 times the roughly $85 million TechCrunch says Crosby has raised in total, by its arithmetic. Short explainer · Crosby and Weil Gotshal A vertical news Short narrated from the headlines and opening lines of this piece and two related pieces. Business Pill · VERTICAL INTEGRATION A short Business Engineer explainer on vertical integration: owning more steps of how a product or service is delivered. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss Crosby or Weil Gotshal. The key insight: Crosby, an AI-native law firm that TechCrunch says has raised about $85 million, has bid for Weil Gotshal's trademark, brand and some internal data; the $69 billion that Crosby says the top 100 US firms made in profit last year is about 800 times its funding, by its arithmetic. Table of Contents What Crosby bid for. TechCrunch says Crosby has bid for part of Weil Gotshal's assets and, separately, "is also working to hire some of the firm's 1,200 lawyers". It says terms of the bid were not disclosed and "there's no guarantee that Crosby will prevail". AI NEWS, RANKED BY READERS Should this story rank higher today? According to TechCrunch, Weil Gotshal confirmed to the New York Times this week that it was preparing to vote on dissolution in the coming days. TechCrunch, citing the Times, says the wind-down follows the presumed heir apparent turning down the leadership role, departures of top-producing lawyers and a shelved merger with Willkie Farr & Gallagher. What Crosby is. Crosby describes itself as "a vertically integrated AI-native law firm, not merely an AI tool", adding: "We stand behind our work and take liability for it." TechCrunch contrasts it with Harvey and Legora, which sell AI tools to existing firms; Crosby is an actual law firm that uses its own AI to provide legal services. Crosby says "Providing blazing fast, accurate contract reviews is our primary goal". In its Series B post it says it is also experimenting with simulations of counterparty responses, voice agents that negotiate for clients and a platform for clients to oversee its work. The money behind the bid. Crosby says its "$60 million Series B was led by Lux and Index", with participation from Sequoia, Elad Gil, 01 Advisors and Bain Capital Ventures. TechCrunch puts its total raised at about $85 million and says it came out of stealth in 2025 with $5.8 million in seed money; the Series B is about 10 times that seed, by its arithmetic. That is the business lever: Crosby sells legal services rather than software, so it competes with firms like Weil for the same clients and lawyers. Its Series B post describes that profit pool, saying the top 100 firms' profit was "greater than Google's R&D budget" and that "Every cent was paid out to the firms' partners as compensation". The structural read. As FourWeekMBA read TechCrunch, Crosby is bidding for parts of the firm rather than the firm: a trademark, a brand, some internal data and, separately, lawyers it is working to hire. As FourWeekMBA read Crosby's post, its model is to sell legal services and carry the liability, which TechCrunch contrasts with Harvey and Legora selling AI tools to existing firms. As FourWeekMBA read both sources, the bid's terms are undisclosed and TechCrunch says there is no guarantee Crosby will prevail. Crosby, Series B and Planting its Flag "We stand behind our work and take liability for it." Three implications. FOR LAW FIRMS Crosby says the top 100 US firms made a combined $69 billion in profit last year and that every cent was paid out to partners as compensation. Read the full analysis. FourWeekMBA publish 12+ AI analyses every day - sourced, structured, no hype. Unlock this one and every story FourWeekMBA break. Plus The New Roles of the Agentic Era (full book) free. Instant access. No spam. Join 95,000+ operators. HALLOWEEN · ENDS SUNDAY · 1D 01:38:05 Full access: FourWeekMBA + every Business Engineer analysis $499/yr $199.60/year · 60% off for 12 months Claim 60% off More resources. RANKED BY READERS