Freshfields leaks AI spin-off plan by mistake; Weil's merger talks with Willkie collapse

Freshfields global managing partner Alan Mason appears to have circulated internal messages about spinning its in-house legal tech unit, Freshfields Lab, into a separate company that could take outside investment or go public. A weekend forward sent the chain to the firm-wide "$Freshfields All" list. The email was recalled within hours, but some recipients had already taken screenshots. In the messages, Mason argued that AI legal-tech firms can command 25 to 40 times revenue, citing Harvey and Legora as comparables. A colleague told the Financial Times a standalone unit would be "probably worth billions." Mason also said two Wall Street banks have approached the firm. The chain also included remarks by Ethan Klingsberg, co-head of the US corporate and M&A team, who reportedly said Freshfields would approach investors respected for their leadership, which "probably" ruled out "Middle Eastern sovereign wealth money." Freshfields apologized "unreservedly" for that comment on Monday. On the Weil side, Bloomberg Law reported that leadership told certain practice group chiefs the firm was negotiating a memorandum of understanding with an unnamed firm, contradicting a September spokesperson statement that Weil was not in merger talks. Law360 then found two recently registered domain names combining the Weil and Willkie Farr names. The talks were called off on a Thursday night, after the firms had signed a non-disclosure agreement, and reporting tied the collapse to market constraints, mounting pressure, and ongoing partner departures.