Weil, Gotshal & Manges Appoints New Managing Partner

International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP has announced it has appointed Joseph J. Basile as managing partner of its Boston office.  Basile, a partner in the Corporate department, focuses his practice on complex domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, control and minority investments, joint ventures and strategic alliances in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia.  His clients include major private equity funds and hedge funds and corporations.  He succeeds James Westra, who is leaving to become managing director and chief legal officer at the private equity firm Advent International, a long-standing client of Weil.

“Based on his proven leadership at the Firm, devotion to clients and commitment to the community, Joe was the natural choice to lead the Boston office in its next phase of growth,” said Barry Wolf, executive partner of Weil. “Jim has been a tremendous partner and friend for the past nine years and we greatly appreciate his contributions to the Firm and look forward to continuing our strong personal relationship with him as well as our business relationship with Advent.”

“I’m thrilled to take on a broader role at the Firm,” Basile said. “Under Jim’s leadership, Weil has become one of the premier law firms in New England and I am pleased to be taking the lead at this phase of our development.  This is an exciting time for our clients and for our Firm and I am honored to be asked to lead the office in our future successes.”

“I’ve enjoyed my time here at Weil and the deep relationships I’ve developed with the great professionals at the Firm,” said Westra. “While I’m going to miss the camaraderie with the people here at the Firm and our clients, I’m also looking forward to my next new career challenge at Advent and am excited to foster our relationship in a different capacity.”

Basile is involved in a number of non-profit and civic activities including the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, the Center for Nonprofit Management at Stonehill College and the Northeast Wilderness Trust.  In addition, Basile is a member of the Board of Fellows of Stonehill College, a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and co-chair of the Board of Advisors of the Joseph W. Martin, Jr. Institute for Law and Society.  Basile is also a former member of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission.

Basile, 59, lives in Boston with his wife Maureen. He graduated from Stonehill College and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
 

About Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (www.weil.com), an international law firm of over 1,200 lawyers, including approximately 300 partners, is headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Boston, Budapest, Dallas, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Miami, Munich, Paris, Prague, Providence, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Warsaw, Washington, D.C. and Wilmington.