At the 8 am investment banking meeting at JP Morgan’s Park Avenue headquarters last Friday, the seat to the left of chief executive James Dimon was kept empty in honour of the man who first organised the weekly gathering, James Lee Jr.

The unexpected death last week of Lee, known as Jimmy, at 62 years old leaves a void at the top of JP Morgan. The bank's vice chairman and leading dealmaker, Lee was JP Morgan's point man with corporate chieftains, private equity bosses and other financial titans who generated billions in revenue for the firm. He also teamed with Dimon in one of Wall Street's most successful partnerships, which gave Lee a platform for the mega deals that became his trademark.