Nathaniel Cullerton, the 45-year-old hotshot partner caught canoodling with a junior associate in Central Park, has officially left Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, sources told The Post on Thursday.
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sources → catch → Thursday
“Wachtell Lipton and Mr. Cullerton mutually agreed to part ways,” a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement to The Post.
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spokesperson → agree → Post
Cullerton spent weeks on leave while Wachtell investigated his relationship with 29-year-old associate Kelsey Borenzweig, after the two were filmed kissing on a park bench by a stranger in a viral TikTok video, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
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two → spend → matter
In addition to the embarrassing public scandal, the firm was concerned about the discrepancy between Cullerton’s rank as partner and Borenzweig’s junior status, sources said.
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sources → say → partner
It was unclear whether Cullerton was being paid while on leave and whether Borenzweig’s employment status has also been affected.
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status → pay → leave
Cullerton faced immediate consequences as the smooching scandal cost him a lucrative move to Gibson Dunn, according to sources.
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scandal → face → sources
Along with the PR crisis, Wachtell – a legal powerhouse known for inventing the “poison pill” defense against hostile acquisitions – has been juggling a string of high-profile exits this year.
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Wachtell → know → exits
In July, Bill Savitt, the firm’s star litigator who led OpenAI and Sam Altman to victory in a legal battle with Elon Musk, left Wachtell for Gibson Dunn’s New York office.
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who → lead → office
He took five other partners with him, including Sarah Eddy, Anitha Reddy, Randall Jackson, Ryan McLeod and Brad Wilson.
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He → take → Eddy
Cullerton had been preparing to defect alongside them, but Gibson scrapped his hiring after the TikTok video made waves online, sources said.
Savitt’s own exit from Wachtell raised eyebrows after The Post revealed that he and Eddy had been romantically linked during their time at the top Wall Street law firm.
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he → defect → firm
Their relationship started after Savitt separated from his wife, interior designer Nazak Savitt, while Eddy had been divorced for about a decade, according to sources.
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Eddy → start → sources
Eddy was not Savitt’s subordinate, the sources said.
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sources → say → ?
Savitt and Eddy’s relationship ended around the time they left Wachtell for Gibson Dunn, sources said.
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sources → end → Dunn
Wachtell did not have a policy against consensual relationships between colleagues.
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Wachtell → have → colleagues
Last week, London-based Linklaters announced the hiring of Mark Gordon, another top partner at Wachtell who fled the firm this year.
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who → base → firm
In April, Joshua Feltman, Wachtell’s former head of restructuring, left the firm and nabbed an $80 million pay package at rival Kirkland & Ellis.
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Feltman → leave → Kirkland
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Report → start → news
Four younger partners recently left Wachtell, too, heading to Latham & Watkins.
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partners → leave → Latham
The poaching wars have heated up across the industry as firms use top-dollar pay packages to win over partners from powerful law firms.
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firms → heat → firms
Savitt’s jump to Gibson Dunn came with a jaw-dropping $96 million payday over three years – or roughly $32 million annually, according to legal sources.
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jump → come → sources
A source familiar with Savitt’s situation has vehemently disputed that figure, saying it “isn’t even in the ballpark of close.”
Wachtell is seen as a high-paying law firm and one of the last holding onto its lockstep pay structure, where earnings are largely linked to tenure rather than performance.
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earnings → dispute → performance
Its partners rake in higher earnings on average than any other US firm, according to the Financial Times.
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partners → rake → Times
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