A Wachtell Lipton partner whose Central Park kiss with a junior associate went viral is being pushed toward the door at the powerhouse law firm, after the public fallout also derailed his expected move to rival firm Gibson Dunn, sources told The Post.
Nathaniel Cullerton, 45, is expected to part ways with Wachtell after spending several weeks on leave as the firm reviewed his relationship with 29-year-old associate Kelsey Borenzweig, people familiar with the matter told The Post.
One person briefed on the situation said Cullerton is in the process of separating from the firm, though his official employment status has not shifted since July. Asked whether he had been fired, the source said that characterization would be inaccurate.
For now, Cullerton technically remains employed by Wachtell and is still on leave, according to sources. The Post could not determine whether he continues to receive pay during that leave.
Even so, people close to the matter said Cullerton’s formal ties to the elite New York law firm are expected to end, making the split appear to be only a question of timing.
It remains unclear when Cullerton’s departure from Wachtell will be finalized.
Wachtell, Cullerton, Borenzweig and Gibson Dunn did not immediately return requests for comment.
Cullerton and Borenzweig drew widespread attention last month after a TikTok video captured the pair kissing on a bench in Central Park before the person filming stepped in and interrupted the moment.
The fallout was swift for Cullerton, who had been preparing to leave Wachtell alongside star litigator Bill Savitt and a group of the firm’s top trial lawyers for Gibson Dunn, sources told The Post.
Gibson Dunn scrapped Cullerton’s planned hiring after the video went viral, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Post.
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The issue wasn’t simply the embarrassing public spectacle, sources previously told The Post. Cullerton was a partner while Borenzweig was a more junior associate in Wachtell’s litigation department, creating a professional hierarchy between the two.
Borenzweig’s employment status at Wachtell was not immediately clear.
Cullerton’s looming exit is the latest twist in a remarkable stretch of upheaval surrounding Wachtell’s high-powered litigation department, where he and Borenzweig worked alongside lawyers who represented OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in their courtroom battle against Elon Musk.
Savitt, 63, helped lead OpenAI’s successful defense before leaving Wachtell last month with five partners — Sarah Eddy, Anitha Reddy, Randall Jackson, Ryan McLeod and Brad Wilson — for Gibson Dunn’s New York office.
Cullerton had been expected to make the jump with them before his Central Park encounter derailed the move, sources told The Post.
Savitt’s own departure has since exposed a web of personal intrigue surrounding members of the same litigation group.
The Post revealed last month that Savitt and Eddy had been romantically involved while they were partners at Wachtell.
Sources with knowledge of the situation said the relationship began after Savitt separated from his wife, interior designer Nazak Savitt. Eddy had been divorced for about a decade and was not Savitt’s subordinate, the sources said.
Wachtell had no policy prohibiting consensual relationships between colleagues, sources told The Post.
Savitt and Eddy’s relationship ended late last month around the time they left Wachtell for Gibson Dunn, sources familiar with the situation told The Post.
Savitt’s jump to Gibson Dunn also came with an extraordinary payday, according to legal sources, who told The Post that the rival firm guaranteed him $96 million over three years — roughly $32 million annually.
Savitt’s new camp has vehemently disputed that figure, with a source familiar with the situation previously telling The Post that it “isn’t even in the ballpark of close.”
