Nathaniel Cullerton is being forced out at Wachtell Lipton after his viral Central Park kiss with a junior associate derailed a lucrative move to rival Gibson Dunn, sources said.
Cullerton, 45, spent weeks on leave while the elite law firm investigated his relationship with Kelsey Borenzweig, 29, an associate in Wachtell’s litigation department, sources with knowledge of the situation said. His departure now appears inevitable even though his job status technically has not changed since July, when he was first placed on leave.
Another source insisted to The Post that it would not be accurate to say Cullerton was given the axe. Technically, he remains employed at Wachtell and on leave, though it was unclear whether he is being paid during that time.
Nevertheless, sources close to the situation said it is just a matter of time before Cullerton will no longer have any affiliation with Wachtell. It remains unclear when his separation will become official.
The firm, Cullerton, Borenzweig and Gibson Dunn did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Cullerton and Borenzweig became an overnight sensation last month after a TikTok video showed them kissing on a Central Park bench before the camera-wielding stranger interrupted them. 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 said.
Gibson Dunn scrapped Cullerton’s planned hiring after the video went viral, sources with knowledge of the situation said. The issue was not simply the embarrassing public spectacle. Cullerton was a partner while Borenzweig was a more junior associate, 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 said.
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 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.
Wachtell had no policy prohibiting consensual relationships between colleagues, sources said. Savitt and Eddy’s relationship ended late last month around the time they left Wachtell for Gibson Dunn, sources familiar with the situation said.
Savitt’s jump to Gibson Dunn also came with an extraordinary payday, according to legal sources, who said 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.”
In the viral moment that started it all, Cullerton and Borenzweig were filmed kissing on a Central Park bench by a stranger who posted the encounter to TikTok, where it quickly spread. The camera-wielding passerby interrupted the couple, turning a private moment into public spectacle that would cost Cullerton his planned career move and now his position at one of the country’s most prestigious law firms. The video’s circulation triggered an internal investigation at Wachtell and led Gibson Dunn to reverse its decision to hire him.
The status of Cullerton’s relationship with Borenzweig following the incident was not reported.