What's Up at Sullivan Cromwell?
The Brokeback Lawfirm scandal folded its pup tent months ago. But there's still stuff to cover at one of ATL's favorite firms, the venerable Sullivan & Cromwell.
Here are two items. First, from a tipster:
If I recall correctly, Sullivan & Cromwell sent out a memo in December or January saying that even though they paid the "special bonuses" in December, they still intended to pay additional profit-sharing bonuses in February. [February is over] and as far as I know, not a word from S&C. Can you guys please make a big deal over this?
The tipster's memory is slightly off. From chairman H. Rodgin Cohen's earlier bonus memo:
[T]he Firm will pay senior associates compensation in addition to salary and bonus through our new Senior Associate Supplemental Bonus Plan ("the Plan"). We have decided to accelerate payments under this new Plan to result in the following [market-matching bonuses] being paid on December 14 to our senior associates, with final supplemental payments to be made in the Spring of '08.
We are now officially into spring 2008. So ATL hereby "make[s] a big deal over this." Has S&C paid the supplemental bonuses to its senior associates? If so, can someone please give us the skinny?
Second, here's an interesting rumor of a partner departure from S&C, from a different tipster:
Carlos Spinelli-Noseda is a partner at S&C (do a Google search and check the cached website). At this point, however, you can't find him on the firm's external or internal website anymore. No idea what's up with him, but apparently he [was] involved in a firm event about 10 days ago...
We're intrigued. Partner departures are more common farther down the Am Law 100, but they're rare at a place like Sullivan & Cromwell.
We did some preliminary poking around, but didn't learn anything. A firm spokesperson didn't respond to multiple telephone and email messages. The usual news sources have no stories about his defection to another firm. On LinkedIn, he's still listed as an S&C partner (although it's true, as noted by the tipster, that his bio is gone from the S&C website).
We tried contacting Mr. Spinelli-Noseda directly. Our email didn't bounce back, but we didn't get a response either. When we dialed his direct extension, a receptionist answered the telephone with the firm name, not his name. When we asked to speak with him, the secretary asked us -- in a vaguely hostile tone -- who we were and why we were calling. She took down our contact info, but did not offer to put us into voice-mail, and we never received a return call.
If you know what's going on, please email us. Thanks.
(69) Comments
First of all,
That is none of your business. What led to this partner and S&C separating is totally their personal family business and don't not vote for my mother because of my father.
:)
Some people have been (unofficially) told that the special bonuses will be paid out sometime in late April...
Yes, please email Lat with all the specifics as to why this non public figure who didn't put themselves on the Internet asking for humiliation was fired by S&C. Because everything is our business.
8:14 - The legal media - e.g., NYLJ, WSJ, Am Law - cover partner moves the way that Sports Illustrated covers player trading. It's their job.
Your defensiveness makes it sound like there is a story here.
i think he took a job in ms. kirchner's cabinet. ill find and link the article from clarion or pais.
Wow - awesome! Congratulations.
What I have learned is that if you're not on the website, you're no longer at the firm. It's often times the quickest and surest way to verify employment.
Could he be on a garden leave during which he is paid not to work before joining a new firm and no one's talking about it because of non-competes, non-solicitation or some such?
This dood is actually the hiring partner. He gave everyone their offer in person, on the spot at the interview. Nice guy
Agreed. He is a great guy, and I wish him the best in all he does. The firm would sorely miss him if he is gone. (I also received my offer directly from him.)
Wow, you met this guy for a half hour and you know so much about him. You must be an excellent judge of character. The more likely scenario is that you're a d-bag.
I've heard he's 12 and a half feet tall and shoots fireballs out of his arse. Great lawyer!
he hired to many TTT grads. Giving Loyola 2L an offer was the last straw.
the same kind of TTT grad who confuses "to" with "too"?
You mean L2L got a job?
WOW I'm thrilled.
What's the firm going to do without this key component of window dressing?
Hmm, let's see. This guy was the hiring partner and, based on some comments here, was in direct contact with summer associates and new associates and was responsible for giving out offers.
I may be going out on a limb, but methinks his sudden and mysterious departure may have something to do with inappropriate relations with a certain summer associate. Perhaps asking male associates to bend over is ok at S&C, but asking female summers to do likewise is grounds for see ya later.
S&C probably canned him after finding out that his alma mater, UPenn State, is ranked #77 in the latest U.S. News Rankings.
Yeah, UPenn used to be around number 10. I wonder what happened?
Sad if Carlos is actually departing; both he and his wife were good people to have a drink with. Hope he's retiring early and enjoying life or something.
Lat, shame on you for putting publicity on this. Carlos happens to be one of the nicest guys at S&C, but even if he was Alexandra Korry that's still no justification for your bringing public focus on him.
A study in the March 2008 NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE reports that "male partners in Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's NYC office on average, have smaller cocks and balls than their D.C. colleagues."
Glad I took the D.C. office's offer.
xxx / ooo,
Hot Female S&C Associate-2-Be
I always thought Carlos was a cool name. More latino men should have it.
They probably canned him because S&C was pwned in recruiting this year (Didn't they only get like 5 CLS kids while Cravath got high twenties?)
To Hot Female S&C Associate-2-Be: Thanks for making me feel insecure about the size of my balls.
I met Carlos when I got my offer (ended up accepting Cravath instead), but I have to disagree here with some of the other posters. He was one of the least friendly people I interviewed with at S&C. Maybe he was having a bad day or something, I don't know.
And PS: I want the name of S&C's photographer -- in real life, this guy looks like a 12-year old kid with terrible acne.
Isn't there a crim pro case named after this guy? I thought he was still in jail...
11:04, you sound like exactly the sort of person S&C would want to pwn off on Cravath. Kudos to Carlos on that one.
it's really funny that Lat think that anyone at S&C is going to talk to him after charney-gate.
this is a particularly nice feautre of S&C's lawyer search.
poor showing Michigan. poor showing, indeed.
http://www.sullcrom.com/ataglance/?view=schools
I have no earthly idea. Why would ask me?
Shame shame SHAME on you David Lat! How dare you ask why this partner has gone. He has gone for reasons we do not know and I find it simply SICKENING that you would wonder why - and simply vulgar that you would ask others why. I hope you stay up at night feeling horrible about what you've done.
He has been taken to Gitmo by the Bush Administration. Good Riddance!
"in real life, this guy looks like a 12-year old kid with terrible acne."
Not quite sure what you're talking about, "I call BS." Maybe you met with someone else b/c he looks exactly like that photo in real life. He's a great guy too--one of the friendlier people I interviewed with at S&C and very active in the summer program.
Doesn't seem to me that Michigan places too badly at Sullcrom (though, from my friend who is an first year associate, I have no idea why anyone would want to work there).
Michigan has more people that Berkeley, Northwestern, Georgetown, and Duke. The only schools that are not located on the east coast that have more people at S&C are Stanford and Chicago- schools that are supposed to place better than Michigan.
How many people does UPenn State (Philly Campus) have?
11:20, I don't think Lat thinks anyone at S&C will talk to him.
But it is proper form for him to give them the opportunity to comment (even if they don't take it).
12:50--you're on the money. I remember hearing certain partners make numerous disparaging remarks about Lat for what they felt was unnecssary and unfair coverage of the whole Charney situation. He definitely will not be receiving a call back from anybody at S&C on this one.
Is that because of Lat's sexuality 12:58? Sounds like the diversity committee has some work to do.
Wow, S&C trolls are out in full force (or it's the same person) telling Lat to back off. Have you guys never read ATL before? This is PRIME ATL material.
Sure, maybe Carlos left because he wanted a break or moved, OR, maybe he engaged in misconduct. If it's the former, then no harm done. If it's the latter, then damnit, we have a right to know! As Lat pointed out, it's odd for a young partner to just disappear like that, hence the suspicion.
Not to revive the GW-GTOWN feud, but since someone was comparing S&C's schools...the scoreboard shows:
GW 8
GTOWN 6
Advantage: GW
No 1:22; it had nothing to do with Lat's sexual orientation. It was more along the lines of irritation that Lat had a broad audience to disseminate views about the firm that they disagreed with (i.e., that the firm discriminates against gays, that partners are assholes--which in some cases is true however, that certain things were said between Charney and S&C attorneys that never occured). Nobody likes their reputation being maligned (rightly or wrongly) and any mention of abovethelaw or Lat would bring a collective groan (even if it was non-Charney related, like for salary raises--NY to 190k, etc.).
it's not carlos's fault that recruiting has fallen off. i quite liked him, as do most people, but despite that i wouldn't recommend s&c to incoming associates because of my own personal experiences: most of the partners i work with are difficult, rude, or just plainly clueless about personal interactions. and for whatever reason the firm tolerates a culture that is passive aggressive. too many of the associates and partners just drip with sarcasm, and there is very little in the way of direct, helpful positive feedback. don't get me wrong, the senior associates and partners are very good lawyers, and they throw lots of real world, substantive opportunities at you from an early stage in your career, but the firm has a gaping weakness in terms of mentoring. in law school i thought the cravath system (basically being bonded to one partner as a junior associate) was odd, which is partly why i chose s&c. now i wonder if i made the wrong choice. it's hard to say though because what matters most is never the firm but the particular group you're in. i know some people in other groups here that are quite happy.
1:38 -- There is no GW/GULC feud. GULC is better.
This is why we come to ATL. Good, original, gossipy reporting. Enough of the marriage and sports crap. Carry on, Lat!
"Did I ever tell you about the time Bill Brasky took me out to go get a drink with him? We go off looking for a bar and we can't find one. Finally Brasky takes me to a vacant lot and says, 'Here we are.' We sat there for a year and a half — until sure enough, someone constructs a bar around us. Well, the day they opened we ordered a shot, drank it, and then burned the place to the ground. Brasky yelled over the roar of the flames, 'Always leave things the way you found 'em!'"
Why exactly should I care about this guy? Yes, maybe "partner departures are rare" at some places, but not rare enough that you just pick some random dude and hope that there is some gossip to report. If you are really going to start reporting on random partner departures, you are probably going to have to make it a daily column.
This is what ATL is all about--gossip and innuendo--great job LAT-for those of you who are upset by this go read the the University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog-LAT has even provided you with the link.
Re 7:44 AM: Yep, passive-agressive is indeed the best way to describe many, MANY partners and associates at S&C. Very different from other firms.
"There is no GW/GULC feud. GULC is better."
This morning while walking to the office, I passed two huge women, one around 400 lbs, the other easily 550 lbs. I distinctly heard the 400 pounder ridicule her companion: "I am soooo much hotter than you!"
10:33,
i know those chicks. they go to gw
http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=name&lname=Spinelli-Noseda&fname=Carlos
S&C probably realized that supporting Fred Thompson was the kind of poor judgment they didn't need exhibited by their partners, and decided to let him go.
10:33.
I have an anecdote for you. Your mother's a whore.
Spinelli was a classmate of mine. He didn't go to U. Penn. -- he went to Yale, then Harvard Law School. I know nothing about this departure.
10:33 FTW. I'll be laughing for the rest of the day - thanks!
-- ET!
A girl at GW once slammed Gtown by stating, "We are all so glad we chose not to go to there." I understand her plight. I chose not to go to Yale. Something about not getting an offer. Go figure.
10:33-
that had me laughing pretty hard. thanks.
GW has a law school?
I worked with Carlos when I was at S&C -- he was a senior associate and I was a junior. He's a great guy. Nice and easy to work for -- giving you lots of feedback. I hope all is well with him.
Today's joke is dedicated to Kashmir, the YLS of women.
I met Carlos a few times when he was at Harvard. I understand he was voted most likely to insider trade by his fellow law students.
Carlos and I were friends in law school. With distance and time, we've lost touch, and I have no idea what's been going on with him recently. But, as others have said, he's a good guy, and slamming him without knowing anything about him or what may have led to his leaving S&C is very low-class.
Guys at my highschool used to slam Carlos all the time without knowing anything about him or what may have led to his leaving S&C, it was no big deal.
I was in his starting class at S&C. Alas, the place was not for me. But he always struck me as a decent guy. I wish him well.
So a partner and a special counsel (Thomas Barnett - left Jan/Feb, was on the job only 3yrs) leave S&C. Two events that are very rare indeed. Something is going on over there...
Agreed. The hiring partner of a top law firm leaves, suddenly and without explanation. It could be for a happy reason - see 8:23 PM - or an unhappy reason.
But it is legitimate for Lat to ask about it. Note that Lat doesn't imply anything negative in his posting. It just seems that some commenters are a little defensive about any time S&C appears in ATL.
I just called Carlos SN direct line and still has his name and voice recorded but no longer in the firm's website which is a sign that he's gone to pastures new
Called S+C main number and asked for forwarding info for Carlos. Was told the firm has no forwarding information for Mr. Spinelli.
Not only Carlos "left" (was asked to leave?), but, on the exact same day, Angel Saad (European Counsel in their London office) also "left"...
According to a friend of mine at S&C, Angel told people he was leaving back in November of last year after being passed over for partner and went on "garden leave" in February. Not sure where he is these days.