Aaron Charney, Anna Schneider-Mayerson, Biglaw, Gay, Gera Grinberg, New York Observer

Brokeback Lawfirm: Gera Grinberg -- Who Is This Guy?

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The excellent New York Observer article that we mentioned earlier today, concerning the Brokeback Lawfirm litigation, contains many interesting tidbits. Anna Schneider-Mayerson, always an expert at digging up fascinating facts, has outdone herself this time. To read the entire piece, click here.
Here are some highlights that caught our attention. On the early settlement discussions:

According to a source familiar with Sullivan & Cromwell’s side of the litigation, Mr. Charney initially asked for $5 million, and Sullivan & Cromwell offered “a very small fraction” of that. Mr. Charney referred calls to his lawyers, and through its recently retained public-relations firm, Sullivan & Cromwell declined to comment.

On S&C’s countersuit:

“The debate was: ‘Would this help us or hurt us?’” said the source familiar with Sullivan & Cromwell’s legal strategy. “The downside in filing the suit was to prolong the story, to keep it on the front pages …. [But] we concluded that we were obligated to bring the lawsuit irrespective of what it did to us.”

On Sullivan & Cromwell’s latest filing, a motion to dismiss (which we’d love a copy of if anyone can send it to us):

On Feb. 13, Sullivan called on the judge to dismiss Mr. Charney’s complaint on the grounds that the case will reveal client and firm matters and secrets. In a footnote to the 22-page motion, the lawyers address Mr. Charney’s destruction of his hard drive with a snarl.

“Charney’s attempt to blame S&C for his willful destruction of material information in violation of the New York Penal Code is false, contemptible and will be addressed at the appropriate time,” the note reads.

Update (9 PM): You can access a copy of the S&C motion to dismiss via this post.
And, finally, on Aaron Charney’s ex-associate and friend, Gera Grinberg:

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In his complaint, Mr. Charney claimed, he was told that a Sullivan partner referred to their friendship as “unnatural” and that another partner thought they were too close. (That Sullivan associate, Gera Grinberg, has since been placed on paid leave.)

Gera Grinberg is a central figure in the Brokeback Lawfirm saga. He’s Ennis Del Mar to Aaron Charney’s Jack Twist.
(We’re making Gera the more butch one because he’s reportedly straight. Also, based on this comment and this one, it seems that Aaron Charney was basically Gera Grinberg’s bitch.)
But unlike the other figures in this story — Eric Krautheimer, Alexandra Korry, David Braff, etc. — we know so little about Gera Grinberg. Heck, we can’t even find a photograph of the guy.
We’d like that to change. We hereby request any and all information and rumor you might have about Gera Grinberg — what he was like in law school, what he was like to work with at S&C, baby pictures, etc. Please send what you have to us by email. Thanks!
P.S. Yes, we have contacted Grinberg’s staggeringly prestigious lawyers, Gallion & Spielvogel, for confirmation that he is now on paid leave. But we don’t expect to hear back from them, since they’ve ignored most of our prior inquiries.
P.P.S. If you’re troubled by this mini-investigation into Gera Grinberg, we have three responses:

(1) Grinberg is a public figure — a major player, in a publicly filed lawsuit, that’s of great interest to the legal and gay/lesbian communities.

(2) We are all public figures now. Check out this great article, by Emily Nussbaum.

As Nussbaum writes, “The future belongs to the uninhibited.” Trying to fight the loss of privacy is a rearguard action. So just embrace it.

(3) You’re entitled to your opinion about what is or is not appropriate for us to write about. We’re entitled to ignore you. You’re entitled not to read this blog.

Remember: we’ve discovered our inner diva.

Associate Gets Crushed Beneath White Shoe [New York Observer]
Earlier: Brokeback Lawfirm: A Runway Report (Part 1)

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