Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell: More About S&C's Suit

Bloomberg News has a very good article about Sullivan & Cromwell v. Charney, the lawsuit filed by mega-firm S&C against its former associate, Aaron Charney. It’s more detailed than the New York Sun and TheLawyer.com articles that we mentioned this morning.
Some highlights:

Sullivan & Cromwell said in their complaint, filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan yesterday, that Charney improperly leaked privileged information to the media while publicizing his case. The firm said it fired him [last Wednesday].

So it’s official. Aaron Charney can now be referred to as an EX-associate at Sullivan & Cromwell.

“Charney has used the Charney complaint as the centerpiece of a malicious public relations campaign,” the firm said in court papers. The purpose of Charney’s lawsuit has been “to embarrass and denigrate Sullivan & Cromwell, and to name Sullivan & Cromwell’s clients unnecessarily as part of his campaign.”

Sullivan & Cromwell is seeking to prevent Charney from distributing internal law firm information, including partner memos, rankings and client data, and return it to them. The suit also seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.

No wonder S&C itself has been so tight-lipped about the litigation. They’re going after Charney for parting his lips a few too many times.

The law firm claimed that Charney, who worked in the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Group, “gratuitously” identified clients and revealed confidential information obtained while representing such clients….

The law firm claimed Charney obtained a copy of the firm’s partnership agreement and distributed it as an attachment to his lawsuit, which he posted on his own personal Web site and an Internet Web site called “infirmation.com.”

The law firm also alleged that he improperly obtained confidential personnel data from clients and transactions which he later shared with the media, such as the Wall Street Journal and a Canadian television program.

Sullivan & Cromwell also said Charney misappropriated an internal law firm slideshow presentation made to partners which addressed morale issues. The presentation was later obtained by the Wall Street Journal, which quoted from it. The documents were from a partner whose office was next to Charney’s, the suit claimed, and are now missing.

If these allegations are true, it’s not a good thing for Charney’s post-S&C legal career. Stealing documents may look all glamorous and sexy on TV and in the movies; but in real life, it’s not always a great idea.
(How many times has Aaron Charney watched “The Firm”?)
P.S. Yes, we know — our site thrives on people leaking documents to us. But we don’t force anyone to send us stuff; people do so of their own free will. And they’re usually lawyers, so they are aware of the possible consequences.

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