Sullivan & Cromwell v. Charney: A Photo Essay (Part 1)
Here is the first set of our photographs from yesterday's hearing in New York Supreme Court in the lawsuit(s) between Aaron Charney and Sullivan & Cromwell (litigation nickname still to be determined).
We've taken a page from the Lavi Soloway playbook: these photos are thumbnail images. If you click on the thumbail, you'll be able to see a larger version of the picture, in all of its glory.
More photographs, after the jump.
We camped outside the courthouse at 60 Centre Street, in the freezing cold, waiting for everyone to emerge.
The first group to depart was the Sullivan & Cromwell crew, pictured above.
Left to right (click on the thumbnail to enlarge): David Braff, S&C's litigation chief (who is openly gay and lovin' it at S&C, thank you very much); three folks we didn't recognize; and S&C litigation partner Richard Klapper, who provided the verification for S&C's Complaint.
Update (2:55 PM): Make that two folks whose identities we don't know:
"One of the S&C lawyers you didn't identify is Vince DiBlasi, the biggest of the big shot litigators at S&C. See here. He represented the securities industry before the Second Circuit in the IPO litigation. See here.The bottom line is that he's someone whose time is very valuable. What was he doing at the hearing?"
Further Update: Per Lavi Soloway, the two young lawyers in the group are S&C associates Stephen Ehrenberg and Jessica Klein.
The S&C crew, viewed from behind. We were surprised that they were walking so far apart (and not talking). Does this reflect an individualistic firm culture?
This tableau was more dramatic in person. It had a certain macho, Untouchables quality to it: Biglaw litigators, swaggering away from the OK Corral.
The S&C group was followed by the Fourth Estate: the many legal affairs reporters covering the case.
Press-shy members of the press: Anna Schneider-Mayerson, of the New York Observer; and Robert Kolker, of New York magazine.
Nathan Koppel, of the Wall Street Journal (and WSJ Law Blog).
We're longtime fans of Koppel's writing. We didn't expect him to be so handsome and well-groomed, though. For some reason, we pictured him as a heavyset, unkempt, older gent -- the legal affairs version of sportswriter Oscar Madison, of The Odd Couple.
Update: Per Friendster, Nathan Koppel is 38, married, and a resident of Brooklyn. His hobbies and interests: "bonsai trees, tennis, talking to myself."
The lovely and stylish Vivia Chen, senior reporter for The American Lawyer, who has an ethereal glow about her. We complimented on her magnificent mink coat. They must pay well over at The American Lawyer. What's their PPR -- "profits per reporter"?
(Click on the thumbnail to see the bigger version of this picture. Is it just our imagination, or is that older gentleman on the right totally checking Vivia out? Does he aspire to be a WGWAG -- White Guy With an Asian Girl?)
(25) 
Lat, when I click on the thumbnails it opens up the picture in full screen mode but zooms in on the center of the pic. It doesn't allow you to scroll so you miss a lot of the pic. For example, when I click on the last one with Vivvia Chen, I can't see the WGWAG in the blown-up version.
2:22 PM: I think that's been fixed - refresh your browser, try again.
2:22. It may be your computer. It works fine for me.
Dear editors,
Please obtain Google's Picasa. It has a "I feel lucky!" photo editor that takes about 1 second to use and other easy to use photo correction functions, that will permit the pedestrians in that first photo to be seen!
Only the third pic and the last pic have been fixed. The rest still suffer from the same problem.
Are these pictures really worth zooming into?
no
2:39 PM: Only the last one. It really does look like he's checking her out.
(But it's weird b/c it doesn't seem he'd have a good angle to see her face.)
oh god.....
this is really starting to get silly
oh god.....
this is really starting to get silly
this photograph business is pretty stupid. You've strayed from your roots, David.
This is what you've kept your fans waiting for???? Poor form Lat.
Anyone know what lit associate Klein was doing there?
More pics of Vivia please :)
I love you man.
Can anyone tell me why S&C's home page has a picture of the Karakoram Range in Northern Pakistan? What does it mean?
Karakoram Range: A mountain system of northern Pakistan and India and southwest China. An extension of the Hindu Kush, it rises to 8,616.3 m (28,250 ft) at K2, the second-highest mountain in the world.
Also, Karakoram means "black gravel" in Turkish, as many of its glaciers are covered in rubble.
Because S&C is as solid as the tallest mountain ranges.
S&C lover 3:55 PM
Why not the Himalayas? They have the highest mountain peaks. The Karakoram come in second. Is there a message here?
Why is it that Robert Kolker covered his face and David apparently agreed to block Anna Schnieder-Mayerson's face? Plus Lavi's blog willingly blocked out the face of an unidentified reporter. Why? The press have absolutely no problems probing into the private affairs of others (using the public's "right to know" and the First Amendment as a shield, snapping their pictures of others (see the shots of the various perp walks of our recent "corporate criminals" or the ambish of Jack Grubman on the street by a CNBC reporter). I think reporters are public figures just as much as corporate leaders, lawyers, bankers or anyone else that is fair game. Why do reporters always think they get a pass? Somebody (besides Jack Shafer at Slate, who does a great job) really needs to cover the reporters themselves. Maybe then they would understand what it is like to face public scrutiny and that the First Amendment does protect them, but sometimes they don't always need to excercise judgment and don't always need to push the limits of free speech to their very ends (see also John Dickerson's report on Slate on his feelings about becoming part of the Libby trial story). This is a bit of a rant, but I was so suprised to see both Lavi and David allow reporters to "hide" like they're important government covert intelligence agents or something. I think a good media-focused blog (anyone at deadhorse media listening?) would really be useful to shine a light on the personalities and practices of newsreporters just as Dealbreaker does for finance mavens and ATL does for leading legal lights and Zach Fasman (who is in a catagory to himself).
here, here (or is it "hear hear"?)...these bloggers are just a bunch of logrollers. look at how they gush over one another! I would love to see one of them attacked rather than so lavishly praised in these pages...."oh how handsome, how smart, how astute..."
Anon, I see where you're coming from, and it's something I'll be giving more consideration should the situation arise again.
As for my willingness, on this occasion, to accede to the reporter's request and purple-ize her: can I plead extremely-amateur-hobby-blogger exception?
Have a good weekend!
I don't think it is so much a lack of attacking the bloggers as it as that bloggers always complain about the MSM, yet rarely do they poke and prod and reporters themselves. Now we know that the WH considered Russert a patsy, Judy Miller's reporting was a joke, the Maria Bartiromo scandal is getting some play but I'd really like to see more investigating about the press members. I think they wield a tremendous amount of power and people should look at their means/biases/sources, etc.
Lat, Why couldn't you get pictures from inside the courthouse?
Photography isn't allowed in that courthouse (or most other courthouses for that matter). At 60 Centre Street, cameras get confiscated at the door.