The legal world’s most talked-about scandal refuses to die down, with fresh allegations emerging about senior partners at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.
A viral video earlier this month showed a Wachtell partner kissing an associate on a park bench, briefly pulling the elite firm into mainstream public attention.
Most expected the story to fade quickly, but rival firm Gibson Dunn then complicated matters by staging a high-profile mass poaching of Wachtell talent.
Reports surfaced that the so-called “Kissgate” partner had been set to join the Gibson Dunn exodus, until his Central Park encounter caused the firm to cut him from the deal.
Now the New York Post has added yet another layer, reporting that the partners who did make the leap to Gibson Dunn were also allegedly involved romantically with one another.
The Post claims, citing unnamed legal sources, that William “Bill” Savitt, the prominent trial lawyer whose departure sent shockwaves through BigLaw, was in a consensual relationship with fellow Wachtell litigation partner Sarah Eddy while both remained at the firm.
Neither Savitt nor Eddy has confirmed the allegation, and Wachtell has not verified the claim either, though the Post notes the relationship would not have breached firm policy, as Wachtell reportedly has no non-fraternization rule.
The pairing carries a notable professional footnote, as Savitt and Eddy previously shared American Lawyer “Litigators of the Week” honours in May for their work on the OpenAI defence against Elon Musk.
They have now also departed Wachtell together, with Eddy among the six partners who followed Savitt out of the firm and across to Gibson Dunn.
Wachtell has pushed back against any suggestion the firm is weakened, insisting it is performing “at its highest level across every metric” and enjoying a record year.
That reassurance carries less weight given that a co-chair of the firm has just walked out alongside a significant group of senior partners.
The romantic allegations are generating headlines, but the more consequential story for the legal industry is the accelerating breakdown of old assumptions about partner loyalty at elite firms.
BigLaw long operated on an understanding that the most prestigious firms, partners, and client relationships were essentially immovable, insulated from the lateral market pressures affecting lesser practices.
In 2026, that assumption looks increasingly outdated, with even the most storied institutions proving vulnerable to poaching, internal disruption, and very public scrutiny.