A high-profile lawyer based in New York City has found himself under scrutiny after being caught in a compromising position. The attorney has been put on suspension from his firm following a publicized incident where he was seen kissing a subordinate on a park bench in Central Park, according to recent reports.
Nathaniel D Cullerton, a partner at the prestigious law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, has been placed on leave. This comes as part of an internal investigation concerning a video that has now gained widespread attention. The clip features him with his colleague Kelsey Borenzweig and was highlighted by the Financial Times.
At 45, the married Cullerton and the 29-year-old Borenzweig became the center of attention when a TikTok comedian, Jay Guapo, recorded and shared the footage with his 3.5 million followers. The incident reportedly took place in the shadow of New York’s famed Billionaires’ Row, although the exact timing of the recording remains undisclosed.
Cullerton was reportedly preparing to leave his current position along with five other partners from Wachtell to join the rival law firm Gibson Dunn. However, these career plans suffered a setback in the aftermath of the video being circulated online.
Following the social media storm, sources familiar with the issue revealed to the newspaper that Cullerton’s potential move to Gibson Dunn has been halted.
It is unclear whether Borenzweig, an associate at the firm, is also under investigation over the video.
As of Wednesday morning, both Cullerton and Borenzweig’s attorney profiles were still active on Wachtell’s website.
Nathaniel D Cullerton, 45, was filmed smooching Kelsey Borenzweig, 29, by a TikTok comedian. The loved-up couple were quickly identified, and the clip, filmed in Central Park, spread like wildfire across social media, setting elite New York law circles ablaze with gossip
Nathaniel Cullerton, seen outside his apartment last week, has been placed on leave amid an investigation into a now-viral video of him and his colleague Kelsey Borenzweig
Dressed in a blue cap and sunglasses on Saturday morning, Borenzweig went for coffee with parents Tracy and Matt at the upscale Crosby Street Hotel in Soho
The passionate kiss took place on the western edge of Central Park, about 30 blocks south of the co-op Cullerton is listed as living in with wife Moira Penza, 42, along an ultra-exclusive stretch of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.
Guapo could be seen scolding the pair and hissing: ‘Get a room. There’s kids watching.’
Borenzweig and Cullerton tried to shoo him away and cover his camera on realizing that their tryst was being filmed. He walked towards Guapo and forcefully demanded: ‘Put the phone down,’ but to no avail.
The loved-up couple were quickly identified by commenters when Guapo uploaded the clip to his TikTok. It spread like wildfire across social media and set elite New York City law circles ablaze with gossip.
It is unclear when Cullerton and Borenzweig’s romance started or whether it had been disclosed to human resources, but the pair worked closely together to win the Altman case against Elon Musk.
Musk claimed Altman had broken a founding agreement to keep OpenAI a nonprofit.
A photo taken during the trial in May 2026 showed Cullerton smiling as he walked into the federal court building in Oakland, California, with Borenzweig just a few steps behind him.
Cullerton and Borenzweig are seen walking into Oakland Federal Courthouse in May. They worked together to defeat a civil lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against Sam Altman
Borenzweig works alongside Cullerton in the litigation department of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Cullerton’s wife Moira Penza is a former federal prosecutor who now works in private practice
Cullerton’s wife, Penza, is a partner at another top law firm, Wilkinson Stekloff.
They married in February 2016. Before moving into private practice, Penza worked as a federal prosecutor and led the case against NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere.
She appeared on an episode of the HBO series The Vow, which investigated the secretive cult.
Cullerton’s meteoric rise to success saw him obtain his JD from Georgetown University in 2013, before clerking at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Borenzweig’s legal pedigree is just as impressive.
She received her JD from New York University School of Law in 2022 and also spent time clerking before joining Wachtell.
She grew up in Malibu, California, in a sizable $2.7 million midcentury home moments from the Pacific Ocean.
The Daily Mail has approached Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for comment.