Maple grief

22 January 2007

Grave charges indeed have been levelled at the New York office of Wall Street stalwart Sullivan & Cromwell.

On 16 January 2006 M&A associate Aaron Charney filed a complaint against Sullivan,in which he alleges a litany of discriminatory comments and behaviour towards him by his Sullivan peers and superiors once his homosexuality became known. The firm rigorously denies the charges.

But looking through Charney's 48-page complaint, one charge strikes Tulkinghorn as particularly heinous.

And that is that partners at the firm said the prevailing attitude internally was that "S&C considers all Canadians to be irrelevant".

Given that the firm's M&A lawyers spent most of last year defending Canadian nickel producer Inco on a £9.3bn hostile bid, we would be keen to hear Sullivan's arguments played out in a tribunal.