The Talent
March 23, 2012 12:59 PM
King & Spalding Partner Charged in Alleged Assault on Mistress
Posted by Brian Baxter
Steven Guynn, a corporate partner at King & Spalding in New York, was arraigned this week in Connecticut on charges of beating and threatening to kill his girlfriend during an alleged altercation earlier this month at his home.
News of Guynn's arrest was first reported Wednesday by the Stamford Advocate and picked up by the New York Post on Thursday. Guynn, 58, is a resident of New Canaan, a wealthy suburb north of Manhattan. The New Canaan Police Department confirmed Guynn's arrest when contacted Friday by The Am Law Daily.
The Post and Advocate report that Guynn was released on $25,000 bond after being charged with third-degree assault and second-degree threatening in connection with an incident involving a 41-year-old woman identified by the Post as Jeannette Schaefer. Guynn also posted $5,000 bond after being arraigned on charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with a 911 call, according to news reports.
Guynn allegedly punched Schaefer on the morning of March 14 while the pair argued in the house where he lives with his wife, according to the Advocate and the Post. Schaefer, who went to police two days later, described the incident and another alleged assault by Guynn in May 2011.
Guynn declined to comment in an e-mail to The Am Law Daily on Friday. He is being represented by John Gulash and C. Christian Young of Bridgeport's Gulash & Riccio.
"It would suffice to say that there is a significant disagreement over what occurred," Gulash told The Am Law Daily on Friday. "It would be inappropriate to comment beyond that at this time."
While Gulash declined to comment on whether Guynn and Schaefer were ever a couple, Young, a Gulash & Riccio associate, told the Advocate earlier this week that Schaefer decided to press charges against Guynn because he had refused to bankroll a holistic healing business she hoped to launch with him. Gulash also declined to comment on that claim.
According to a statement provided to The Am Law Daily, King & Spalding is aware of the charges against Guynn and is reviewing the matter.
"We take this issue seriously and we are working to understand the facts," the firm's statement said. "Consistent with our policies regarding personnel matters, we will have no further comment at this time."
Guynn is the older brother of Randall Guynn, the head of Davis Polk & Wardwell's financial institutions group. Both Guynns attended Brigham Young University as undergraduates and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Steven Guynn, whose wife Kristie writes for publications produced by the Mormon Church, joined King & Spalding in January 2011 after leaving Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he was a partner in the firm's capital markets practice.
Like his brother, Steven Guynn has played a role in many high-profile deals. During Steven Guynn's tenure at Gibson Dunn, the brothers advised different sides on the federal government's efforts to bolster Citigroup three years ago.
Steven Guynn also led a team of Gibson Dunn lawyers advising the Kuwait Investment Authority on the sovereign wealth fund's $4.1 billion sale of its stake in Citigroup in December 2009.
He is due back in court on April 25.
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Hey, King & Spalding dumped their client in the Defense of Marriage Act case, right? So they shouldn't have a big problem with this guy's behavior.
Comment By anon - March 23, 2012 at 1:15 PM