On Feb. 15, star litigators Philippe Selendy and Faith Gay formally launched Selendy & Gay, the first spin-off from litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

Eight partners from Quinn Emanuel made the move with them to their new offices as 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York—a departure that triggered a blistering email from John Quinn to Gay. (“I can tell you that virtually all of the attorneys you name here are pretty angry with you. There must be a poem about deception or ingratitude that would be more apposite?” he wrote,)