september14–27, 2020| newyork 41legal because they are “nonrecourse,” meaningthat if thelawsuit
fails, the plaintiff doesn’t have to repaythem.
Scarsella says Cellino and Barnes triedtopainttheiractionsas
“altruistic” because they were offering lowerinterest ratesontheir
loans than those other companies were.Buthethoughtsuch
arrangements represented a clear conflictofinterest—especially
when he learned that the Rappolds hadreceivedassistancefrom
Cellino & Barnes to pay not only for David’snursingcarebutalso
to build a cabin. The appellate justiceswhoevaluatedthecase
agreed: They found against both CellinoandBarnesformaking
loans to clients with interest, which bothlawyershadparticipated
in. (Cellino and Barnes said they werefollowinglegaladvice,no
clients had been harmed, and they stoppedassoonasthey found
out the practice wasn’t permissible.)
The justices also found a second infraction:A retaineragreement
Cellino had filed with a new client did notmatchthearrangement
the firm had actually agreed to with theclient.Cellinotriedto
explain it away as an honest mistake, sayinghehadinadvertently
signed a preprinted retainer agreement,butthejusticesconcluded
he had filed a false document—a muchmoreseriousissue.Barnes
ended up with a censure. Cellino was suspendedforsixmonths.
Cellino has adamantly maintained thathedidnothingdishon-
est. Even Scarsella, who agrees with thecourt’sopinion,thinksit’s
unfair if the public sees Cellino in a worselight.“I thinktheywere
both in it,” he said. “I don’t agree with thatat all,that oneofthem
was the mastermind or something.That’snotwhat thefacts
showed, and that’s not what the courtfound.”
Cellino’s suspension rocked the firm.“It wasalmost like a
death,” one former employee says. “Everyonefeltbadthat it was
him that got the blame for it all. He kindawasthescapegoaton
that one.” Before they knew what the finalrulingwouldbe,Cellino
and Barnes had taken steps to ensurethat theirpracticewould
survive even if they werebothsuspended.To keep
a recognizable name onthedoor,they hadturned
to Barnes’s brother, Rich,enticinghimwitha big
salary—$350,000 anda 10percentcutofthefees
in his cases—and madenewadsinpreparationfor
a future as the Barnes Firm.
N THE END, it took 19 monthsforCellinotoberead-
mitted to the practiceoflaw,whileotherissues,
never publicly disclosed,wereresolved.According
to his father, he spent muchofhistimeinthepro-
fessional wilderness doingmanuallabor:building
fences, planting trees, andhelpingoutat Habitatfor
Humanity. When Cellinoreturnedtothefirm,both
he and Barnes agreed thathissuspensionhadshift-
ed things. They just didn’tagreeonhow. “I didnot
foresee the drastic effect the suspensionwouldhaveonRoss,and
when he was finally reinstated fromhissuspension,hewasa
changed man,” Barnes later said in anaffidavit.“Thefriendand
co-ownerthatI knew didnotreturnfromthesuspension.Rather,
a drasticallyalteredandaffectedRossreturnedandwithdrew from
hispriorrolesanddutieswithC&B.”
Inanemailsentaftertheirrelationshiphaddeteriorated,
Barneswentfurther:“It isironicintheextremethat youhave
becomesobittertowardme—theonepersoninyourlifewho
madesurethatyouwerewelcomedbacktoshareinthebounty of
thisincrediblysuccessfulfirm,themanagementofwhichyou
abdicatedyearsago.”
Cellinoarguedthathehada righttoreturnbutthat Barneshad
beenlessthanwelcoming.Ina 20 18 deposition,hesaidit took
monthstoge t Barnestochange thefirm’snameback.Afterhis
return,Cellinocontinuedtobeinvolvedinmany aspectsofthe
firm’s management:pursuinglinesof creditfromthebank,approv-
ingandcuttingads,strategizingaboutexpansion.Buthewasrarely
settlinghisowncasesordrivingthefirm’sdecisions.“Ifeltguilty
making$8milliona year,” herecallstellingBarnesat a meeting,
“whenI’mnotproducingrevenueforthefirmbyresolvingcaseslike
I usedto.”Buthedeniesthat heever“abdicated”anything.
Part of theproblemwasDaryl Ciambella,theM.B.A. thepartners
hadhiredtohelpbuildthebusiness.Ciambellawasnowa leading
forceinthefirm,andCellinofeltthat Barnestendedtosidewith
him.“I wasbasicallypushedtothesideandnotallowedtovoicemy
opinion,”hesaidinthedeposition.It wasBarneswhohadchanged,
Cellinoargued,refusingto sharecontrolandrejectinghisinput.The
ideathathewasn’t participatingirkedhim.“I enjoycomingtothe
officeandinteractingwiththestaffandattorneys,”Cellinoventedat
Barnesinanemail.“Whenyoucomeintotheoffice,youappearto
remaininyourofficeandrarelycomeouttotalktoanyone.”
Barnesacknowledgesthat Ciambella’s ascendancy wasa source
oftensionwithhispartner. “Darylinmany wayswasthebrains
behind”muchofthefirm’ssuccess,hesays.“I don’t knowif Ross
doesn’t wanttoadmitthat. I thinkheknowsit inhisheart.”He
doesconcedethatCiambella“rubs[somepeople]thewrongway.”
AddingtothetensionwasEllenSturm,Barnes’sgirlfriend,
whomhebroughtintothefirmin2009.BothCellinoandBarnes
agreethatSturm’s credentialsareimpressive,especiallyfora
personal-injurylawyer:a summacumlaudegraduateoftheUni-
versityat BuffaloSchoolofLaw,sheworkedasa confidentiallaw
clerktoa stateappellatejudge andthenat thewhite-shoefirm
SkaddenArps.ButCellinowasclearlyfrustratedwithherand
claimedthatsheopenlydisparagedhimtootherlawyers.“When
youapproachedmeabouthavingEllenjointhefirmyouassured
methatyourrelationshipwithherwouldnotinterferewiththe
managementofthefirm,”hesaidina 20 14 emailtoBarnes.“The
samestatementwasmadeaboutyourbrother. To yourbrother’s
credithehasnotinterferedwiththeoperationofthefirm.The
samecannotbesaidaboutEllen.”FORALLTHETALKofabsenteeleadershipandlackofrespect,the
periodafterCellino’s suspensionwasoneofremarkablegrowth.A billboard design,
filed in court in 2019
by Anna Marie Cellino,
for a new firm she
initially called Cellino
& Cellino.Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, where a worker
fell and was injured while installing this
Cellino & Barnes billboard in May 2019.Barnes expanded into
Los Angeles in
December 2017.