Jay Durkin has left Lehman Brothers, where he was a managing director in high-yield sales based in New York. High-yield buy-siders say Durkin simply wanted to take some time off after a number of years in the business. He had spent eight years at Lehman, prior to which time he sold high-yield bonds at Kidder, Peabody & Co. Durkin declined comment when reached at his residence. A call to Tom Humphrey, global head of credit sales at Lehman, was not returned.