Biglaw, Blind Item, Health Care / Medicine, Labor / Employment, Privacy

Biglaw Blind Item: Who Has Herpes?

By  
on

Actually, we’re not sure that it’s herpes; that’s just a guess, based on context clues. But apparently some prominent, white-shoe law firm has been hit by an outbreak of a sexually-transmitted disease.

Check out this Biglaw blind item….

It comes to us courtesy of the Daily Beast (via New York Magazine):

At one white-shoe law firm recently, a cluster of affairs was discovered by accident, according to a source familiar with the situation. A benefits manager in the human resources department noticed an unusual volume of prescriptions for the same expensive drug coming through the medical claims department.

The drug: a popular remedy for sexually transmitted diseases. Tracing the claims back to Patient Zero, the benefits and human resources groups were able to tell who wasn’t toeing the line of disclosure.

Office affairs can be pretty messed-up. Just ask the Legal Tease. Or the person who submitted this crazy question to Pls Hndle Thx.

But should you really have to worry about getting a sexually transmitted disease from a colleague? We’re talking about a law firm, for crying out loud. Aren’t lawyers all about the adequacy of disclosure? Or, at the very least, aren’t they afraid of potential liability for transmitting a loathsome disease to another person?

Sponsored

Then again, a JD won’t save you from an STD — try condoms for that — and a six-figure income also doesn’t make you immune. Just like bedbugs, which have been spotted at such tony law firms as Cravath and Cadwalader and Winston & Strawn, STDs don’t discriminate based on educational and socioeconomic status.

The rich and famous get herpes just like the rest of us. (Disclosure: I do not have the genital variety, but I feel a little bump on my lip today.) One herpes sufferer is a prominent partner at Kirkland & Ellis (don’t mention it if you interview with him during OCI). Another, allegedly, is Liza Minnelli.

So, back to today’s Biglaw blind item. Which “white-shoe law firm” has been hit by the outbreak of an expensive-to-treat STD? Feel free to discuss in the comments — or contact us with information, using the many means available to you (including texting).

This is an important public health issue; we’ve got to get the word out. Thanks!

P.S. It’s a little surprising — and disturbing, at least to privacy zealots — to think that people in HR / recruiting might know what medications individual employees at the law firm are taking. For those of you who are experts in health care law, doesn’t the HIPAA Privacy Rule have anything to say about this?

Sponsored

Which ‘White Shoe’ Lawyers Are Experiencing Itching and Burning in Their Briefs? [New York Magazine]
The Dating Rules at Goldman [The Daily Beast]

Earlier: Those aren’t my Herpes… Then whose Herpes are they?
Lawsuit of the Day: Another Cuckold With Herpes
Liza With a ‘Z’ — and a ‘VD,’ Too

Topics

, , , , , ,