Drugs, Health / Wellness

Drug-Addicted Biglaw Partner Dies During Conference Call

Addiction is pervasive in the legal profession.

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Peter, one of the most successful people I have ever known, died a drug addict, felled by a systemic bacterial infection common to intravenous users.

Of all the heartbreaking details of his story, the one that continues to haunt me is this: The history on his cellphone shows the last call he ever made was for work. Peter, vomiting, unable to sit up, slipping in and out of consciousness, had managed, somehow, to dial into a conference call.

— An excerpt from an incredibly depressing (but important) New York Times piece written by Eilene Zimmerman about her late ex-husband, Peter, a partner in the intellectual property group at Wilson Sonsini, and the trials and tribulations that lawyers who use and abuse drugs and alcohol go through on a daily basis as they try to find success in the legal profession.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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