'HIV-Positive, Former DC Biglaw Attorney, Washed Out, Now Living In Midwest'

He's putting his life back together, 'optimistic despite it all,' and willing to share his wisdom with others.

onJuly 24, 2017 at 6:42 PMJuly 25, 2017 at 1:13 PM

Basically, I grew up privileged, I had it all, was a really good lawyer until I burned out, and then I squandered it all, and THEN I got the HIV, and it was hard, and I’m stronger for it, but my life is very different now….

— An anonymous Biglaw alum, in an insightful and moving ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) posted on Reddit over the weekend. He’s ‘putting [his] life back together,’ ‘optimistic despite it all,’ and willing to share his hard-earned wisdom with lawyers and law students struggling with depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS — all challenges he has confronted over the years.

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From LexisNexis

David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.