In September, Kirkland & Ellis partner Frederick Tanne sued his wife, her lover, and her father for giving him herpes. (We mentioned this lawsuit in passing in Morning Docket at the time of the complaint, and many of you complained about the item not getting its own post. Well, here you go!)

Tanne claimed to have discovered his wife’s infidelity when he found herpes-treatment medicine in their bathroom. According to the New York Post, Tanne got tested for herpes and “discovered he was infected with the incurable virus.” He sued his wife, accusing her of multiple extramarital affairs, and seeking compensation for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.

Mrs. Tanne’s dad is a doctor, and prescribed the herpes medication Valtrex to her. He denied his daughter had an affair. His explanation:

[Amy Tanne’s father, Samuel] Messing denied that his daughter was infected.

“My daughter does not have genital herpes,” he said. “This is pure nonsense. I prescribed Valtrex for a cold sore on her lip. She never had a cold sore until she married him.”

He also denied that his daughter ever had an affair.

“He just wants to make things difficult for my family,” Messing said.

The doctor may be a reliable expert witness. The embarrassing twist in the case, after the jump.

Technically Larry Hutchins is — or was — a mere magistrate, as opposed to a full-blown judge. But we think his alleged conduct entitles him to Judge of the Day. From the Greenville News (via the ABA Journal):

The South Carolina Supreme Court today reprimanded a retired Spartanburg magistrate after finding that he used a racial slur to refer to people a clerk might be dating and allegedly asked another clerk if she would be willing to have sex with another magistrate and secretly videotape it for use against him.

The court agreed with the Commission on Judicial Conduct’s findings and issued a reprimand for former Magistrate Larry M. Hutchins, who retired in 2004. The justices said Hutchins has repeatedly asked that his suspension or retirement be lifted.

That’s unlikely, in light of this:

According to the court, a former clerk of Hutchins testified that in May 2003 he asked her if it would be difficult to get a magistrate not identified in the ruling over to her apartment. “Respondent then asked her to ‘go all the way’ with the judge, to videotape it, and respondent mentioned the availability of small cameras,” the court wrote.

Secret videotaping? Perhaps to be expected from a Dunkin’ Donuts employee — or, in this day and age, the federal government — but not from a state-court judge.

The woman refused and reported the proposal to the chief magistrate, the court said.

Also, Hutchins allegedly called a clerk superviser [sic] and said that one of the clerks was dating black men, using a racial slur, according to the court.

He added, according to the court, that there was “no telling what we might catch using the same bathroom as her.”

Huh? And why would a male judge be using the same bathroom as a female clerk?

Justices reprimand retired Spartanburg magistrate [Greenville News]
Magistrate Reprimanded for Using Racial Slur, Seeking to Record Sexual Encounter [ABA Journal]

Last week, we reported on rumors of layoffs in the Atlanta and D.C. offices of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. The post has amassed over 400, um, informed comments.

The fact of layoffs has now been confirmed by the firm. Although Sutherland never responded to ATL’s inquiries, it did talk to Meredith Hobbs, who has this article in the Fulton County Daily Report. The number of firings was lower than rumored, with maybe 8 attorneys let go from the Atlanta office and maybe 7 from the D.C. office. (Managing partner Mark Wasserman uses a lot of modifiers: “fewer than,” “about,” etc.)

The legal tabloid AbovetheLaw.com sparked a firestorm of rumors when it reported Friday that Sutherland Asbill & Brennan was laying off 30 to 40 associates firmwide.

Sutherland’s managing partner, Mark D. Wasserman, acknowledged that the 480-lawyer firm has cut its associate ranks. But he said the firm has asked fewer than 15 associates to leave, with about eight associates affected in the Atlanta office.

Wasserman said the cuts were based on “several factors,” “including the slowing economy, plus associate and practice group performance.”

The firm says it still plans to bring in all of its summer associates and attorneys starting in the fall. But there’s this warning about the future from legal recruiter Melba Hughes:

“I think we’re going to see law firms tighten their belt throughout the region. It’s a natural course of events given the period we’ve just gone through,” she said.

That could mean law firms reduce head count through layoffs, attrition, more cautious hiring and “by looking for new and creative ways to manage their workloads,” said Hughes, which could mean using more contract and staff attorneys instead of partnership-track associates.

The firm did not comment on the herpes rumors.

In The Trenches: Sutherland trims associate ranks [Fulton County Daily Report]

Earlier: Nationwide Layoff Watch: Sutherland Asbill & Brennan

We’ve always had a great deal of affection for boozy chanteuse Liza Minnelli. Why? Check out this surprisingly eloquent squib from her Wikipedia bio:

Minnelli’s work in Cabaret molded her popular image, from the black helmet of hair and extravagant eyelashes that have remained her visual trademark to the perception among many that she shares Sally Bowles’s combination of fragility and toughness, her hunger for affection, and her heedless detachment from the ordinary.

This explains why Minnelli has such a large following among “friends of Judge Wardlaw.”

Indeed, some people suspect that Liza’s latest hubby, David Gest, might be among their number. And based on how ugly their divorce has gotten — MEOW!!! — it’s not an unreasonable theory.

David Gest, the estranged husband of Liza Minnelli, asked a judge to set aside his prenuptial agreement with the star, the latest development in their lengthy divorce battle.

Gest’s lawyers told State Supreme Court Judge Harold B. Beeler on Friday that Minnelli hid the fact that she was infected with herpes, was an alcoholic and prone to violence. Had Gest known, the lawyers argued, he never would have entered into the prenuptial agreement.

Minnelli’s lawyer, Israel Rubin, refused to comment on specific allegations. “This whole thing is ridiculous,” he said.

Minnelli claims that Gest is trying to “attack and embarrass her publicly” with these allegations. If so, it’s not working. With each new revelation, the diva only grows in our esteem.

Gest Wants Minnelli Prenup Dismissed [Associated Press]