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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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 [email protected].