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A former employee of the global law firm has withdrawn legal action over explosive allegations that his supervisor stripped him naked and took photographs of him while he lay unconscious at a firm retreat.
The former White & Case employee who launched legal action over explosive allegations of workplace misconduct, humiliation and retaliation at the highest levels of the firm has withdrawn his claims.
First heard in the Bronx County Supreme Court on 25 March 2026, the case was brought by a digital production specialist who accused the global law firm of becoming “a breeding ground for misconduct, sexual harassment, and the degradation of minority employees”.
Referred to in court documents as “John Doe”, the former employee alleged that during a firm retreat, he was stripped naked and photographed by his supervisor while unconscious, before enduring what he claimed were years of ridicule and retaliation from colleagues.
According to the complaint, the alleged incident unfolded one evening in February 2023 while Doe was attending a White & Case retreat in Palm Springs, California.
Court documents allege Doe became “unconscious” and was escorted to a hotel room by his supervisor, referred to as “John Doe Manager”, and other employees, with text messages from a White & Case employee confirming he was “throwing up” and “completely white and not responding”.
Once in the hotel room, it is alleged that while Doe was unconscious, the manager, and “potentially other colleagues”, removed his clothes, leaving him “stripped naked”, and photographed his body without consent.
According to the complaint, what followed was a deeply humiliating ordeal, as Doe remained unaware that the images existed or had been circulating among firm employees and managers for “nearly three years”.
The alleged misconduct only came to light in January 2026, when, at a White & Case event in a London bar, a colleague allegedly showed Doe the photos on his phone, grabbed his neck, and, while touching his genitals, told him, “If I were gay … I would be proud of it.”
Returning to the firm still “disgusted and shocked”, Doe alleged that the colleague was showing the photo to another employee, “laughing together”, mocking him about the “size of his anatomy”, and even making comments that he had a “micropenis”.
At the outset of the proceedings, John Doe sought sweeping remedies, including compensatory and punitive damages, the removal of the images from all White & Case devices, and an order requiring the firm to implement comprehensive harassment and discrimination training.
However, the case came to an abrupt end on 25 June after the former employee agreed to discontinue the proceedings, with lawyers for both parties filing a notice of discontinuance with the court.
The notice said: “This action shall be discontinued with prejudice, with each party to bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs, and this stipulation may be filed with the clerk of the court without further notice.”
When the allegations first emerged, a spokesperson for White & Case told Lawyers Weekly that the firm considered the claims to be “baseless” and intended to defend them “vigorously”.
“We’re aware of this matter, and while we take all such allegations seriously, these claims are baseless, and we intend to defend them vigorously through the appropriate process. White & Case is committed to maintaining a professional, respectful, and inclusive workplace, and we have robust policies and procedures in place to support the high standards we have for our people and our firm,” it said.
