Roll on Friday..again!
An IT worker at White & Case claims his colleagues stripped him naked and photographed him while he was unconscious, then shared the images and mocked him for having a micropenis.
The employee has sued the firm in the Bronx Supreme Court in New York. Understandably in the circumstances, he has brought his lawsuit anonymously. The firm has described his claims as “baseless”.
‘John Doe’, a Hispanic immigrant from the Dominican Republic, alleges that members of his team made fun of him when he was “in very bad shape” and “throwing up” at a firm retreat in Palm Springs in 2023.
According to Doe’s claim, his manager laughed at him with a colleague before taking him to a room at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Golf Resort. He alleges that while he was unconscious, “Caucasian employees and managers of White & Case” took off his clothes “leaving him completely naked and vulnerable” and “took unauthorized photographs”.
Doe alleges that he was unaware of the photoshoot until January 2026 when he was at the BrewDog bar in Waterloo with colleagues from the firm’s London IT team, and one of them showed him a photo on his phone.
Doe “immediately” recognised it was him due to the “positioning of an ingrown hair”, the hotel bath towel in the background “and other indications”, he said.
According to Doe’s claim, the London colleague “grabbed Plaintiff around the neck” and “made a comment insinuating that Plaintiff is gay”, stating “If I were gay… I would be proud of it”, then began “grabbing at Plaintiff’s penis”.
Doe said his alleged bully then “pushed his phone” into Doe’s face and “ridiculed” him about the size of his anatomy, “specifically making comments about Plaintiff having a ‘Micropenis’”, which included taunting, “Look at you and your micropenis”.
Doe’s claim states that having a micropenis is a “documented and serious medical condition”.
The London colleague made other “disparaging remarks in an effort to humiliate, harass, and bully him”, and showed the offending photo to another “laughing” employee, alleges Doe.
He alerted White & Case immediately and the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, Ian Perrera, came to the bar that night and told Doe’s alleged bully “to go home”, according to his claim.
White & Case then conducted an internal investigation, but Doe says it was insufficient and the firm should have hired external investigators.
He said the firm also fell short because it had not “hired forensic experts to sufficiently secure the photographs saved and/or shared by all White & Case employees”.
“By refusing to conduct full phone forensics on all staff, the firm has failed to mitigate the harm and/or perceived harm and is furthering the abuse that Plaintiff has suffered”, his claim states.
Doe alleges that he has suffered “severe physical, psychological, and professional harm” as a result of the episode and took unpaid leave as he battled PTSD.
He is suing for compensatory damages and declarations that the firm subjected him to a hostile work environment and gender discrimination.
He also expects the firm to collect up the devices of its approximately 8,000 staff and comb through them for his nudes, to ensure “the removal of the intimate image(s) from all White & Case phones and devices used by IT partners, managers and staff”.
A White & Case spokesperson told RollOnFriday, “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”.
