Lawyers Drop F-Bombs?

By Benjy Lipsman in Miscellaneous on Aug 26, 2004 5:54PM

Well, at least he picked Chicagoist's favorite swear word as ammo! A Chicago lawyer has received worldwide notoriety for his foul mouthes tirade left on a colleague's voicemail at another law firm.

Winston & Strawn associate Ankur Gupta left this voicemail (.wav) for an associate in the New York office of Latham & Watkins for "apparently complaining about changes Mr. Gupta and his colleagues requested on a mortgage document." The voicemail got passed around, got posted on the internet and now Gupta's achieved worldwide infamy. New York Lawyer's article stated, "Forwarded to lawyers across the nation, the message has unleashed a firestorm of Internet message board commentary."

The message's recipient agreed the message had been blown out of proportion, noting that it was the product of a high-pressure situation on a tight deal. He said he meant to send it to a few colleagues within the firm and had not expected it to be forwarded relentlessly.

He even expressed sympaty for Gupta, and how this has cast him in a nagative light.

While some have been "seizing on the message as a symbol of declining civility within the profession," is this an outburst confined to the legal profession? Or does it say something about our society on a larger scale? Chicagoist seems to remeber a certain Vice President using similar language in dealing with a colleague as well. I mean, who doesn't like dropping a nice f-bomb every once in a while? Just don't do it on somebody's voicemail!