HIV-positive lawyer explains case

Scott Burr, the HIV-positive lawyer who sued a prominent Philadelphia law firm for discrimination said he is hailed as a hero by strangers on the street. "'Man you got balls'," he recounted the construction worker saying. "'I hope they get a cure for the disease.' "When I first was diagnosed with the disease I felt like I wanted to hide from the world," Burr said. "People have embraced me, instead of rejecting me." In a case that seemed to closely mirror the movie Philadelphia, Burr sued the Kohn, Nast and Graf law firm because he alleged they had fired him because he was infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The law firm claimed Burr was fired because he was not a competent attorney. After three weeks of the trial, the law firm settled with Burr for an undisclosed sum. Insiders speculate the the amount was more than $1 million. "The settlement was on a magnitude to punish them for what they did," he said. Burr's trial against the law firm was the first HIV employment discrimination case to go to trial under the Americans with Disabilities Act. At the end of what he described as a dramatic trial, jurors came up to him and hugged and kissed him, congratulated him, and wished him luck. Burr added that he thinks people have really taken to him because they can associate a face with the AIDS virus. Burr, who had always been known as John Doe and Scott Doe before and during the trial, said he decided to give his real last name to a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter after the trial ended because he was "out of the shadows and in the light." "People stand in the shadows essentially," he said. "They're silent and they stand in the shadows. They're afraid to speak and they stand in the darkness. "There's been this evolution of me standing quietly in the shadows when I didn't want to bring the lawsuit," he added. "The public has this fascination about my anonymity rather than full disclosure which I think has not been covered in the movie Philadelphia." Burr said he knows he was infected with HIV through unprotected sex. He recalled that on Labor Day some years ago he had unprotected sex with his "trusted" partner. "I never thought when I was having sex," Burr said. "I knew about AIDS. But?you think you're with somebody that you care about and you can trust. "I did not get the slightest clue from him that he was HIV positive," he added. "No matter who it is and what they say, you can't trust anybody when it comes to your life." Although Burr settled the case before it went before a jury, the case sets an important legal precedent in HIV discrimination. A summary judgement made before the case ruled that a person infected with HIV is protected under the ADA. Burr said he hopes to continue to educate the public about HIV discrimination. He is writing a book about his experiences. But Burr said all the publicity is a double-edged sword. "When I stop giving interviews I can get on with my life and get back to the practice of law," he said. "I can put this whole experience behind me. But at the same time I want to continue to speak out openly about what happened to me so I can help other people so it doesn't happen to them." Although Burr does not expect sympathy from people, he said he wants to be treated like everyone else.

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