US law firm leader finds himself at the centre of a Christian 'sexting' storm? It was inevitable that the press would pounce on the undoing of Latham & Watkins' chairman Bill Voge. But London privacy lawyers suggest the UK media may not have been able to hit publish on the story if it had happened here, rather than the US.

For while the incident has caused a scandal, and his personal behaviour is morally questionable, Voge does not appear to have committed any crime.

From what is known so far, it appears that he merely embarked on a messy – and inappropriate – personal relationship with a woman he never met, had no connection to Latham, and who he contacted through his membership of men's Christian support group the New Canaan Society.

As such, according to privacy lawyers, under UK law he could have sought an injunction to prevent the press from publishing the information.

Charles Russell Speechlys litigation consultant and privacy specialist Duncan Lamont says: "UK law says private sexual activity – no matter if unusual – should be private, unless you are something like a public figure unexpectedly dressed as a Nazi screaming 'Heil Hitler'.

"Bill Voge could have stopped this becoming public in England, because it seems there is not sufficient public interest. If he heard that she was going to go public in the UK with details of the communications between them – sex texts as an example – he could seek an injunction. People have the right to have private relationships and the right to make mistakes without public exposure."

Nigel Tait, managing partner and defamation and media law head at Carter-Ruck, agrees, adding: "We have a law of privacy and generally there is no public interest in the publication of a person's sex life, so it is likely that the law would tend to protect such disclosure to, or by the press."

The same may not be true in the US though, where Law360, which uncovered the scandal, wrote in detail about the affair.

Law360′s report says that Voge contacted the woman to help her engage in "Christian reconciliation" with another member of the New Canaan Society, with communications then becoming sexual, although they never met in person. It states that although the relationship was initially consensual, the woman felt Voge "took things too far" by trying to get her to come to his hotel room.

Once the relationship faltered, Law360 said the woman contacted Voge's lawyer, partners at Latham, lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis and Voge's family. In a conversation with Law360, Voge reportedly described her as a "cyberstalker".

Regardless of what UK law allows, others argue that it would have been riskier for Latham or Voge to go down the injunction route, as it could have resulted in more reputational damage in the long term.

Addleshaw Goddard litigation partner David Engel says: "If the outcome is uncertain, applying for a privacy injunction is high risk from a reputational perspective because, if it fails, it then becomes a story about a cover-up or an attempt to gag the press."

In the case of Latham, where Voge made a series of voluntary disclosures to the firm's executive committee before the story broke, partners suggest the firm has minimised reputational damage by allowing Voge to take the hit personally.

One former FTSE 100 GC comments: "If we were this week or next looking to appoint a firm for a big refinancing pitch or some big high-profile piece of work, would we want Latham? Probably not. But today's news is fish-and-chip paper tomorrow, and it would likely not make too much of a difference down the line."

One UK managing partner adds: "This is one of the world's largest law firms by revenue, and that's newsworthy. It will always draw headlines across the sector. They've done what they can and should do, and they've sent a very clear message that they have a zero tolerance policy."

For Voge though, the impact of the scandal is unlikely to be so shortlived and he looks set to pay a high personal and professional price for his "lapse in judgement".

It is behaviour that is at odds with what many know of him. One former Latham partner recalls Voge as a "no mistakes" guy. "The fact that this has happened to him came as a surprise. I didn't see him as an impulsive guy – he was very self-controlled," he concludes.