Biglaw, Technology

Which Biglaw Firm Has Blocked Personal Email?

Which firm is banning personal email at work? Hint: it's a bit of a trick question.

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Actually, I feel a little bad about the title here. See, it’s a bit of a trick question — we’ve received tips that not one, not two, but three different Biglaw behemoths have recently made moves to block all personal, web-based email, such as Gmail, AOL (is that still a thing? I think it’s a thing.), Yahoo!, Hotmail, etc. from computers on the firms’ networks. And before you start basking in the glow of schadenfreude, remember your firm could be next on the list — three makes a trend (or four, if you count King & Spalding’s earlier move).

So which firms are looking to cut their employees’ digital cords?

  • Mayer Brown
  • Latham & Watkins
  • WilmerHale

Though we only have Mayer Brown’s reasons for doing so (thank you, tipsters!), we can guess that the other firms have similar rationales (we reached out to all of the implicated firms for comment and did not immediately receive responses). Here is why Mayer is making the move, according to the firm-wide email about the new policy:

One of the repeated demands by our clients is that we prevent our users from accessing Webmail programs (Gmail, AOL, Yahoo, Comcast…) through our network.

In general, there are two reasons for that insistence. First, accessing Webmail programs through our network enables client and firm data to leave the Firm without tracking. Second, Webmail programs can be the vehicle for the introduction of malware into the Firm’s network. This is not a hypothetical risk: our IT team reports that that has occurred in the Mayer Brown network.

Well, yes. Computer viruses are bad, but some basic online education should shore up that hole. And if a firm is worried about client and/or firm information leaving the sanctity of firm servers, Snowden taught us all if someone wants the information out there, they’ll get it out. Which brings me to my next point… As a PSA I’ll note there are many ways readers can send us tips, even if your email is blocked. You can use this form or email us from your personal smartphone at tips@abovethelaw.com or send an SMS/text message to (646) 820-8477. As always, we keep all tipsters’ names strictly confidential.

And if the fact we are writing about this isn’t proof enough, people are pisssssssed about this turn of events:

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[I]t’s hard to imagine a more obvious way to alienate the prototypical millennial hire… We spend obscene money entertaining summer associates, then undo all that goodwill by subjecting them to internet content filters which my summer mentee said made her feel “like a secretary or something.” Meaning, I suppose, a low-level white collar drone nobody respects.

Damn.

If all this sounds like folks bitching about a minor inconvenience, well, there is more to it than that. I know something about this phenomenon — my last job blocked all personal email. When it first happened I felt cut off from civilization, I couldn’t chime in when making plans with folks, and my responses to large email chains or group chats were hopelessly untimely. Then there is the paternal vibe that comes from the move and the distinct impression that despite being a professional you are treated like an unruly child. In short, it sucks.

But for those for whom this is the new reality, chin up, there are coping strategies. Mobile technology is improving way faster than a firm can hope to keep up. So maybe bring in a tablet and connect to the Starbucks WiFi (though I’ll note the Mayer Brown policy explicitly allows for mobile devices connected to the firm’s WiFi to access personal email). And remember to keep your phone — and charger — close (the Google Hangouts app is money), I found myself spending way more time looking down at my phone than before my workplace got all Stalingrad.

Are there other Biglaw firms that are “no personal email” zones? Feel free to kvetch in the comments or send us a tip.

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UPDATE (6/04/15, 2:11 p.m.): We’ve now gotten a bit more color on Latham’s policy, from a tipster:

[Webmail] has been disabled for all our “normal” browsers, but we have been given a new, limited functionality “External Webmail Browser” by which we can access gmail/personal email accounts and external instant messaging services. Our reasons were also driven by client security demands.

(Read Mayer Brown’s full email regarding Webmail programs on the next page.)

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