Buzzing around the internet today is a ridiculous study from the Chicago Sun Times:

A new survey found that about 35 percent of professionals would pick their PDAs over their spouses if they had to choose.

A surprising 87 percent take their personal digital assistants into their bedrooms, and 84 percent check them just before going to bed and as soon as they wake up, according to a work-life survey from Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. Another 85 percent say they look at their PDAs in the middle of the night.

Sounds to me like 35 percent of professionals do not fully understand the ramifications of losing half their stuff.

But what's worse is that many readers have emailed the story to ATL contending that the numbers for professionals "in the law" would be much, much higher.

Let's settle this after the jump.

Bloggers tend to be so hyper-connected that being away from Internet service for more than two hours can feel like an eternity. Due to the numerous e-mails flying around law firms, and the expectation of rapid response, lawyers tend to have a similar connectivity addiction. The Blackberry is the sweet, sweet drug that feeds the need.

We know how dedicated you all are to your Blackberries. What if you were forced to give it up in order to really go on vacation and get away from the firm?

UK-based Linklaters is doing just that, reports Law People.

Linklaters is reported having decreed, in a fit of concern for work/life balance, that lawyers leave their Blackberrys at home while on holiday (vacation to us).The order is designed to insulate associates, in particular, from the relentless rat race for a few sweet weeks a year, according to management. "Sometimes it's the small things that count," one partner averred. While another lawyer confessed that "I feel naked without my Blackberry and there are times when you just have to be reachable." Whether the firm is successful in enforcing this edict is not yet clear.

We think this will just result in compounding of guilt, as attorneys feel the shame of obsessively checking their Blackberries while "on holiday," and the need to hide the illicit Blackberry checking from the firm. What do you think about the policy?

Two pieces of good news from Winston & Strawn. First, like many other leading law firms, they've raised their maternity leave to 18 weeks (from 12 weeks). To see where your firm stands, check out our maternity leave table, continuously updated by surveys guru Justin Bernold.

Second, for all of you iPhone-atics out there:

You guys might be interested in this little tidbit. Beginning August 1st (provided there are no issues with compatibility or supply), Winston & Strawn will include the iPhone as part of its supported mobile devices. Last summer, Winston announced it would start purchasing BlackBerry devices for attorneys on a 2 year replacement cycle (prior to that time, attorneys were required to purchase their own devices but the firm reimbursed for data charges).

As noted in the announcement below, the Apple iPhone will now be among the supported devices, and the firm is even willing to purchase it for eligible attorneys (i.e., if you are not subject to a 2 year contract). For those attorneys who want the 16GB model, the firm will pay the first $200 (representing the cost for the 8GB model) and charge back the $100 additional cost to the attorney's personal account.

Check out the full announcement -- plus a handy chart comparing the iPhone with the Blackberry 8100, Blackberry 8800, and Blackberry 8830 -- after the jump.

Last week's post about Biglaw and iPhones got us thinking about another device that lawyers love (and love to hate): the Blackberry.

Ah, Blackberries: Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. The little devices liberate you, allowing you to leave the office while remaining in touch with work. For example, if you work in midtown Manhattan, and if you're having a slow day -- or week, or month (take our survey on slowness) -- you can step out for a quick visit to the MoMA, or get some holiday shopping done on Fifth Avenue. If you're needed, the Bberry will vibrate, and you can be back in your office within minutes (i.e., in less time than it takes for that septuagenarian partner to return from his newspaper-reading bathroom break).

But Blackberries aren't a total blessing. They make it that much harder to truly leave the office behind. People check them at the dinner table, or during their kid's school play. You'd also be surprised by the number of exotic vacation destinations that have strong, consistent Blackberry reception.

This got us thinking: What are some of the strangest places and/or situations that you have sent and/or received Blackberry messages from? Here are three real-life examples we've heard about:

1. An associate has all four of his wisdom teeth removed (in a single procedure, to obviate the need for multiple, time-consuming visits). Minutes after the painful procedure is over -- before the anesthesia has even worn off, and while still seated in the dentist's chair -- he's shooting off emails to paralegals about binders.

2. An associate gets married. He and his wife jet off to a tropical locale for their honeymoon. He takes his Blackberry with him, then proceeds to send dozens of messages from the beach. (Hopefully he didn't get sand in the device -- or take the Blackberry into the honeymoon bed.)

3. A partner goes out on maternity leave. Half an hour after popping out her baby, ensconced in her comfy, adjustable hospital bed, she sends out a slew of work-related emails to her beleaguered associates.

Do you have a tale to tell about Blackberrying from an unusual destination, or under extraordinary circumstances? If so, please share it, in the comments.

As bloggers, internet addiction is a job requirement, but we hear it's a bad thing for "normal people." We've noticed quite a few articles recently on cell phone addiction and Web abuse. We think lawyers more than most may be prone to technological addictions, due to their nifty firm-supplied tech toys, many billable hours spent in front of computers, and the ever-present blackberry/crackberry.

Wired reports that one influential psychiatrist has proposed adding internet addiction to the manual of mental disorders:

In the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, Jerald Block proposed that Web abuse be added to his field's bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Block cites research from South Korea, where, he says, the affliction is considered a serious public health problem, and the government estimates that 168,000 children may require psychotropic medications. In China, the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital puts the number of teenage pathological computer users at 10 million.

Like other addicts, users reportedly experience cravings (for better software, faster machines), withdrawal (logging off may cause irritability), a loss of sense of time (wee-hour fixes), and negative social repercussions (it's so much easier to date an avatar).

Check. Check. Check. No check -- our social life is just fine, thank you.

There are your warning signs for internet addiction, so look out! We wonder if carrying a PDA is the equivalent of chewing nicotine gum.... More discussion of addictions and how the love of the iPhone can lead to robbery at gunpoint, after the jump.

We've blogged before about the danger of Blackberry addiction. However, the latest research linking cell phone use with brain cancer risk is much scarier than Blackberry orphans.

We first started worrying about cell phone radiation at the ending of the film Thank You For Smoking. It was easy to dismiss a Hollywood quip, but it's harder to ignore a news report on an award-winning expert on cancer research:

Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation.

The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks.

It draws on growing evidence – exclusively reported in the IoS in October – that using handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop, invalidating official safety assurances based on earlier studies which included few, if any, people who had used the phones for that long.

The article goes on to cite a dismissal of the doctor's work by the "Mobile Operators Association." Given that the MOA's members include T-Mobile and Vodafone, we're not exactly reassured.

Is the fear of brain cancer enough to make us stop using our cellphones and Blackberries? Probably not. We know french fries likely cause cancer, but we can't give those up either. We are warming to the idea of a phone headset, though.

Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking' [The Independent via Drudge]

Despite the recent turmoil in the economy and the stock market, all appears to be well at Milbank Tweed Hadley McCloy. A tipster provided us with the highlights of chairman Mel Immergut's "State of the Firm" address from last week:

1. Primary caregiver leave is now 18 weeks paid.

2. Blackberries will get replaced every two years instead of three.

3. "We're not getting fired."

It appears that Milbank has effectively made a "no layoffs" promise. It learned that lesson the hard way:

Mel stressed that in the last downturn, they had slowed hiring, and then found themselves at a loss for mid-level associates when things picked up later. So the plan is to continue to hire new people (our summer program is the largest to date at 100+) and retain, but not really hire laterals.

Will other firms make a similar pledge? We'll see.

Here's some news that must have had many lawyers tearing out their hair (or what's left of it). From the AP:

A major service outage afflicted users of the popular, addictive BlackBerry smart phones across the United States and Canada on Monday. Officials with AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless said BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. told them customers of all wireless carriers were affected....

Garth Turner, a member of the Canadian Parliament, said during a caucus meeting that the incident -- the second widespread disruption in 10 months -- was having a big impact.

"Everyone's in crisis because they're all picking away at their BlackBerrys and nothing's happening," Turner said. "It's almost like cutting the phone cables or a total collapse in telegraph lines a century ago. It just isolates people in a way that's quite phenomenal."

When the Canadian Parliament grinds to a halt, you know the situation is grave.

So how were you affected by the BlackBerry outage? Were you forced to stay in the office due to an inability to receive wireless email? Did a crucial email message fall through the cracks? Did you suffer from delirium tremens, a well-known symptom of CrackBerry withdrawal?

Feel free to vent, in the comments.

BlackBerry Service Out in N. America [Associated Press]
RIM reports "critical" BlackBerry outage [Reuters]

The firm of Dewey Ballantine was never known for being particularly PC. From a 2004 article by Anthony Lin, for the New York Law Journal:

Nearly one year after lawyers at Dewey Ballantine infuriated members of the Asian-American community by performing a stereotype-laden parody song at their annual dinner, the law firm is again dealing with allegations of racial insensitivity....

On Monday, an employee sent a firmwide e-mail advertising the availability of some puppies for adoption. Douglas Getter, a London-based American who heads Dewey Ballantine's European mergers and acquisitions practice then sent a firmwide reply.

"Please don't let these puppies go to a Chinese restaurant!" Getter wrote in his e-mail.

Now Dewey has merged with LeBoeuf Lamb. Happily, it appears their firm cultures are a good match. Check out this email exchange appearing below -- and note that partner Stephen Best came from the LeBoeuf Lamb side of the marriage.

From: Ralph C. Ferrara
To: DL All Attorneys - US
Cc: Ferrara, Ralph C.
Sent: Mon Dec 17 11:00:29 2007
Subject: German Translation - Completed

Dear All,

Thank you for your many quick responses [to a request for translation of a German document]. The translation has been completed.

Regards, Ralph
______________

From: Stephen A. Best
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 11:02 AM
To: Ferrara, Ralph C.; DL All Attorneys - US
Subject: Re: German Translation - Completed

Zieg Heil!!!!!!

Sent from my Blackberry Wireless Handheld

Oh, the perils of Blackberrying! If you respond to a firm-wide email on your Blackberry, be EXTRA careful about not hitting "reply all" (unless that is truly your intention).

Of course, the "Zieg Heil" response would have been inappropriate even if sent to a smaller group of recipients. As noted by Wikipedia, uttering the phrase "Sieg Heil" in Germany is "a criminal offence punishable by up to three years of prison."

Two emails of profuse apology, issued within an hour of the offending message, after the jump.

Recently submitted to Fortune magazine by "Bored in BlackBerryLand":

I am a recent law-school graduate and, though I'm not yet working at a law firm, I have friends who are. I understand that things in international firms happen 24/7, 365 days a year, and I want to be as supportive of my friends' careers as I expect them to be of mine.

My question is, to what degree in social settings, on a regular basis, should friends be checking their BlackBerries, and at what point should I say something? What's rude and what's truly necessary?

So, readers, whaddya think? Check out what the expert had to say, express yourselves in the comments, and take our poll -- after the jump.

* Let's just steal Drudge's tagline: "JUDGE: PLAME HAS NO GAME." [Washington Post; Associated Press]

(But she does bear an uncanny resemblance to Patricia Wettig, who plays Holly Harper on Brothers and Sisters. See photos at right.)

* A lawsuit against Hillary's pollster, Mark Penn, has been dropped. [AP]

(Watch out: your employer might be reading your Blackberry messages.)

* Lots of lawyers among the D.C. Madam's clientele. [CNN]

("[B]ut of course in Washington it sometimes feels like everyone is a lawyer.")

* Escalation in the battle over executive privilege. [Washington Post]

(Bush Administration to Congress: "You wanna prosecute us for contempt? You and what prosecutor?")

Hi, Billy Merck here once again, hosting through the end of the week so that Lat can take another brief vacation. No intro post this time; check here or here if you don't know who we are. But enough of that, let's get right to it.

The Wall Street Journal has this article about the extremely high demand from employees for and the equally strong reticence on the part of businesses, including of course large law firms, to give access to corporate email services on the soon to be released Apple iPhone. From the article:

While millions of consumers are eagerly anticipating Apple Inc.'s launch of its iPhone next week, Bill Caraher is bracing for the worst.

Mr. Caraher, technology director of von Briesen & Roper, a Milwaukee law firm, says he is being besieged by inquiries from employees wondering whether the office's email system can be used with the device.

His answer, at least initially, has been no. The main problem is that the iPhone can't send and receive email through the company's corporate BlackBerry email servers. He says he is unwilling to look into workarounds, because they might compromise the company's security. "It's another hole in the system people can exploit," he says.

Despite concerns about opening up email systems, Apple is apparently pushing to grab some crackberry market share:

All this may change later this month when Apple plans to unveil the iPhone. According to a person close to Apple, the company is expected to fight for this market, currently dominated by players like BlackBerry's RIM, Palm Inc. and, increasingly, Nokia Corp. and Motorola. If Apple comes up with an acceptable strategy for integrating with business software systems, many companies might change their tunes.

At least one law firm is open to the idea:

Other businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP of New York has been getting hit with a range of iPhone inquiries, according to spokeswoman Claudia Freeman. The law firm may try to support the device once it is launched, she says.

So we have three questions we'd like to throw out there to open up discussion:

1) Will law firms open up their email systems to the iPhone?
2) If they do, will the iPhone grab a substantial chunk of the crackberry market?
3) Will whether a firm integrates the iPhone into email services become a factor in the compensation wars?

* "Crackberry" is used in the context of this post to refer to any device similar in function to a Blackberry, and is not limited to the Blackberry.

Are you a Biglaw associate who left the office early last night, relying upon your trusty Blackberry to keep you posted about what was going on back at work? If so, your reliance was misplaced. From the NYT:

Technical problems at Research in Motion cut off wireless e-mail service to millions of users of its BlackBerry hand-held devices in the United States for more than 10 hours overnight.

Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T Wireless, which has the largest BlackBerry customer base in the world, said the service was lost to all carriers in the United States around 8 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday. RIM told AT&T Wireless that the problem that caused the shutdown was resolved by 6 a.m. Eastern time today. However, he said that the enormous backlog of e-mail messages that must now be processed would continue to delay or disrupt service for some users.

So if you were out to dinner with friends last night, with a non-buzzing Blackberry, and thought "this is too good to be true," guess what? You were right.

Now get back to work...

Blackberry Blackout: A Personal Story [DealBreaker]
Service Problems for BlackBerry System [New York Times]
Massive System Failure Affects BlackBerry Users [WNBC]

In the past week or so, the romantic exploits (and misadventures) of lawyers and law students have been in the news. Here are a few noteworthy links:

1. 'ABORT' SHOCK IN GIANT DIVORCE [New York Post]

Football star Amani Toomer (at right), a wide receiver for the Giants, is divorcing his wife, Dr. Yola Dabrowski. The parties' divorce filings are full of salacious allegations, but here's what jumped out at us:

Dabrowski's papers complain that Toomer: ... * Sabotaged her dream of becoming a lawyer by stealing her computer and files, making it impossible to study for her law-school exams and leading to her getting an incomplete for the term.

If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, the way to a law student's heart -- or the way to break her heart, as the case may be -- is through her papers.

Another allegation:

[W]hen she didn't want to have sex, Toomer acted "irrationally and outrageously" - once urinating on her clothes, and another time tossing her BlackBerry into the Hudson River.

Destroying your spouse's Blackberry? Now you've thrown down the gauntlet. If The War of the Roses were updated for 2007, there would surely be a scene of Blackberry destruction.

2. Date Lab [Washington Post]

"Date Lab," in which the Post sets up two people on a blind date and then writes it up, is one of our favorite guilty pleasures. This recent date, involving Pillsbury Winthrop associate Damon Colbert (at right), actually went fairly well. (The column is more fun when the dates are disasters.)

But the WaPo reader comments -- "the two shallowest people in all of Creation," "this Date Lab made me unbearably sad" -- are kinda vicious. And we thought ATL commenters were harsh....

3. Page Six: Ready To Wed [New York Post]
Gillian Hearst Engaged! [Socialite Rank]

From Page Six:

LOVE is in the air for Hearst heir Gillian Hearst-Shaw and her yearlong boyfriend, Christian Simonds. Sources say the gorgeous brunette socialite and philanthropist was proposed to with "a blindingly huge diamond engagement ring" from Simonds. Her hubby-to-be, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, popped the question last weekend, following a romantic sleigh ride for two in the Berkshires. Mazel tov!

Page Six doesn't identify his firm, but as Socialite Rank points out, Christian Simonds is an associate in the New York office of Lowenstein Sandler. Next time you make a disparaging remark about the New York office of a New Jersey law firm, ask yourself: "If my firm is so much better, then why am I not marrying a beautiful media heiress?"

4. Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel [New York Times]

Happy Anniversary to Wendi Adelson and fellow legal blogger Dan Markel, of PrawfsBlawg fame!

Fred Fielding, the incoming White House counsel, did pretty well for himself when the Blackberry litigation was settled. His firm, Wiley Rein & Fielding, represented NTP, the patent holding company that won a $612.5 million settlement from Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry. Wiley Rein took the case on a contingency-fee basis. Ka-ching!

But some people did even better than Fielding -- like Donald Stout (at right), patent lawyer to the late inventor, Thomas Campana. Here's an explanation of how the Blackberry spoils were divvied up:

Biggest single winner was Joletta Campana, widowed second wife and former secretary of patent-holder Thomas Campana Jr., who received one-third [of the $612.5 million,] or about $200 million. Wiley, Rein & Fielding also received $200 million, a huge sum given that in 2004 the Washington, D.C. firm’s two hundred and fifty lawyers generated about $140 million in total revenue. The final $200 million was shared by Donald Stout and some colleagues at his Alexandria-based law firm.

So how did Donald Stout spend his windfall? On real estate, of course. From Washingtonian magazine, via Wonkette, here's an account of "The Stouthouse":

Lawyer Donald Stout put up $6.8 million for a 15,000 square-foot Georgian on more than four acres near the Madeira School in Great Falls, VA — this after his Arlington patent-holding firm won a settlement against the makers of BlackBerry and earned him $177 million. HGTV’s Dream Builders featured the six-bedroom, ten-bath house in a segment taped before the sale.

Here are some photographs (Zillow on the left, Google Maps on the right):

WOW. This place makes the Feldsuk house look like a law school dorm. At a Tier 4 school.

For those of you who share our obsession with high-end real estate, there's more discussion of The Stouthouse, plus links, after the jump.

A 12-step program for Blackberry addicts strikes us as an exercise in futility. When we worked at a law firm, we took our Blackberry with us everywhere. Once we Blackberried a paralegal from the dentist's chair -- while waiting for the anesthesia to wear off, after having four wisdom teeth removed.

In fact, establishing "Blackberry-free" time periods could end up getting you in trouble. Under certain circumstances, it might constitute malpractice. We agree with commenter Willie:

This all sounds swell in theory, but until clients agree to obey the same rules, it will be difficult to observe these common sensical boundaries.

As for the so-called "BlackBerry orphans," kids who feel neglected by their Blackberry-obsessed parents, the solution is simple. Follow Arianna Huffington's example: get your child a Blackberry of her own. Then she'll spend all her time emailing with her friends, instead of bothering you while you're trying to get work done.

It's never too early to give your kid a Blackberry. Even babies can appreciate them:

BlackBerry Orphans [Wall Street Journal]
BlackBerry Addicts: A 12-Step Program [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: Law Firm Associates: How Not To Deal with the Late-Night Munchies

During the long-running patent litigation between NTP and Research in Motion, Blackberry uses periodically had to confront the possibility of having their happily vibrating devices rendered useless. Such an apocalyptic scenario was averted when RIM settled with NTP -- for the handsome sum of $612.5 million (of which $200 million wound up in the coffers of D.C. powerhouse firm Wiley, Rein & Fielding).

Now it's time for users of another wireless email device to get stress-induced acne breakouts. From the New York Post:

NTP, the tiny Richmond, Va.-based patent-holding company, is setting its sights on industry giant Palm for [patent infringement].

NTP's lawsuit against the maker of the popular Treo smart phones raises the specter of a prolonged legal battle similar to the one that kept millions of BlackBerry users on tenterhooks as they awaited a federal judge's ruling on whether they could continue using their cherished mobile e-mail devices.

Palm reportedly has $500 million in cash lying around, so they should be able to pay a sizable settlement -- or defend the lawsuit vigorously.

But maybe they can also set up a little legal defense fund. Treo-toting celebs like Lindsay Lohan will probably be more than happy to chip in, to preserve their uninterrupted access to good vibrations.

(Speaking of email troubles, we're still having some of our own. See here.)

NPT Now Schemes for Palm [New York Post]

Last Friday, at the Annual American Cinematheque Awards ceremony (honoring George Clooney), scandal-prone starlet Linday Lohan was slapped with a subpoena. And it happened on the red carpet.

Was Lindsay being haled into court for her hideous keyhole-front halter gown, made of restored 14th-century chain mail, and trimmed with packaging twine? Actually, no.

Lindsay was being served with a subpoena to appear as a witness in a case involving her mother, Dina Lohan, who is being sued for breach of contract by two music producers and managers. TMZ.com reports:

It all started after the actress was approached by a woman who Lindsay assumed was an autograph seeker on her way out of the event. Lindsay said to the woman "You're my first autograph!" to which the woman promptly answered "You've been served." According to witnesses, Lindsay then dropped the paperwork and chased after the process server. No word on whether she caught up to the process server.

We're wondering two things. First, what kind of shoes was Lindsay wearing? Second, why did she run after the process server? Was she hoping to return the subpoena to her?

If so, it was misguided thinking on Lindsay's part. Service of process is governed by the same rule as the second-grade playground: "No backsies."

P.S. As you can see from the photo, Lindsay Lohan is just like a Biglaw attorney -- she never leaves home without her Blackberry. [Ed. note: Or is that a Treo? See the comments. We haven't had a Blackberry in years (which is both a good and bad thing).]

Lindsay: You Got Served [TMZ.com]
Lindsay Gets Served! A Shocking Red Carpet Summons!!! [PerezHilton.com]
Lindsay Lohan Served With a Subpoena — On the Red Carpet! [WSJ Law Blog]

"No," Daddy tried to explain, "it's not THAT kind of blackberry…"

Photograph provided courtesy of a former Wachtell Lipton colleague of ours, Scott L. Black (whom we identify here with his permission; our default rule is anonymity for tipsters). Meet the absolutely adorable Shoshana Black, daughter of Scott and Marnie Black, a high-powered exec at MTV.

You may recall Scott Black from this recent Fortune magazine piece on the David Pajcin / Gene Plotkin insider trading scandal, which we highlighted in a previous post. Black, senior trial counsel at the SEC, nailed Pajcin in deposition questioning. Pajcin pleaded guilty to criminal charges and is now assisting the government with its investigation.

Partners in Crime: I-bankers, Insider Trades, Moles, Strippers... [Fortune]

Earlier: Non-Sequiturs: 09.22.06