By the time I entered the legal profession, people were already receiving emails on their cell phones. For the last sixteen years or so, there has been an expectation that everyone should be available all the time, at least by phone. Not much has changed, other than the devices we use to be connected are getting better. So, is this a good thing? Being able to work remotely or from a mobile device has its pros and cons.
Being Able to Do More Without Going into the Office
I am a solo attorney. That means I wear a lot of hats. I don’t outsource as much as I should to staff. Some things I don’t want to. I think when people contact my firm, they want to get a hold of me, not some automated chatbot on my website. So, I do a lot of client intake and client relations. That’s a round-the-clock job. If a client emails asking what the status is of their case, I don’t think they want to hear, “Let me check with the attorney and I’ll get back to you.” Likewise, if someone sends me a case referral through my website, and it’s a good case, I’ll contact them right away. Sometimes, clients contact me and want me to send them copies of documents. If I had to go into the office every time I needed to contact someone or send someone a file, I’d go crazy. For me and a lot of my solo/small firm friends, mobility is about making work distractions that pop up in the evenings and weekends be as unobtrusive as possible.
Being Able to Turn It off and Focus on Life
That raises another question, though: Should work be allowed to distract me on evenings and weekends? Should I be able to unplug and enjoy a weekend without work? Is that what the weekend is for? In theory, yes. It’s what Stephen Covey calls “sharpening the saw.” Take a step back and regroup yourself physically and mentally so that you can work more efficiently. It’s not about the quantity of hours you put in, it’s about the quantity of quality hours you put in. If you put in 12 hours, but are burned out after hour seven and work poorly, I can catch up to you by working a productive eight hours.
The problem is not that people don’t know this or don’t believe it. The problem is that our culture does not care. There is an expectation that if you are going to charge a lot as a professional problem solver, then you are going to be available, regardless of whether your saw needs sharpening. I’ve worked on cases where the client goes with whoever is able get back to the client first. That can often mean answering calls and emails during personal time. So, since it is inevitable, we should make the best of it and try to limit the intrusions into the life part of our work-life balance equation.
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From a hardware standpoint, I would suggest getting a good tablet and a good phone. I prefer the larger screen phones so that I can get more done on my phone. I have my phone with me always, so when I’m out and about on the weekends, I can still get a decent amount of work done if I need to sit down and review some pictures I was just sent or an e-mail attachment from opposing counsel. For that reason, if you have to choose between getting a really good phone and a mediocre tablet or a mediocre phone and a really good tablet, go with a really good phone.
From a software standpoint, make sure you have a good calendaring and task management software. The reason is because sometimes, you’ll get an email and you can only triage the problem in the email, but you need to get a reminder to fully address the issue once you are in front of a computer. For me, having a digital note taking system is extremely helpful in working remotely. I use OneNote mobile and a phone with a stylus. That allows me to jot down ideas and notes when I am on the go. The article that I wrote interviewing the juror from the Anna Alaburda case was a situation that happened on the spot where I happened to catch a juror in the lobby of the courthouse and had to take notes with whatever I had on me.
Do You Want to Perpetuate the Problem?
The more you work on the weekends, the more you are going to be asked to work on the weekends. If you start answering emails at 2:00 a.m., you are going to be expected to answer emails at 2:00 a.m. So, should you keep doing it? I think the rule is that if your position is not secure enough that you think you could be fired for not responding to an email at 2:00 a.m., you should answer the email. The problem is more with our culture’s expectation that we should be available all the time, not with any one specific person’s availability around the clock.
Jeff Bennion is Of Counsel at Estey & Bomberger LLP, a plaintiffs’ law firm specializing in mass torts and catastrophic injuries. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of San Diego’s plaintiffs’ trial lawyers association, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. He is also the Education Chair and Executive Committee member of the State Bar of California’s Law Practice Management and Technologysection. He is a member of the Advisory Council and instructor at UCSD’s Litigation Technology Management program. His opinions are his own. Follow him on Twitter here or on Facebook here, or contact him by email at [email protected].