Blackberry as ball and chain.

When I left practice, the firm I worked for, like every one I knew of, was still too paranoid about security to be online. And I didn’t have a cell phone. I should be grateful. Technology is, like every advance, both a blessing and a curse. I hate when I have lunch with my former colleagues and their attention is on the Blackberry under the table. But at least I understand the dilemma they face. At Quinn Emanuel (the firm a good friend recently moved to), Above the Law reports, a partner’s email made very clear to all that one is on call every waking hour, adding in for good measure a firm-wide swipe at an associate who had actually done a good job but hadn’t checked his email after 7:30 p.m. The email, in part, reads as follows:

You should check your emails early and often. That not only means when you are in the office, it also means after you leave the office as well. Unless you have very good reason not to (for example when you are asleep, in court or in a tunnel), you should be checking your emails every hour. One of the last things you should do before you retire for the night is to check your email. That is why we give you blackberries. I can assure you that all of our clients expect you to be checking your emails often. I am not asking you to do something we do not do ourselves. I can assure you that John Quinn, Peter Calamari, Mike Carlinsky, Faith Gay, Fred Lorig, etc. all check their emails often.

Yesterday I was working with a relatively new associate on a project which both he and I knew was a rush. It was for a relatively new client whom we were trying to impress. The associate did a nice job under pressure. Before I left the office at about 7:30 I sent an email to this associate asking him to perform a task—fax a draft letter for review and comment. I assumed the task was done. Turns out the associate left the office and did not check his emails until this morning. I assumed the task had been completed. It had not been. In this case it was no harm no foul, but I think we can all imagine scenarios when this could be a disaster.