But there's a movement to get people to try.
I remember my Dad, when I first got a cell phone: "why do you want to always be connected?" My answer?: "Because if I'm not, and another lawyer is, I lose the oppportunity for that new client."
It's silly for a lawyer like me not to have 24 hour access to email and phone calls. "Someone just got arrested," or "I just got a letter from the Bar," needs to be answered immediately. It's not a desire for me, it's a necessity. The best I can do is leave it in another room, but within ear shot for the call.
I remember being in court 15 years ago when everyone had beepers. A judge asked a prominent lawyer for his beeper number so the clerk could call him when the judge was ready to try his client's case. "Judge, I have no beeper, or cell phone."
I still envy him for that, 24 hours a day.
Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. He is the author of I Got A Bar Complaint.
2 comments:
Many years ago, clients, who were great fans of beepers, wanted me to get one. They would buy it for me, pay for it, anything, just to get me to have a beeper.
I told them, I will not be beeped.
But what if we can't reach you when we need you?
Leave me a message. I'll get back to you in plenty of time to take care of you.
But what if we want to talk to you in the middle of the night?
You'll just have to wait. I'm asleep in the middle of the night. You will just have to wait. If you can't, you'll have to find someone else. I am not available in the middle of the night.
I may have lost a client or two over the years, and I'm okay with that.
I envy Scott. He sleeps in the middle of the night.
I am going to tell my boss not to email me on the Sabbath and see what he says.
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