The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/163881
Lawyer WORK-LIFE BALANCE by Jonathan Lemberg of Farella Braun + Martel LLP As a first-year associate at a large New York firm in the mid-1980s, many of my evenings were spent on "distributions." For the junior associate on a deal, that meant manually redlining drafts, taking them down to the copy room, watching as the copy room staff made copies, reviewing each copy to make sure every page was there, then carrying the packaged copies to the FedEx office (since, by that time, the FedEx pickup deadline had long passed) to be sure everyone on the deal had the revised documents on their desks in the morning. I don't think a first-year associate in 2013 can even imagine being asked to participate in a process like that, let alone having it be a nightly ritual. Redlining programs, email, PDFs — they are so routine now, but they have changed the fundamentals of how we all do business. Mobile devices and the way lawyers have been freed from their desks has been the biggest enhancement to work-life balance that has taken place in my career. When I was starting out, just getting in touch with a client could be an onerous task. Phones were the only convenient way to communicate, and phone tag was the norm. Being "service oriented" involved waiting many hours at your desk because you didn't want to miss an important call that might come in. And working pretty much meant working at your desk. Smartphones have made it possible to get calls and check email messages no matter where I am. And while I appreciate all the amazing things mobile devices can do, the most revolutionary app for me has been Citrix on my iPad. It has given me the ability to do just about anything I can do at my desktop, anywhere. Although some might argue mobile devices have resulted in lawyers being always on call, the reality is lawyers have been "always on call" forever. Now, though, I can address a client's urgent matter and then get back to playing with my kids, instead of being stuck in the office all weekend. Jonathan Lemberg is a partner at Farella Braun + Martel LLP. His practice concentrates on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, commercial lending, and other corporate finance transactions. Jonathan has extensive experience in venture capital investments, public offerings and private placements, and investments in private companies. He can be contacted at jlemberg@fbm.com. IT COMPENSATION Survey Analysis available for download at iltanet.org/pubs available for download at iltanet.org/pubs 50 Peer to Peer