By JODI SOKOLOWSKI
Buffalo Law Journal

Waiting for others to join her for lunch, a lawyer quietly taps on her BlackBerry, which she holds discreetly below table level. The crowd is loud, but she doesn't have to shout or strain to listen, as she would if she were using a cell phone.

Another lawyer meeting her for lunch is five minutes late. But since he rarely gives out his cell-phone number, doesn't know how to text message and refuses to own a BlackBerry, she can't check to see if he's on his way.

Meet Audrey Seeley, a BlackBerry 8830 World Edition smartphone owner. A Hurwitz & Fine PC attorney who primarily practices in the area of insurance coverage, she relies on the device - an all-in-one cell phone, Web browser, calendar, GPS device and media/music player.

Now meet the diametrically opposed Adam Walters, a Phillips Lytle LLP partner who focuses on environmental law and land-use planning.

We took the two to lunch to conduct a friendly head-to-head debate on the benefits and negatives of owning an e-mail/phone device. Those include BlackBerries, iPhones, and similar handheld technology devices. (From here on, "BlackBerry" will be used to refer to all similar types of these devices.)

As head of the firm's land, environment and energy group, Walters approves BlackBerry requests from firm lawyers in those practices. To anyone who wants one, Walters gives "the speech." He says, "If I send you an e-mail Sunday at 6 p.m., I expect a response Sunday night by 7 p.m."

He also tells them he's never going to do that, "but that's the bargain for taking a BlackBerry. You have to agree to be connected 24-7."

That's exactly why he adamantly refuses to ever get one.

Seeley, in a perfectly pressed suit, her hair coiffed, raises an eyebrow at Walters and asks, "Really?" Walters, wearing a blazer over a shirt with the top button undone, casually replies, "Really."

Customer service

Seeley says being able to respond to clients to acknowledge receipt of their e-mails can give one law firm an edge over another. They'll keep coming back because of the "quick service, and at a high quality of work," she says.

But Walters isn't convinced that fast service equals high quality. He warns that he's heard of lawyers, mainly litigators, who have "gotten themselves in trouble" for replying too quickly in "the heat of the battle."

Seeley counters that a simple reply stating when to expect a more thorough response, if a complex issue requires more research and thought, "goes a long way with clients."

Time management

While it's ironic that Walters practices telecommunications law but doesn't own a BlackBerry, he says that's because he doesn't want clients thinking he's always connected, and therefore always available. Recently, a client demanded to know why he hadn't responded yet to a two-hour-old e-mail. His answer: being in meetings and having received 70 other e-mails ahead of his.

"It's an unreasonable expectation, because whether I have a BlackBerry or not, I'm simply not available 24-7," he says.

While Saturdays are his own, Walters will catch up on e-mails every Sunday morning, from home or at the office, sending "I'll get back to you" e-mails.

"You can achieve that appearance of 24-7 connectivity without being connected 24-7," he says.

For Seeley, she'll keep her BlackBerry in the car on weeknights and weekends.

"As a tool, it's something that I rule. It doesn't rule me," she says.

She assures Walters that it's not "attached to my body (or that) I'm checking it every five seconds," unlike her husband, who does check his cell phone's voicemail "all the time."

Practicality

Walters would rather lug his laptop and cell phone around so as not to form a "CrackBerry" habit. But Seeley says traveling with a handheld rather than a laptop allows her to move through airport security much faster - and to be connected instantaneously without plugging in.

She'll even check her voicemails and e-mails occasionally while on vacation, though Walters says that defeats the purpose because he believes is takes four days to start to decompress. Checking in lessens the Sunday-night anxiety for Seeley, but adds to it for Walters.

"The unfortunate reality is, there's always more work to do," Walters says. But he believes a BlackBerry would "mean more time and energy when I should be kicking back and relaxing a bit."

Agreeing to disagree

Seeley says she's not convinced to give hers up, and Walters says he's not about to get one.

"You've got to give the best legal services that you can, whether you've got a BlackBerry or not," he says.

 

How to disconnect

• Designate non-BlackBerry time daily when it's out of sight, and therefore out of mind.
• Don't check e-mails or voicemail while on vacation to fully decompress.
• Be polite: Don't look at devices when with clients, in meetings or depositions or at court.

How to stay connected:

• When out of the office, check e-mail or retrieve voicemails once a day and once over the weekend.
• Reply to client messages with "I received your e-mail" and a date when they can expect a response.
• Use down time at airports or during court breaks to chip away at work.