Hellish. Execupundit quotes a senior partner who laments that todays’ associate spends her time in a bubble, complete with computer, headphones and various tech. He apparently believes that associates should be tech free, like the old days, and available for conversation. Execupundit titles the post: “Hellish”, which we must assume that he also believes that the art of conversation with associate attorneys is a dead issue. However, both of them fail to realize that communication with others hasn’t gone away; it is just moved to another plane of existence. In and Internet world, conversation is much broader in scope, and occurs via text messaging, email, video conferencing, chat software, and blog posts. I may be old; but, I have been one of these associates in my way of practice for a long time. Our connections are broader than the next office over. They are limitless in their potential. And, they are far more productive. We still take off the headphones and walk down the hall to the water cooler. But, if you want to engage us, put on your headphones, fire up the notebook computer, and start talking.
