6 minute read
Gadget of the Month
Back to the Office | Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
We knew the WFH phenomenon was just a phase that would certainly moderate somewhat as pandemic fears waned. We are now seeing that transition take place. But as many of us head back to our offices on a more regular basis, we should use this time to re-assess how our work office is set up in light of some lessons we learned while working from home.
As we worked from home over many of the past 12-18 months, we discovered something very significant: we work much better when we are comfortable. Now, it is highly unlikely that our colleagues back at the office are going to approve of us coming to the office in our pajamas or gym shorts, but comfort is not just about slouching around the house in non-work clothes. On the other hand, is it really necessary to wear a suit (or other courtroom acceptable clothing) when you do not have a court appearance or an important client meeting? We think it is better to wear clothing that is comfortable, yet appropriate.
Similarly, ergonomics is a big factor in workplace comfort. If your home office is more ergonomically friendly than your work office, why not update the workplace to a higher standard? Office chairs can be one of the biggest hindrances to productivity when they are uncomfortable and do not promote good sitting posture. A chair with lumbar support, among other ergonomically-friendly features, is a huge benefit for office workers. We also like the option of standing at times rather than sitting all day at our desk, so we love having an adjustable-height desk that can be positioned either way. Make your office a comfortable and hospitable place to work.
A large monitor (or even multiple monitors) is essential for just about any office worker, but especially for those in the legal profession. Equally important to the size of the monitor is the placement of the monitor. For the most ergonomically friendly placement we recommend a monitor stand, such as the Kensington WellView Monitor Stand. This stand has an interchangeable fan, heater and air purifier that keeps our office environment just perfect.
Now that we are working in the office, there are any number of desk accessories that we have become accustomed to at home that would work well in the office also. We work on our smart phones almost as frequently as we do on our laptop throughout the day, so a cell phone stand (and/or charger) for our smartphone is essential. Since we are gadget hoarders, we require so many charging ports that we quickly run out of electrical outlet space. We love the new smart power strips that have both regular outlets as well as USB ports for our many charging cables. Keeping our coffee warm at the office is made easier with a USB-connected mug warmer. Finally, we love having a second screen devoted to such things as video conferences, playing music, showing upcoming appointments, etc. There are a number of options for this auxiliary screen, including an iPad, Amazon Echo Show, Facebook Portal, and Lenovo Thinksmart View. We have all of them.
Having a clean, spacious workspace not only helps with office ergonomics, but also promotes positivity in our minds which translates to both increased productivity and greater personal satisfaction with our jobs. Bill has long been a fan of Marie Kondo and her advice for de-cluttering. Whether you subscribe to all of Ms. Kondo’s regimen or not, a thorough de-cluttering of your workspace can be a huge productivity booster. During our move back to the office, we are using this time to re-assess how much we need to keep out on our desk or even in our files. If it doesn’t “bring us joy” and it’s not essential for our clients or for us to do our job, we’re trashing it. Good-bye, Office 2010 User Manual.
One facet of WFW that most certain-
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ticular notice of the fact that the jury was fully-masked during the opening statement. However, I was struck by the anonymity of the masked jury when I looked out during closing argument. I was thoroughly convinced, mid-closing argument, that half the jury was scowling at me but that the other half was still in play. I have no idea if either of those things were true, and I am not sure seeing their faces would have provided too much more insight, but it was definitely something racing through my head.
The opening statement, likewise, did have a comic moment or two precipitated by coronavirus accommodations. As noted above, the podium in the middle of the courtroom had a plexiglass screen immediately to the right in between the podium and the jury. If someone was standing still at the podium, two jurors were at least partially blocked. Thus, I made what I thought was the clever decision to simply walk 10-15 feet backwards from the podium so that I had a clear line of sight of the entire jury. I remembered from law school that, when speaking to the jury, you do not want to aimlessly wander around the courtroom. Instead, if you are going to move, move with purpose, stop, and then talk. I certainly found myself once or twice doing a convoluted moonwalk in between the podium and my spot 15 feet or so back during portions of the opening, but, all in all, I thought it came off pretty well. After it was over, though, Tim said that, next time, I might want to ask permission from the judge before I start scampering all over the place as the judge had apparently been eyeing me a few times during my presentation.
Bench conferences are also worth mentioning– I will say that we tried our best, but, if you are wearing a mask, attempting to engage in some type of close-quartered (sometimes heated) whisper, the court reporter is not going to be able to hear a word, and I was informed of that on numerous occasions.
There is obviously a certain understanding you begin to glean from the Court as the trial begins as to how the Court is going to deal with some gray areas in evidentiary disputes. That understanding is valuable to know when reaching a compromise on what deposition testimony is to be read. So, yes, it is certainly not ideal to be hashing out deposition designations in the evening over the phone with opposing counsel in the middle of trial as we did here, but, at the same time, I think both sides would have been hard-pressed to reach an agreement without knowing more how the Court was inclined to rule on similar evidentiary disputes.
Trial Takeaways
My biggest takeaway from this trial is that the jury’s time is precious, so anything you can do to speed up the proceedings is worthwhile. If you have to concede on deposition designations to which you might have a technical objection, it is better to do that than have to argue anything during a trial day. Even if you start early in the day or think you can fit oral argument in during a break or lunch, you more than likely cannot, and you will inevitably eat up time that could be dedicated to putting on proof and getting the jury’s job done more quickly. n
TIM WARNOCK is a member of Riley Warnock & Jacobson and focuses his practice on commercial and intellectual property litigation.
STUART BURKHAL-
TER practices complex commercial litigation as a member of Riley Warnock & Jacobson.
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