As lawyers become more dependent on technology, it will become more and more important for attorneys to adapt to internet outages and cell phone towers dropping. On Thursday last week, the communications of AT&T users could have been greatly affected not only for cell phone use but also for computer use too. With modern technology requiring at least some form of internet connection, attorneys must learn to improvise, adapt, and overcome any outages.
Last weeks AT&T outage reminded me of a power outage that affected the firm I worked for during 1L summer. During my first summer, we had a typical Florida afternoon thunderstorm that caused the power to go out. Since the power went out, there was no internet connection and the work in the office grinded to a halt. While we awaited the power to come back on, there was not a whole lot to do since the internet was down. About an hour later the power finally came back on, but it led me to wonder how much time is wasted when the internet or power does go down.
As attorneys use modern technology, it is crucial to have some way to continue working if the power goes down, especially in Florida. It is not uncommon for hurricanes or storms to temporarily cause a power outage. Laptops, computers, in-home offices, and other similar solutions can allow an attorney to continue working. Attorneys must be able to improvise, adapt, and overcome challenges not just in the courtroom but with the technology they depend on every day.
The AT&T outage affected me as well and I was having similar thoughts about it. It is crazy to thing that we are so reliable on our devices now-a-days. It's also very difficult when a cell provider in particular fails because in practice, if a zoom or teams call fails, I tend to just call the person on my phone. Great comments and thoughts!
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