Sometimes it's difficult to assess whether the practice of law has been enhanced or burdened by burgeoning technology. When I entered the profession in the early 1980s, my work as a litigation associate was very different than it is today. We did not have an array of devices to assist us in keeping track of our time or handling our work. I hand wrote my briefs on a yellow legal pad to be typed by my assistant, who would make changes using a memory typewriter. Partners' comments came in red marker (and ideally there were not too many of those). For documents longer than over 10 pages, I submitted revisions to word processing at night (in the basement) and the revised version would miraculously appear on my desk the next morning. I did my research using actual books in the vast library, where I hauled and then reviewed the hefty Shephard's volumes to make sure the cases I cited were still good law. If I needed to refer to something in the file, I made my way to the windowless labyrinth where row after row of imposing ceiling-high shelves held client papers. Suffice it to say, we did not have our own computers, laptops, tablets or other devices that may have confined our heavy lifting to the screen. Telephone service and messaging were also very different from what we are accustomed to today. We received our phone messages on small, pink squares of paper. If someone needed us urgently, the firm used a coded paging system, broadcasting a Morse code-type sequence of bells to summon you. With these methods of communication, we did not work remotely as the available technology did not support working anywhere except the office.

Against this backdrop, the Wall Street firm where I began my career offered aspiring litigators the opportunity to handle employment arbitrations to gain experience examining and cross-examining witnesses, introducing evidence and making objections. It was a crash course on presenting a case and becoming an effective advocate. In 1982, just a year out of law school, on less than 48 hours' notice I was ordered to travel cross-country to handle an arbitration. The dispute was brought by a union worker challenging his suspension for violating safety protocols at the client's manufacturing plant. I boarded the plane with a litigation bag filled with the pleadings, documents and hard copies of the arbitration and evidentiary rules, and a huge knot in my stomach. At my destination, I stayed up all night preparing my opening, witness examinations and exhibits, trying to anticipate objections. Without the internet or access to other information, I was on my own. I remember that the client representatives did not seem very confident when I walked into the arbitration room as their 24-year-old, barely 5-foot-tall advocate—to face off against a more senior adversary before a panel of three imposing arbitrators. Despite the apparent disparities in experience between counsel, we prevailed largely because the client had kept a clear record to justify its actions. What I remember most, 40-plus years later, is that the supervising partner complained that I had spent too much time preparing for the hearing!