Anonymous Lawyer

A few readers alerted me to some recent problems with the Blogger service that hosts this page. There was apparently a service interruption earlier this week. This is why computers will never replace associates. Computers break down. But associates can work non-stop provided the punishment is set high enough for those who disappoint. Computers can't be punished. There are no incentive programs I can devise to make my Internet connection faster or my hard drive less likely to crash. But tell an associate he won't make partner unless he stays in the office for the next 96 hours working on a brief, and he'll do it. Every time. Or we'll fire him and find someone willing to make the necessary sacrifices. Computers don't learn their lessons either. My associates know the punishment for mistakes and they don't repeat past ones. Computers keep crashing, with no worry about the consequences. Devise a computer that can hear me screaming, and quiver in fear -- then maybe I'll hire him. Until then, I'll stick with people.