Legal Commentary

Sometimes, it takes a change in our routine to appreciate how fast we adapt to change.

I had jury duty this week, which presented an abrupt change to my normal routine. I am also nursing a sprained ankle. So Tuesday, when I was ordered to report to 100 Centre Street (if you watch Law & Order, you know the building) I decided to splurge and take a cab to the courthouse ? rather than try to negotiate the subway (which has a lot of stairs). I didn't think it would be a good idea to be hobbling along in an unfamiliar neighborhood in the early morning rain with my leg in a cast.

In my nervousness about getting to the court on time, I decided to take only my computer bag, and accidentally left my cell phone at home. I settled into the jury room, which has wi-fi access, pulled out my loaner laptop, and quickly realized that I was completely screwed. The loaner  (mine is still in the Apple hospital after my logic board fried in Florida last week) didn't have our VPN software installed -? and I had no way to call our help desk. To make matters worse ? we just switched our Outlook Web Access domain name and I had not memorized the URL.

Then I remembered ? I have a Google Gmail account! So I e-mailed the help desk and, within minutes, the remote IT calvary was at my side.

First, they e-mailed me the OWA info so I could log onto my regular e-mail. Then sent me clear instructions on how to download and activate Cisco VPN software ? and voila I was in the VPN.  Good so far, but my then my Entourage wasn't synching. Within minutes, the help-desk crew remotely accessed my machine and got Entourage running.

Total time: about 15 minutes. Result: instead of fuming and losing several unproductive work hours when I wasn't in a courtroom, I was able to  crank away.

For all the whining I do about technology, this adventure made me smile with satisfaction.

Huge KUDOS to James Mackey and our IT team. Everybody has to  endure the hurry-up-and-wait of jury duty, but thanks to our IT team, I was able to take full advantage of the "wait" time. What a difference from even a few years ago, when even one of the above problems would have knocked me out of commission, and so bored I would be counting the ceiling tiles! Technology -- and great IT staff -- really do make a difference.

And even luckier: we got sprung early! So I've done my civic duty now and New York promises not to call me again for six years!