Transportation, Internet and Phone Problems Plague Manhattan Law Firms
Manhattan law firms reopening after Hurricane Sandy are grappling with spotty phone and Internet service, cold offices and employees who are finding the commute to work beset with difficulty.
At Bingham McCutchen, one employee from Staten Island was on a bus for five hours trying to make it to work, the New York Law Journal reports. At Jenner & Block one associate biked to work from Brooklyn for his first day on the job.
Biking came naturally for another employee at a Midtown law firm, sous-chef Thomas Jarrels, the New York Times reports. A former bike messenger, Jarrels told the Times he is thinking of permanently giving up his usual train commute for biking.
At Jenner & Block, one associate resorted to a retro solution to phone issues, using a street pay phone in an effort to participate in a conference call.
Meanwhile federal courts in lower Manhattan remained closed as were a few state courts, according to New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman. “We think most of the state courts are operating under relatively normal conditions,” he told the New York Law Journal. “But then there are others which are open, but which we are having difficulty with operations, like out on Long Island. And others are not open at all.”
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “NYC BigLaw Firms Open, But Lack Lights, Heat, Phones; Downed Trees, Long Lines for Gas Slow Commute”
