What Does Your Workspace Look Like?
I have been working in litigation support a long time and one of the interesting things about the field is where the firm or service provider decides to locate the litigation support team. For years, our team was located near the Records Department and our team had cubicle workstations in one room with no windows. We used to joke that we were going to put a mural up on the wall that had some sort of weather design.
When I switched to another firm, I finally had an office with a small window, but it had a wonderful view of the brick building about 12 feet away. I could sort of see what the weather was. The firm I am with now, after 28 years in the legal industry, is the best workspace I've ever had, primarily because the desk is nice and I have a wall of windows (one of the benefits of working at a small firm, I guess). I have a view of L Street in Washington DC which happens to be one of the busiest streets in town. I finally know what the weather looks like during my work day.
Sometimes people in the litigation support industry have some funny things displayed in their workspace. At one point, I had a whole section of small handheld toys, like a slinky and a rubics cube. People who came to visit me would sit in my visitor chair and play with one of the toys while they were talking to me. Hey, don't judge — sometimes we need to take a break from the stress or the monotonous tasks! I have some friends that display geeky items or collectibles at their desk. We also tend to have multiple computers, hard drives and CD/DVDs all over the place.
I was thinking that it might be fun for everyone to share photos of their workspace so that the newbies can get an idea of the different workspaces available in our profession. But who are we kidding — everyone in litigation support is enjoying some of the content on this site, so it's not just for the newbies!
Now, I know that some of you are going to be quick to say that you are “too shy” or “too busy” to participate, so I have decided to offer an incentive to encourage participation. I will have a drawing for a $25 gift card from Amazon. Everyone who submits a photo will be entered in the drawing. Think of this photo submission as YOUR way of giving back to the litigation support community! It doesn't matter whether you work at a law firm, government agency, or service provider. All entries are welcome.
Photos can be submitted through April 25th. I will share all of the photos anonymously and I will announce the winner of the $25 gift card on April 26th.
I will go first. Here is a photo of my workspace. Notice all of the CD/DVDs around my desk for several cases I'm working on right now.
UPDATE:
The winner of the $25 Amazon gift card was Christopher Scott. Congratulations, Chris! Below is a video of the workspace photos I received. It was fun to see the different work environments and what people keep at their desks. Thank you to those that submitted their workspace photos.
I’m curious why are you using CD/DVD isn’t that considered old technology. Why not use portable hard-drives or USB drives.
Hey Polly – There is definitely still heavy usage of CDs and DVDs. Yes, we use thumb drives and hard drives too, usually for the equivalent of more than 2 DVDs. Most of the ones in the bubble wrap near the window are from one case where we produce documents every other week. With a situation like that, it is probably more cost effective to use DVDs, especially since we have to make 4 copies of every production to send to co-counsel and such. The duplicator tower can be our best friend.
We use optical media more than drives due to cost (optical media is under a quarter a piece these days) and because there are fewer compatibility issues on the other end. I did not realize so many places cut off USB access for end-users, but it’s been an issue for us. I have also experienced much higher failure rates with cheapie thumb drives than optical media.
Amy, I’m trying to determine of my office is suitable for distribution. I am, to put it as politely as possible, not terribly neat. 🙂
Hey Bonnie – Good points in response to Polly’s question. Regarding the workspace, it will be anonymous so only your team will know it’s yours and I bet you’re not the only messy desk person in lit support. Ha!