“Dopamine, Email and Christie-Gate,” a 3/25 after-hours event at The Garage @ The Colonial Theatre, launches anniversary year
Pittsfield, Mass.(March 5, 2014)– Fifty years ago, “information technology” barely registered in the lexicon of legal practice. Now, Cain Hibbard & Myers P.C. – a firm with lineage dating back to the 1840s — is marking a half-century of service by highlighting technology’s impact on industry, government, and the practice of law itself.
Cain Hibbard & Myers kicked off its 50th anniversary celebration with a March 25 after-hours event at the Colonial Theatre. The evening included mingling and cautionary techno-tales, with Managing Partner Lucy Prashker delivering a brief talk, “Dopamine, Email and Christie-gate: How to avoid email disaster in business, government and love.” Prashker, a seasoned litigator and business lawyer expert in intellectual property and health law, is a frequent lecturer on technology and Internet law.
“The Christie administration’s email fiasco reminds us how dangerous email can be,” said Prashker. “We hoped to entertain, but we also wanted to offer some useful tips for staying off the email casualty list. Research on how emails affect brain chemistry provides interesting insight into why really smart people seem unable to stop sending really stupid emails, even when they are well aware of the risks.”
In addition to changing the legal services needs of clients in virtually every sector, technology has also dramatically changed how firms – and lawyers — practice law. Technology has leveled the playing field between relatively small firms and the highest-rated firms in the big cities. “We no longer need expensive on-site libraries and large support staffs toeffectively compete with big firms in metropolitan areas,” said Prashker. “By embracing technology, we have become quicker, more efficient and better lawyers. And we are able to practice cutting-edge law while living and raising our families in this unique and spectacularly beautiful community.”
In addition to intellectual property, Cain Hibbard & Myers has extensive practices in real estate, health law, commercial and general civil litigation, commercial lending, bond financing, mergers and acquisitions and other business transactions, domestic relations, and employment law. The firm’s lawyers are actively engaged in the community, serving on the boards of many local and statewide charitable organizations, as well as volunteering as pro bono lawyers for individuals. The firm focuses its charitable giving primarily on initiatives in literacy and arts education, missions the firm views as closely aligned with its culture.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Cain Hibbard & Myers plans a total of five community events – one for each decade. The next will be a tech-related presentation for the legal community on “e-Discovery,” the challenging process of identifying and preserving, and then producing electronic data in litigation.