Emerging technologies simplify many aspects of life, but they also make it increasingly challenging to safeguard privacy in both personal and professional settings. As a lawyer, it is essential for you to stay informed about how to protect privacy by utilizing the appropriate tools and equipment. Paul Secunda joined us today to talk about protecting your privacy, building open communication between employer and employee, tech tips to focus on your work, and more.

Paul Secunda is a partner at Walcheske Luzi LLC. He leads the ERISA litigation unit, which focuses on retirement, medical, and disability class action litigation. He also serves as a consultant, testifying expert, and mediator in the fields of employee benefits and workplace law. Paul is a former labor and employment law professor with 18 years of experience at two law schools, focusing on employment law and employee benefits. Throughout his career, Paul has been engaged in litigating, teaching, and writing about workplace law, handling tasks from reviewing employee handbooks to managing complex class action lawsuits and submitting amicus briefs to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Paul’s expertise spans employee rights and the practical application of technology in both professional and personal contexts.

Join Paul and me as we talk about the following three questions and more!

1. What are the top three tech tips you would advise any lawyer to maintain a separation from work and personal time?
2. What are the top three tech rights an employee has when it comes to utilizing a personal tech device for a BYOD firm?
3. What are your top three tech tips to ensure focus at work, to help prevent necessary work during personal time?

In our conversation, we cover:

[01.28] Tech Setup - Paul’s current tech setup.

[09.00] The Balance – Balancing technology as a small law firm.

[10.00] Tech tips – Paul shares some tech tips for separating personal and professional life.

[11.40] Clients - How to work with overbearing clients?

[13.26] Superiors – Paul explains how you can handle your superiors.

[16.38] Open Communication – The importance of open communication between employer and employee.

[20.06] Tech Rights – Paul explains how employee privacy rights differ significantly between public and private workplaces.

[25.44] Tracking Software – Paul explains why he would advise against letting your employer put tracking software in your computer.

[29.52] Focusing on work – Paul shares three tech tips you can use to focus on your work and prevent working on your personal time.

Resources:

Connect with Paul

• LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/paul-secunda-a17228/
• Website - walcheskeluzi.com/

Equipment Mentioned in the Podcast

• Fujitsu Scanners - thescannershop.com/fujitsu-scanners/
• HP Printers - hp.com/us-en/shop/mdp/printers/laserjet-pro
• iPhone 15 Pro - apple.com/iphone-15-pro/
• MacBook Air - apple.com/macbook-air/

Software & Services Mentioned in the Podcast

• Adobe Acrobat Reader - get.adobe.com/reader/
• Clio - clio.com/
• Sanebox - sanebox.com/
• TurboScan - play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.piksoft.turboscan
• WordPerfect - wordperfect.com/en/

Transcript

00:00:00 ] Michael D.J. Eisenberg: Episode 90, Balancing Your Use of Technology Between Your Work and Home with Labor and Employment Lawyer, Paul Secunda.

[00:00:19 ] Michael D.J. Eisenberg: Paul is a former Labor and Employment Law professor with 18 years of experience at two different law schools specializing in ERISA and Employee Benefits Law. He is now an attorney with Woltersky Luzzi, LLC. Paul's legal career has been devoted to litigating, teaching, and writing about workplace law issues, handling all aspects of the employment relationship, from reviewing employee handbooks and summary plan descriptions, to litigating complex class action cases, and submitting amicus briefs to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

[00:00:46 ] Michael D.J. Eisenberg: Paul caught my attention with his law journal article, The Employee Right to Disconnect, after I come across California's recent Employee Right to Disconnect bill. This bill would require employers to create a written policy guaranteeing California employees the right to disconnect from work communications during non working hours.

[00:01:01 ] <span style="color: #