When talking on their cellphones, business travelers sometimes assume they're surrounded by an invisible, sound-proof phone booth that keeps their conversations private. They are not. In fact, they are much more likely surrounded by an army of eavesdropping gossips, eager to upload any juicy nuggets. In particular, the high-speed Acela train between Washington, D.C., and New York has become one of the most dangerous forms of transportation for the garrulous traveler.
Take Robert Robbins, a D.C.-based corporate securities partner at law firm Pillsbury Winthrop. In February 2009, on a morning train to New York, he used his BlackBerry bluetooth to talk to a colleague about plans to lay off up to 20 lawyers at his firm; he was not shy about naming names. A law student sitting in the seat ahead of him overheard and reported the news to legal blog Above the Law (where I was an editor at the time). Soon the embarrassing story and news of the coming layoffs had migrated to gossip blog Gawker and a slew of legal newspapers. The firm later issued a statement apologizing for the "unfortunate manner in which our deliberations about reductions have become public."
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The cautionary tale apparently did not reverberate in law firm circles, though. Last month another law firm partner, Jim Kirk of Kelley Drye & Warren, was in the first-class car on the Acela heading back to his office in New York. While en route, he decided to conduct some poaching, calling up a young partner at another firm to try to convince him to join Kelley Drye. He laid out the partner compensation package--a closely guarded secret within law firm circles--of a $300,000 salary plus a $50,000 bonus for bringing in 1 million worth of client billables, and a percentage of anything over that. He then called his firm, giving the prospect's name and address, asking for a background check. Meanwhile, a fellow first-class passenger again reported the news to Above the Law. She even snatched his discarded ticket stub with his name on it as proof. Starting partner compensation at the firm soon became a matter of public record.
Robbins and Kirk are still partners at their respective firms, but they're more discreet these days--neither Robbins nor Kirk were willing to discuss their gaffes with Forbes.
The perked-ear passenger who overheard Kirk's compensation conversation is a frequent train traveler between D.C. and New York. "A few weeks ago, I overheard an in-house counsel reciting the details of an SEC investigation to his boss. He had just met with regulators and was rattling off areas of concern," she says. "Again, I was shocked at the information I and others could hear."
She offers some advice to fellow travelers: "Just because the person in front of or beside you has ear buds in, doesn't mean they're listening to music."
