A Bumpy Ride

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On a monthly basis, the schedule for Milwaukee attorney Robert L. Gegios is up in the air, literally.

The business and commercial litigator routinely travels nationally for trial work and relies heavily on the airline industry.

But Gegios and other Wisconsin attorneys who frequently handle cases around the country are finding the skies increasingly less friendly to fly due to fewer and, at times, costlier departures.

“The flexibility is pretty much gone,” said Gegios, of Kohner, Mann & Kailas, S.C.
As a consequence, attorneys say they have had to make adjustments to their own travel plans and even their practice methods.

Costly Choices

Since March, Gegios has taken a dozen business trips and he typically books an extra day as a buffer to ensure he won’t miss a crucial client meeting.

“Instead of three or four choices to get out to Las Vegas, I might only have one or two, so I’m booking a day prior to my deposition just in case one of those flights is cancelled,” said Gegios. “That’s another day away from my family.”

The sentiment is shared by attorney Frank J. Daily, who litigates product liability cases for Quarles & Brady, LLP.

Like Gegios, he folds travel expenses into client costs, but suggests some attorneys may not meet face-to-face with national clients on a regular basis because it is becoming too expensive.

“Some clients have restricted the travel of their lawyers because of the cost, or some attorneys choose to attend depositions by telephone or through emails,” said Daily. “I think those are pretty poor substitutes for being there in person.”

Attorney Daniel J. LaFave heads up the Product Liability Group at Quarles and he said he is mindful of cost when booking a business trip. He typically travels twice a month and recently booked a nonrefundable September flight to Manchester, New Hampshire for $300, rather than a fully refundable ticket for $1,000.

Even though he may end up cancelling or adjusting the flight and absorbing the cost, LaFave said he could not justify charging his client $1,000.

“I don’t like the fact that I’m forced to make decisions further out because as an attorney, I’m losing some flexibility,” said LaFave. “At the same time, I have to make it as affordable as possible for the client.”

Hometown Changes

But even adding time and saving money on a trip is not a guarantee an attorney will make a client meeting these days.

Gegios said he endured an “unexplained” six-and-a-half hour delay on a Midwest Express flight to Las Vegas in June, which resulted in him missing several pre-trial conferences.

“I missed every one of my meetings and had to be brought up to speed over dinner as we were getting ready for a hearing,” said Gegios, who ultimately made it to Las Vegas via the Milwaukee Brewers charter, which flew back to Milwaukee from Houston to accommodate the delayed passengers.

Midwest Airlines Vice President of Corporate Communications Michael Brophy, said the airline will bring in a dormant plane to transport stranded passengers, rather than leave them in an airport.

Brophy declined to release any statistics relating to the number of flight cancellations or delays by the Oak Creek-based airline. He conceded that there has been a dip in the number of leisure travelers, but said business bookings remain consistent.

“We get feedback from customers and we don’t segregate it out by attorneys, but I don’t think that much has or will change in terms of business-related services we offer,” said Brophy.

Midwest recently announced it will cut daily departures from Milwaukee from 118 to 90 starting on Sept. 8, but Brophy said the changes primarily affect vacationers.

The Only Way to Travel

All three attorneys interviewed for this story said the minor headaches associated with air travel nowadays are still tolerable.

National aviation consultant Michael Boyd said that while the industry is changing, his firm has not heard of any major disruptions for business travelers.

“There really aren’t the faceless masses of people stuck at airports, like the media seems to report, anyway,” said Boyd, who is President of the Boyd Group, Inc., based in Colorado. “Flights are delayed and cancelled, but not at the level that air travel is completely unreliable. Yet.”

Daily suggested some attorneys may consider “retooling” their practices in the future to include less travel if flight schedules continue to shrink. However, he is not among them.

“The only lawyers who love to travel are the ones who don’t do it,” said Daily. “But even if I have to use my own wings, I’ll still fly.”

LaFave actually said he is a happier air traveler today than a decade ago, in part because of technological advancements.

“My practice is totally portable,” said LaFave. “There is a lot more you can tap into while you are in the air.”