Last week, Circuit City, a company founded over 60 years ago and the nation’s #2 consumer electronics retailer, announced that it would be ceasing its U.S. operations. For their 30,000 employees and the nation, this is a horrific economic tragedy. The removal of their products and services is not without impact to the legal services community and litigation practitioners. For example, the 576 stores typically carried a host of consumer electronics that are used in a business environment, such as desktop and laptop computers, cables, networking devices, removable media, projectors and other peripherals. While most IT related business purchases are accomplished through vendors or corporate accounts, Circuit City was always an option for last minute purchases at trial or on-site. Do you need a spare projector bulb? Did an LCD monitor break in transit to trial? Do you need blank CD’s or DVD’s? Perhaps, at the most extreme, a computer has crashed and you need an immediate spare? All of these problems are answered through big box stores such as a Circuit City, Best Buy, Staples or Office Depot. As you prepare for a trial, mediation or arbitration, examine which resources are available regionally and through which provider. Prior to arriving on-site, I often email myself a list of the name, address, phone number, store hours and a Google map link to the location of the nearest electronics stores. This enables me to know my options in advance of encountering the problem. While there are solutions other than Circuit City for last minute or emergent needs, the closure of this chain’s doors insures that litigation support professionals and service providers will have 576 less options in 2009.
No related posts.
