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I'll be starting as an associate in a couple weeks, and have been looking at buying a computer setup for my own apartment. Wanted to ask current lawyers what they prioritize in terms of a home-office setup.

• Monitors. Dual monitors or an ultrawide monitor?
• Printers and scanners. Is a simple hybrid printer/scanner enough? Is there any need for the super fast scanners and such? Wondering if it'll actually make working remotely much easier.
• Other. Any other home equipment you found helpful for working remotely?

Thanks!

Ultrawide + mouse. I never use the home printer/scanner.

I preferred my single, old, large, normal monitor (it worked more seamlessly with leaving the laptop open and extending the screens). If I worked remotely more often, I would replicate work and get dual screens (or more) with a docking station and keyboard.

Dual monitors for me, but we use Macs for work, so I just use my iMac as a monitor with my work laptop. But I like having some things on one monitor, and then my actual work that I am focusing on at the moment on the main (larger) monitor.

I'm in corporate, looking for an affordable home printer that will print blacklines/document comparisons (so lots of blue and red ink showing changes) fast and won't break. Anyone have any suggestions?

Anonymous User wrote:

• Monitors. Dual monitors or an ultrawide monitor?

Both.

Anonymous User wrote:

• Printers and scanners. Is a simple hybrid printer/scanner enough? Is there any need for the super fast scanners and such? Wondering if it'll actually make working remotely much easier.

I don't really find a use for my home printer/scanner for work.

Anonymous User wrote:

• Other. Any other home equipment you found helpful for working remotely?

I have both my own PC and a work laptop. I have a docking station that I plug into the work laptop into (https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Display-Doc ... 693&sr=1-3) and use this (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LV ... UTF8&psc=1) to share my mouse/kb between both computers (I manually flip the inputs on my monitors). I would have used a KVM station to switch between the two, but all the KVMs I found were either crappy or obscenely expensive.

Get a dock that's compatible with your work laptop. Make sure it supports at least two monitors. You can start with one and expand to a second if you want it. Get a good keyboard and mouse.

When you want to work at home, you just drop the laptop into the dock. In the morning, one button to eject it and you're on your way.

Get both and ultrawide and a 24"/27". You can get both for cheap nowadays as long as they arent 4k/144hz/gsync/etc. If you dont use color get a laser printer thats compatible with 3rd party toners. 3rd party toners are cheap but still reliable. Get a gaming mouse or something similar (logitech mx master is a great non-gaming mouse).

Eta: invest in a good chair

three monitors

I'm a year in and never needed to use a printer, I'd skip that unless you know you'll need it.

I'm a year in and never needed to use a printer, I'd skip that unless you know you'll need it.

Eta: And I print stuff all the time at work, pretty much any blackline or diligence item I print out. I've just never needed to do it at home. Either print it out before leaving the office or wait until the next morning.

Ergonomics are important too. Get a vertical mouse for home and office and never look back

Printer/scanner probably isn't necessary but a simple one can help--you probably need one for everyday life every so often, anyway.

For the rest--I think a balance of comfort and efficiency is probably king. Some people like ultrawide monitors, some like two monitors, some like two ultrawide monitors, some probably like full on battlestations, and so on... some people like certain kinds of keyboard (i use mechanical) or mice, some people like laptops over desktops, etc. Also, some of this probably depends on what you get from your biglaw firm; if you get a firm issued laptop, then you probably want a docking station for it and connections to a monitor or whatever makes things easier.

The only thing I would add is to invest in a good office/gaming chair if you're going to be working from home a lot.

I use an ultrawide 4k monitor - I can fit more on that single screen than on my dual monitors at my office. You should check to see if your work laptop is 4k compatible, though.

I also got a phone for my home office, which makes working from home totally seamless.

The monitors are now mounted to the wall because I didn't like the giant base for that stand.

MarkinKansasCity wrote:

The monitors are now mounted to the wall because I didn't like the giant base for that stand.

Ok Mr. Mansion.

Landline is key. If you're the one who sends around a dial in for a closing call, a board meeting, or some important call with 20 people on it and you open the call from your cellphone at home at 5am, you dont want to have the call cut out and everyone get dropped and have to re-dial.

Landline.

merde_happens wrote:I use an ultrawide 4k monitor

I don't think such a thing exists? The closest, afaik, is LG's 38UC99-W.

SmokeytheBear wrote:

MarkinKansasCity wrote:
The monitors are now mounted to the wall because I didn't like the giant base for that stand.

Ok Mr. Mansion.

Our house is 1,800 square feet. The average new home is 2,700 square feet. If you think having a home office makes it a mansion, I assume you're living in one of those dystopian hellholes known as a "major city."

MarkinKansasCity wrote:

SmokeytheBear wrote:

MarkinKansasCity wrote:
The monitors are now mounted to the wall because I didn't like the giant base for that stand.

Ok Mr. Mansion.

Our house is 1,800 square feet. The average new home is 2,700 square feet. If you think having a home office makes it a mansion, I assume you're living in one of those dystopian hellholes known as a "major city."

If dystopian hellhole is surfing, followed by the dankest breakfast burrito with a single origin coffee, followed by rolling into my AmLaw 10 office at 11:15, but making sure I am out by 6 for happy hour on the beach, then sign me up for 1984.

MarkinKansasCity wrote:[img]photos[/img]

The monitors are now mounted to the wall because I didn't like the giant base for that stand.

That ceiling looks really low in this shot, how high is it?

SmokeytheBear wrote: Landline.

So long as you have decent internet, you should be able to go VOIP with a fixed line phone without paying the phone company rental.

bk1 wrote:

merde_happens wrote:I use an ultrawide 4k monitor

I don't think such a thing exists? The closest, afaik, is LG's 38UC99-W.

You're right - I guess it doesn't technically qualify as an "ultrawide," though it still seems huge to me. I have the Samsung - UE590 Series 28" LED 4K. Highly recommend.

Also, my firm provides a phone that connects via the WiFi. You have to have a router near your home office setup - I put in a mesh internet system for that purpose.

Kummel wrote:

MarkinKansasCity wrote:[img]photos[/img]

The monitors are now mounted to the wall because I didn't like the giant base for that stand.

That ceiling looks really low in this shot, how high is it?

7 feet. Fuck old houses. I have to duck under some of the light fixtures.

SmokeytheBear wrote:

MarkinKansasCity wrote:

SmokeytheBear wrote:

MarkinKansasCity wrote:
The monitors are now mounted to the wall because I didn't like the giant base for that stand.

Ok Mr. Mansion.

Our house is 1,800 square feet. The average new home is 2,700 square feet. If you think having a home office makes it a mansion, I assume you're living in one of those dystopian hellholes known as a "major city."

If dystopian hellhole is surfing, followed by the dankest breakfast burrito with a single origin coffee, followed by rolling into my AmLaw 10 office at 11:15, but making sure I am out by 6 for happy hour on the beach, then sign me up for 1984.

Dude if you can work 7 hours a day and hang out at the beach the rest of the time, more power to you. I was more thinking NYC/Chicago/LA 2 hours from the beach.

MarkinKansasCity wrote: The monitors are now mounted to the wall because I didn't like the giant base for that stand.

I'm curious why you don't have any monitors in portrait? I find portrait mode to be the best way to read documents.