A study in Britain of 80 workers announced that technological distractions (such as e-mail, instant messaging, and the telephone (!)) make workers temporarily dumber by 10 IQ points – that is, more than two times dumber than if they were smoking pot. Tech. Rev., July 2005 at 18, citing a study Hewlett-Packard commissioned.
Distractions of any kind, but especially the variable reinforcement – and incessant interruption — of Blackberries and e-mail undoubtedly whittle away at the concentration good lawyers need.