Law Practice

Firm Survives 9/11 Attack, But Changes

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It takes a lot today to create a crisis at Harris Beach. Its law offices at 2 World Trade Center were obliterated on Sept. 11, 2001, killing three lawyers, two staff members and a contractor supervising an almost-completed $4 million renovation project. Now, many among the more than 100 who survived say they approach their work with a very different attitude.

“You don’t sweat the small stuff anymore—you just move on,” says litigation partner Cindy Antonucci, noting that the firm went paperless after the terrorist attack by necessity—its records were destroyed. More recently, a several-inch flood from a burst pipe was taken in stride, too, she tells the ABA Journal. “We said, ‘It’s only a little water.’ ” she recounts. “We’ve had to start again from nothing. After that, there’s not a hell of a lot that can upset you.”

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