The Daily

What I Learned Last “Year”

When the COVID pandemic hit, I was taking a time out. Timing being everything and all that. I’d spent a few years investing in and launching what was supposed to be a “virtual law office” (VLO). I have always been fascinated by the old AND the new. The project took a ton of time and a lot of money. But many clients were hesitant to take that particular technological leap, so I chalked it up to a good idea that wasn’t ready.

Then the pandemic hit. And that changed everything.

“But down in the back where the jukeboxes were, there was a connecting door that was always open ….”

For twenty-five years, the primary concern of my practice has been health care, safety, accidents, injuries, dangerous products. medicine, and insurance. And I get it: there is a lot of time, money, experience, comfort, sweat, blood, love, and good stories invested in the brick and mortar experience built to accommodate our shops. There’s an argument to be made that there’s no substitute for the face-to-face in many instances, and old habits die hard. I thought it would be easy to replicate that online – or close enough. As it turns out, it wasn’t.

When the pandemic hit, that changed everything. Big Law offices are still locked though the workers are getting called back. The courthouses tried to struggle through but the civil dockets are a mess with priority given to criminal cases under the circumstances.

“And standing in that doorway you were on the firing line of the loudest confrontation of them all ….”

I am not going to debate the CDC virus guidelines or the politics of re-opening economies. Except to say this – I believe in safety rules and our responsibility to one another.

Going forward, things will be different. Instead of abandoning the VLO, I’m recommitting to the premise as a good one. It is no longer a luxury – not when the courthouse is closed to my clients except through digital portals and high-speed cable lines. It is a necessity – whether we admit it or not. Lawyers can keep logging into Zoom on their cellphones in their pajama bottoms to cover hearings in front of a judge. That is their business. Not me. More than a year into this mess, courts are still not open to civil cases. That means no trials except for those willing to waive the usual jury trial in person.

 “All I want is for a voice to come out of the wilderness ….”

So, what are the changes? Is distancing here to stay? I think you can find the answer in two words: ‘simplicity’ and ‘ease.’ People, even stubborn ones, are unlikely to give up habits ingrained over two years of remoting. Are the Courts going to completely abandon video conferences after two years? Doubtful. Sure – we’ll all scramble back into the courthouse as soon as the dockets open wide. But nobody will forget how easily technology bridged the gap when it wasn’t even safe to go outside.

But the internet is not and was never meant to be the complete answer. We’ve all seen the awful social media can sow (Is it called Facebook or Meta now?). We need a balance between human contact and the cold convenience of tech. Technology is supposed to make our lives better, and too often, it doesn’t even try. People aren’t stupid. They know these things. I’ll try to fashion a balance that brings us together rather than adding to the discord and conflict.

“… and the stereo to crackle in flames like the burning bush. I don’t want to have to ask, ‘Are you talking to me?’ I want to know. And then I want to dance.”

H/T Ariel Swartley from Stranded: Desert Island Music (The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle).