2021 ABA PROFILE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
HON . DAN TRAYNOR ABA Delegate
In my first few years of practice , I scheduled a deposition against the client of a long-time North Dakota lawyer . My dad , who was a long-time lawyer himself , warned me to watch out for the veteran lawyer as he had a reputation for “ signaling ” his witnesses .
When I started asking questions , I was stunned to see my father ’ s warning was spot on ; the lawyer would shake his head either up and down or side to side to indicate how he wanted his client to respond to my questions . I noted the improper action on the record and warned the lawyer to stop . It didn ’ t stop , but the interference was reduced .
Recently , I spoke with a busy North Dakota lawyer and inquired how the pandemic was affecting his litigation practice . He described a deposition conducted by Zoom where the witness appeared to be unusually guarded and delayed answering his questions . The attorney assumed the demeanor was simply the result of the remote process . As the odd witness behavior continued , the deposing lawyer eventually asked if someone else was in the room with the deponent . He learned that a supervising employer was in the room with the deponent and outside of the view of the camera .
The pandemic has changed the way lawyers work in many ways . The loss of in-person interaction has obvious pitfalls , including the inability for litigators and mediators to evaluate the behavior of a witness or party . Remote appearances and hearings have diminished the dignity of the court process with some remote appearances , even by counsel , looking as though someone just woke up from a nap or came off the golf course .
The American Bar Association studied the impacts of the pandemic on the legal profession . Between September 30 and October 11 , 2020 , the ABA surveyed more than 4,200 association members from across the country . In July of 2021 , the ABA released a 140-page report , its third annual Profile of the Legal Profession , which included extensive discussion of how the pandemic has affected lawyers .
The report noted “[ m ] ost lawyers ( 54 %) said they were working from home close to 100 % of the time . Not surprisingly , the vast majority ( 73 %) said they missed seeing people at the office . More significantly , a majority ( 51 %) said they felt it was hard to keep home and work separate . That was especially true for women ( 63 %) and lawyers of color ( 62 %).”
As an explanation to why women were more adversely affected , “[ t ] he survey found that female lawyers were more likely to live with dependent children than male lawyers ( 42 % versus 30 %). What ’ s more , female lawyers were nearly three times as likely to take on additional child care responsibilities during the pandemic ( 14 % for women versus 5 % for men ).”
Lawyers ’ retirement plans were affected in different ways by the pandemic . “ One-third of older lawyers ( 33 %) said the pandemic changed their retirement plans . Among those lawyers , more than half ( 53 %) said the pandemic delayed retirement . Just under half ( 47 %) said it hastened their retirement .”
Among the respondents who indicated the pandemic brought on an early retirement , the decision came regardless of “ whether I could afford it or not ” and it caused reflection on life outside of work . Those who waved off retirement , concluded the work-from-home model would allow them to simply slow down versus retire . Others concluded becoming a homebody was not for them .
“ Contrary to the stereotype , most lawyers who are 62 or older said they were comfortable with new technology introduced during the pandemic . Nearly three-quarters ( 73 %) said they had to learn new technology to continue working or to keep in contact with others , and the vast majority ( 79 %) said they were somewhat comfortable or extremely comfortable with that technology .”
Lawyers in smaller firms fared better during the pandemic . “[ N ] early half of lawyers at larger firms of 10 or more attorneys ( 48 %) said they had more trouble taking time off during the pandemic than a year earlier . For solo lawyers , it was 32 % and for small-firm lawyers 40 %.”
Solo practitioners were better able to keep their home and work lives separate during the pandemic . “ More than half of lawyers at firms with 10 or more lawyers ( 57 %) said they found it hard to keep home and work separate , but that was true for only 41 % of small-firm lawyers and 32 % of solo attorneys .”
The 2021 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession is available at www . americanbar . org / news / reporter _ resources / profile-ofprofession /.
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