whAT DO we DO nOw ?
Professionalism & Ethics Committee Chairs : Joan Boles – Bay Area Legal Services & Shelton Bridges – Bridges Law Group , PLLC
The pandemic has underscored the importance of interpersonal relationships and in-person trials .
The past year has been unusual and challenging , to put it mildly . We now know Zoom isn ’ t just an onomatopoeia , we wear masks into businesses and no one fears we ’ re robbers , and we ’ ll never again look at toilet paper quite the same . With vaccinations becoming increasingly available , what lessons can we , as lawyers , learn from the pandemic as we move forward to “ normal ” times , or perhaps a new normal ?
Technology offers us great alternatives . Where would any of us be right now if not for technology ? It got us through the past year , and then some . Think of the number of court hearings , depositions , and even bench trials that have occurred in the last 12 months thanks to computers , telephones , and the internet . Without technology , it is almost impossible to imagine how any legal business could have been conducted during the pandemic . In the criminal arena alone , consider how much money
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