How Our World
Has Changed
I
t
was
T h u r s d a y,
March
12,
2020.
The
Executive
Committee
for
the
Atlanta Bar
Association
Board
of
Directors
had a regularly scheduled meeting that
day. There had been some thought late
the week before of cancelling the meeting
due to a dearth of issues on the calendar.
Nonetheless, we decided to press forward
due to troubling news about Coronavirus.
While there were a few whispers in other
sectors of the economy about events being
adjusted or postponed, they were still
just whispers early the week of March 9.
By the morning of Thursday, March 12,
however, those whispers were growing ever
louder by the minute. Executive Director,
Terri Bryant, had been collecting information
from other bar associations all week, and she
reported that many had hoped to continue
with “business as usual.” But it was dawning
on us that business was going to anything
but usual, at least in the short term. As
we discussed a grim palate of options – no
4
April 2020
RYAN K. WALSH
Jones Day
[email protected]
“good” ones, only differing degrees of bad –
the Executive Committee ultimately decided
to postpone or cancel all in person Atlanta
Bar events for two weeks, until March
27. By that time, we hoped (naively) that
the worst would be behind us. At the very
least, we thought two weeks would give us a
better perspective on what we were facing.
In the 48 hours after our announcement, the
world as we knew it seemed to implode. What
had once been whispers of cancellations had
become a full-throated roar, as institutions
around the country, including schools,
colleges, youth sports leagues, and some
businesses announced that events were being
suspended or canceled. The Ivy League
announced that sports for the entire spring
were canceled – a decision that seemed insane
at the time but turned out to be prescient.
Within a week, state and local governments
were putting restrictions in place, and it
became clear in person events were not
feasible for the foreseeable future. On March
12, we announced the extension of our
cancellation of in person events through the
end of April, and on April 30, we announced
the cancelation of our events through May.
Since that time, life has had a surreal edge
for all of us in the legal community. Courts
temporarily closed as judges worked to
determine how best to keep the wheels of
justice turning in the face of an unprecedented
pandemic. Corporate transactions were
delayed or canceled as the impact of
“social distancing” recommendations and
later “shelter-in-place” orders rocked the
economy. “Pencils down” orders were
relayed to all practices, large and small.
Health concerns have abounded for family
members and colleagues. It is a rare legal
practice that has been left unaffected
by the Coronavirus, with many firms
announcing compensation cuts, furloughs,
and layoffs.
The financial devastation
wrought by this public health crisis will be
felt in the legal sector – as it will throughout
the economy – for a long time to come.
Still, without downplaying the very real harm
felt by our Atlanta Bar family over the last
several weeks, the glimmer of silver linings
remains. Each day, we see countless acts of
selfless heroism from medical professionals
and first responders who risk their lives to
try to stem the tide of this insidious, invisible
enemy. We witness the quiet courage of
grocery store cashiers and delivery drivers
who allow us to maintain some semblance
of our “normal lives.” Even the silence
of deserted streets stands as an indelible
testament to our collective resolve, our love
for our community, our commitment to