A Lawyer's Gratitude for the Ability to Social Distance

Getting a virtual hug is not the same as a real one. After this pandemic passes, I wonder how many real hugs, handshakes and gestures involving personal touch will be a thing of the past. Before the last two weeks of our shelter in place virtual office, I never believed it possible to virtually provide the level of service to clients going through divorce by Zoom or teleconference. No amount of hand sanitizer, gloves or anything short of a Hazmat suit will suffice to protect lawyers from clients who may be infected with COVID-19.

Divorce is one of the hardest things a person may face in their lifetime including death of a loved one. During that period, I view our jobs as family lawyers as truly counselors at law. I can’t hand a Kleenex through the screen. I can’t watch in person while my client’s hands trembling as they search for words to describe why their marriage failed. While we are not therapists, especially now when clients may not be able to afford therapy, I feel more at a loss. My our clients are not hooked on ventilators, begging for their lives like the patients that healthcare workers see day in day out. The mere sight of an attorney with all of the protective gear may startle an emotional, edgy family law client who is fighting to get her child back.

But it is necessary for safety. The six feet apart approach is government mandated. While lawyers are able to use technology to protect ourselves from the virus, I feel intensely grateful for not being on the front lines, exposing myself and my children to COVID-19 daily in the workplace. Today I express gratitude for my friends in the healthcare industry who have no choice to social distance, and even at best are using makeshift personal protective equipment. The doctors, the nurses, -their sacrifices are selfless. Without them, we would perish. The image of Central Park with its pop-up hospital this morning on the news shook me to my core. Never in a million years would I expect the need to use stadiums, convention centers, schools and navy ships to rescue Americans from a sci-fi nightmare setting.

And the lawyers who sit or stand behind their virtual calls do not have to make this trade off. We are lucky. So tonight my prayers and thoughts are with the doctors, the nurses, the medics and first responders who are hourly treating our most sick, as they are both exhausted and brave. Thank you.