Practicting Solo in Covid

  • 20 octobre 2021
  • Anton Katz

Covid has thrown its own unique set of challenges at the world, the legal profession and, of relevance to this audience, sole and small firm practitioners.

Until recently, I had my own office space, and within its confines, a law clerk, legal assistant, another lawyer and his support staff. Clients would come in, even to discuss fairly routine matters. 

Covid changed that. My staff expressed a preference for working from home. The other lawyer would often be away. I was finding it increasingly lonely going into my office. Clients readily, and through necessity, adopted Zoom as a platform to interact, presumably seeing no value in driving to my office, paying for parking, risking infection, etc. Corporate closings ceased happening in person. Documents were exchanged electronically, often using DocuSign.  Clients would often email or text, rather than call.  The result was an increasingly isolating experience and I longed for the camaraderie that one sees when, for example, you go into a coffee shop or a grocery store.  In those places, you see people, you can make small talk and, in the case of the grocery store, see, smell and touch things – the very tactile experience that technology robs us of.

To mitigate my loneliness, I joined a law chambers. I also chose to serve on the executives of this section as well as the Business Law section, in order to feel more ‘connected’ to the profession.  I joined an business networking group – online of course. I spent more time with friends and family.