Law in the Time of the Coronavirus

These are strange times. People are “socially distant.” We live in fear of invisible enemies and an insidious virus. We wear gloves and masks because we’re afraid to touch anything. “Working from home” used to be something we did when our kid was sick, or what bosses did when they were really going to the beach.

It’s a brand-new world out there.

Fortunately, while the federal government may not have been ready for this crisis, MALIS|LAW was.

Our firm has been paperless for the past 13 years. For the past five, we’ve gone a step further and moved our practice into “the cloud” – a website with numerous firewalls, virus and security protection, and encryption using Amazon Web Services. This means that our client’s private information stays private while allowing us to access it from anywhere.

We have the equipment and software to do just about everything “virtually” – from making conference calls to reviewing medical information to video conferencing to attending virtual depositions.

It’s just like another day in the office, just not … in the office.

Why, if we weren’t expecting a biologic disaster, were we ready for a virtual office?

More than 35 years ago, Dan (then a first-year associate) asked his boss for a computer – unheard of at the time. He decided that when he opened his own firm, he’d build it around the latest technologies to create a truly forward-thinking practice.

This pandemic is forcing many employers into a virtual world where they have never worked and aren’t comfortable. However, centralized workplaces may soon be a thing of the past. We might be forced to get comfortable.

Now, Dan’s of the opinion that there’s no replacement for being in the same room as another human being. That’s the same whether it’s a routine meeting or a court hearing. A person’s subtle facial cues can be missed on a two-dimensional screen, and that information is crucial when interviewing witnesses. Despite everything, lawyers are in the people business and work better with others.

We hope for a speedy resolution to this crisis so that “work from home” doesn’t become the new normal. However, if it does, MALIS|LAW’s ready for the challenge. This works well for our clients, because we can meet with them wherever is convenient. It also works out well for our lawyers and staff, because it gives us more control over our work environment.

We’re working for you and thinking of you. We hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. We’ll see you soon — virtually or in the real world.

AND WASH THOSE HANDS!