YLD NEWS BY JEREMY R. WILLIAMS, WHITFIELD BRYSON LLP | YLD PRESIDENT
I HOPE THAT YOU ARE REMAINING SAFE AND HEALTHY during this public health crisis. Unfortunately, given the current stay-at-home order, we have canceled all in-person events scheduled for the coming weeks. As most of us struggle to adapt to this new normal of practicing law from our homes instead of our offices, I also want to share three tips that have helped me and my colleagues maintain some sense of normalcy. 1. WORK THE SAME HOURS YOU TYPICALLY WOULD. If you normally work in your office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., do the same while at home (if these are your hours, most of your peers reading this may be jealous, so be thankful for your job). It can be easy to get distracted with small tasks around your home, but do your best during your “work hours” to set boundaries and limit yourself from getting distracted with household chores that normally wouldn’t get done while you are at work anyway. 2. TAKE CARE OF YOU. As lawyers, mental and physical health is always critical to our success but is often neglected. That’s never been more true for our profession than right now. If you regularly exercise, continue to do so! There are countless resources available online that are providing tips for transitioning your workouts from the gym to your house, and I encourage you to explore those if this is something you’re struggling with. 3. INTERACT WITH OTHERS (VIRTUALLY!). I’ve spoken with many attorneys over the past several weeks who have explained that their biggest struggle right now is the lack of social interaction. This is especially true for many young lawyers who may live by themselves, or are simply used to socializing regularly with friends, colleagues, clients and even opposing counsel. The best solution I have found so far for this problem is to change most of my conference calls to video conference calls. Even this virtual interaction with others makes this continued isolation feel less isolating. I’ve even had friends and colleagues set up virtual happy hours that have been a great way to feel less disconnected. Finally, many of you have expressed interest in opportunities to donate or assist those in our community most affected by this crisis, and I welcome suggestions from any of you for ways that the YLD can leverage our talents and resources to help our community through these difficult times. Please continue to remain safe, heed the government’s orders and serve your clients to the best of your abilities. Feel free to reach out to me if there is anything I can do as your YLD president to help you through this. WBF
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WAKE BAR FLYER
11
SECOND QUARTER 2020
