The coronavirus outbreak has placed a massive strain on traditional working arrangements. While litigation has not fully stopped, court slowdowns have made it very difficult to resolve most cases. To ensure that business can continue, law firms and legal support companies have had to be flexible and adapt quickly. If you’ve suddenly found yourself working from home, we’re here to help you.
These four tips will you stay sane and productive during the quarantine:
Preserving Communication and Morale
Already started working from home? Chances are, you probably have dozens of Zoom meetings and conference calls scheduled for the next few weeks. As we turn to technology for our critical business operations, we can use the same tools to replace things like water cooler chats and getting coffee with a colleague. In the midst of the pandemic, it’s important to make time for unstructured conversations with peers. Don’t be afraid to make a spontaneous call to talk through a strategy with a coworker. This boosts overall morale and helps the whole team continue to feel connected and empowered.
Focus on the Physical
The coronavirus has left many of us feeling helpless and frustrated. Although we cannot control the spread of the disease, we can control the way that we take care of our bodies. Consider taking part in high-impact activities (if you can do them without breaking social distancing guidelines). If you’re not fond of heart-pounding runs, stretching is a great lower-impact exercise that has the added benefit of improving blood flow and flexibility.
Exercise is known to improve your mood by releasing endorphins. These endorphins help mitigate the negative effects of cortisol, which your brain produces when under stress. When you take time to care for your body in this crisis, it improves your mood, which has a big impact on how you react to challenges in the moment.
Keeping Busy
Completed a task and suddenly found yourself feeling lost? For legal professionals, (many of whom made court appearances or traveled to depositions multiple times per day), it can feel like life has ground to a halt. The typical workday has been forgotten and you may have had to put cases on hold for non-essential businesses.
If you’re feeling antsy due to a reduced workload, consider pro-bono work. Right now, communities of all kinds are struggling to weather the coronavirus crisis. Staying busy and helping others will make you feel more normal and you will be able to see that your work is valuable and can have an immediate positive impact.
Control Incoming Information
Whether you’re a news junkie or you simply catch sight of the occasional breaking news notification, you’ve probably found yourself processing massive amounts of information recently. It’s very tempting to lose hours of time just scrolling through the news. However, you need to spend time away from constant CDC updates and political briefings. When you do turn on the news, don’t forget to look at the positive!
If you need to occupy your mind, consider enrolling in online MCLE classes. At First Legal, we offer MCLE courses that meet all California Bar standards and criteria. Currently, the following courses are approved and available:
- California eFiling Landscape
- Civil Procedure for Discovery and the Subpoena Process
- Conducting Remote Depositions
- eDiscovery: Past, Present & Future
- International Service of Process
- Service by Publication
If you are interested in taking any of these courses, you can contact your local Account Executive to learn more. You can also email our Regional Manager, Larry Kirlin at lkirlin@firstlegal.com!
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article, let us know in the comments and feel free to share it on social media. As more and more attorneys and law offices are moving to remote work from their home offices, we are doing everything in our power to empower our clients and court reporters with one-on-one training on remote depositions and telephonic solutions. We’re here for you from File Thru Trial™.
