Just as you could find an oasis or two in the desert, you can find silver linings amid the destabilization caused by COVID-19.
As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the nation, many businesses, including restaurants, theater companies, hair salons, gyms and more have experienced costly business interruptions due to state-mandated closures designed to contain the outbreak.
When courthouse calendars across the state were effectively paused back in March as concerns over the novel coronavirus heightened, family law attorney Dean S. Dussias — like many others in the legal field — was unsure what his new day-to-day would look like.
Now in his 40s, Michael Bornhorst is every bit the career litigator. But in order to reconnect with his previous career, all he needs to do is turn on his television.
In light of the pandemic and all the resultant suffering and loss, worrying about the legal profession and its diversity may seem a bit of a luxury, a first world issue during a worldwide problem. But perhaps that’s because I was thinking about diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) in a pre-pandemic world. The reality is that regardless of when “normal” returns, we’re going to be living and practicing in a new normal. And D&I will have a new normal, too.
History, like a bell, rings, hisses, crackles and echoes, if only we listen. On Sept. 8, 1918, the influenza pandemic arrived in the Chicago area. A few weeks later, new cases slowed enough for the Chicago Health Commissioner, Dr. John Dill Robertson, to proclaim that authorities had “the Spanish influenza situation well in hand now.”
Matt Fortin and Paula Villela joined the Chicago law office of BatesCarey LLP this spring. Neither one has been to the office yet, nor have they met their new colleagues face-to-face.
Women in Law - July 2020Chicago Lawyer is proud to present the July 2020 Women in Law special section.