COVID-19, Ethics, and The Law BY ATTORNEY SHEILA M. PARRISH-SPENCE
In 2019, the legal profession was functioning as it always had for decades. The courthouses were busy. Witness protection, law enforcement, court and hearing rooms, clerks’ offices, agencies, bar associations, legal supply stores, and more were open and busy until the interloper, COVID-19, an infectious, airborne, respiratory disease, covered the globe and became a deadly pandemic. Judges, court commissioners, and lawyers serve to uphold justice. Due to the global pandemic, the legal profession enacted new policies and rules to continue working for the good of the people despite quarantines, social distancing, and mandated wearing of masks. The restricted movement and interaction brought constant awareness of sanitizing courthouses and law offices for health and safety. Many of the legal professionals have been quarantined, hospitalized, or succumbed to COVID-19. The year 2020 started off well in the legal community until March. An interloper called COVID-19 invaded the US. This was not an epidemic – a disease that is only nation wide. It was global – a pandemic. The national and global news was grim. Many people have been quarantined or hospitalized, and some died. As of April 2021, the Centers for Disease Control had reported that over 566,000 people had died from COVID-19. This national epidemic is unlike any other. The nation— including the legal community — survived polio from 1916 to 1955, HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, cryptosporidium from contaminated water in 1983 and teh H1N1 flu in 2009, all survived polio from 1916 to 1955, HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, cryptosporidium from contaminated water in 1983 and the H1N1 flu in 2009, all with daily reports infection rates. Yet, the legal profession was undaunted. Instead, it creatively enacted new modes of working ethically in our legal profession. As the pandemic grew it affected our homes, employment, health, educational institutions, human services agencies, recreation, food supply, and technology. They each started to quarantine, restrict or reduce activities, limit travel or
TRAVIS SPELL, BA, ATTY. SHEILA M. PARRISH-SPENCE, J.D., MSE AND DR. LAKEIA JONES-SPELL, DSW, LPC, CSAC AT THE ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC. EPSILON KAPPA OMEGA, DEBUTANTE COTILLION IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
close altogether. The various realms of the legal profession were no different. Courthouses, law offices, law schools, legal agencies and organizations streamlined their services or shut down to the public for a period of time. Lawyers, judges, and legal staff worked remotely. Numerous layoffs, reduced work hours, furloughs, and terminations became common and governmental directives for their populations to wear mask, wash hands, social distance, and curb social activities. Many legal entities still have no face-to-face communication with clients and others. The legal profession has been creative in using technology to continue its work. Judges, court commissioners, hearing officers, attorneys, mediators, law clerks, paralegals and support staff communicate remotely, mostly using video platforms such as Zoom. Training sessions for the legal community show legal professionals Zoom techniques, familiarized them with tools, including webcams, microphones and headphones and introduced technology language such as cloud meeting, personal meeting, meeting link, meeting ID, passcode, background settings, and breakout rooms. Legal seminars, conferences, and events are now online. The legal community adapted to screen share materials and online exhibits and to verbally interact by microphone and emojis. Now, law firms have tech departments, enabling them to file documents online. In Wisconsin, members of the bar and their staff used this secure private technology pre-pandemic. Some forms eFiled are for family law, small claims court, restraining orders, motions, and orders. The filer receives notification of receipt or rejection due to improper information and can check on the status of the forms eFiled through the system. For years I have said, “The only constant thing in life is change.” People adapt to change. We all remember when computers replaced typewriters and cell phones replaced VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021
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