Our world has shifted dramatically in just one week. And with the destabilization introduced by the coronavirus, there's going to ample need for helping others, including with pro bono work. But maybe not quite immediately. Want to weigh in? Email me here. Want this dispatch in your inbox every Thursday? Sign up here.

 

The Great Disruption

It's here. Last week we were anxiously preparing for what the new reality of remote working would be like. And now I'm trading shifts of childcare/homeschooling with my wife while trying to get my work responsibilities done. (If this was an audio briefing, it would be punctuated by intermittent shrieking.)

My conversations over the past couple of days suggest that lawyers who remain busy have adjusted relatively smoothly to their new arrangements. That's probably also the case for those who have seen their work temporarily dry up—although no one's actually admitted that to me yet.

Nonetheless, others across society have seen their existences disrupted far more than most lawyers and law firm staff: I'm talking about the millions of workers in the restaurant, retail, hospitality and other industries that are seeing paychecks disappear as a result of "social distancing."

Naturally, a crisis of this sort opens up all sorts of pro bono opportunities. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison jumped quickly into the breach, with chairman Brad Karp's pitch on Saturday to build a resource center that would guide those suddenly in economic need through the maze of relief opportunities.

The Association of Pro Bono Counsel has also been on the case. APBCo President Steve Schulman, the pro bono partner at Akin Gump, has been on a number of calls this week with the roughly 250 attorneys and practice group leaders who run pro bono programs at 120 firms around the world.

He says they've identified three primary work streams:

1) Helping and advising existing pro bono clients in the current climate.

"There are real challenges of remote-working with a client population that is not used to communicating by computer."

2) Offering immediate remote help on issues relating to the pandemic.

Working with hospitals to address the acute legal needs people have during a pandemic: wills and advance directives, for example.

3) Pro bono needs that emerge after the immediate crisis comes to an end.

"Most work is going to happen in the aftermath of this, including legal needs that we haven't identified yet." But one example is what's going to happen with evictions that are currently on hold.

One conclusion is that, unfortunately, it's unrealistic to expect presently idled attorneys to dive right into new pro bono work and make an immediate contribution. That's a slightly different message from Karp, who said that he could use thousands of outside lawyers to support the operation initiated by Paul, Weiss.

It's a different story for those who are already involved in representing clients with existing needs. "If there's work you can do remotely, even if it's not due for several months, take the time you have now to do it," Schulman says.

If the real flood of opportunities isn't going to come for weeks, one blessing is that the pro bono community is more coordinated than it was during the last recession. APBCo has more than twice as many members than it did in 2008.

"As things normalize, we will have the capacity to help," Schulman says.

In the News

➤➤ Just as I was finishing up last week's installment of the Law Firm Disrupted, word emerged from California that the state bar was putting the brakes on regulatory changes, discussed here in the past, that would open the door to fee sharing and outside ownership of law firms, in the name of increasing access to justice. My colleague Cheryl Miller reported that the trustees of the bar tabled recommendations from the state's task force, citing "political headwinds." Indiana University law school professor Bill Henderson, who drafted a report underpinning the conclusions of the task force, offers a typically thoughtful analysis on the failure of "rule makers" to deliver on several high-profile examples of market liberalization.

➤➤ Another group that's been placed at risk by the COVID-19 pandemic: contract attorneys. Above the Law did some crowdsourcing and found that the agencies handling this work have been denying attorneys the opportunity to work from home, even in epicenters for the disease like New York City.

➤➤ And finally, Bob Ambrogi is building a list of products and services offered by companies for free to support the work of legal professionals during the coronavirus crisis. Take a look.

Wash your hands, keep your distance, try your best to stay sane, and you'll hear from me again next Thursday. Thanks again for reading, and please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. Sign up here to receive The Law Firm Disrupted as a weekly email.