The internet is full of memes declaring 2020 the worst year ever. For the legal profession, the coronavirus brought dramatic change—in-person court proceedings largely came to a halt, judges conducted hearings via Zoom, and lawyers learned to work from home, where noisy children and pets sometimes made themselves known to colleagues during conference calls. For some lawyers, the shutdown of courts translated into a loss of income, while others were not hurt as much.

Yet the year’s tumultuous events impacted some people more than others, and some in the legal profession sunk to new depths while others experienced career breakthroughs.