By: Masimba Mutamba, Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Fifteenth Circuit Representative

The YLD partnered with the Labor & Employment Section to present a free webinar entitled “COVID-19 and Return to Work: What Employers and Employees need to know.”  A distinguished panel of experienced practitioners addressed COVID-19 employment issues, employer and employee safety concerns, and the uncertain attempts to return to both normal and new working conditions. The webinar will be available on the Bar’s Legal Fuel COVID-19 resource page at https://www.legalfuel.com/covid-19-information-and-resources/.

Bar President Dori Foster-Morales also concluded her Virtual Town Hall Meetings this month. The town halls were an opportunity to gather poll data about issues of greatest concern to members during the pandemic. Polls revealed that technology has not been the biggest problem for lawyers: the looming issue across circuits and practice areas has been balancing home and work when teleworking and having a life notwithstanding the isolation of social distancing. True, many attorneys—myself included–are accustomed to counteracting frenetic periods of practice with reprieves of voluntary bar involvement and socializing with colleagues, family, and friends. Alongside the absence of social interaction and a work-life distinction, President Foster-Morales notes, is the economic pressure of lost income during this pandemic.

Feedback from the virtual town halls will be provided to the Pandemic Recovery Task Force to assist in prioritizing its recommendations for resources or assistance to members. At its September 21st meeting, the Task Force discussed ongoing negotiations for childcare member benefits with Care.com. In addition, the Trial Lawyers Section presented its whitepaper on ample legal authority for the appointment of senior circuit judges and county court judges on a temporary basis to help resolve the expected backlog of civil jury trials. The Task Force voted to explore available options by coordinating efforts with the Supreme Court’s COVID-19 Working Group. The Task Force’s next meeting is scheduled for October 5.