So how are we coping so far?
Living life with Covid-19, resilience has become a lifestyle. The term “new normal” has been coined to mean that we have moved on with our lives adapting to extra precautions to protect ourselves and one another. Among these new normal things is acclimatizing to work from home arrangements for most industries and occupations to minimize physical exposure and prevent the spread of this unseen enemy. The Legal Profession is no exception.
At the onset of this pandemic, courts were forced to recourse to remote means of delivering justice. From maintaining the necessary skeletal workforce, to acting on matters that needed immediate attention, to issuing circulars sanctioning electronic filing of pleadings and conducting trials. The most recent issuance of the Supreme Court was covered by Memorandum Order No. 10-2022 directing courts in certain areas with rising cases of Covid-19 infections to be physically closed until January 31, 2022. As a practicing lawyer, I could say that there is yet to be some getting used to the dilemma of transitioning from physical to virtual to physical and then going back again to virtual legal practice. It can never be an easy feat to juggle pandemic anxieties, stress and still keep that work-life balance. Henceforth, here are some lawyering (and not so lawyering)-through-the pandemic basket list of options to get us going. Some may be mundane to you but sensible to others or vice versa – for your consideration.
Practice Intentional Living. Even if you are not a lawyer, to live intentionally is to live with awareness. When you are aware of your life, you have a reason behind everything that you do starting with yourself, transcending to others. Begin with self-care, to finding ways to focus, to establishing a routine.
“As a lawyer, my intention is to help my client and so, in spite of the limitations of this pandemic, I will find available ways to help. I will utilize online advice through phone calls or videoconferencing.” Basic self-care such as getting enough sleep, eating healthy and exercising regularly would keep your immune system strong and your emotional reserves full. Focus and establish a routine from getting up to going to bed. Keep a work space where you can do all virtual tasks like talking to clients, drafting pleadings and attending virtual hearings. Separate your work space from your sleeping or rest area. Acknowledge that the current circumstances are not permanent and you just have to do the best that you can at the present moment.
Do not take virtual social support for granted. Your non-lawyer friends and your colleagues in the profession are anxious too. You need not ask them to fix your anxieties for you but both ends can benefit from knowing you are not alone. Ask about how their day went, tell them about yours, no matter how unexciting. Laugh through emoticons or videocalls. While it may be healthy to be alone with our thoughts for introspection every now and then, adapting to the digital life in order to experience an immersive social life, though only a semblance is not such a bad idea.
Powering Through. Stay organized and focus only on the things you can control. While modeling a good behavior and staying safe, acknowledge that you can’t control what other people do. If an opposing counsel fails to show up when you are prepared for the hearing, plan the next setting or choose a productive relief. There are always uncertainties about what comes next. But instead of worrying about the ambiguous future, focus on solving what you have at hand.
In retrospect, the last quarter of 2021 seemed promising and we were filled with hope as we welcomed 2022. Hence, we couldn’t really say that all is lost. While the question of whether or not the transition to online methods made justice more accessible or elusive is yet to be addressed, this digital age of legal practice has already gained approval from lawyers and magistrates alike, due perhaps to its success thus far. Although some still find it abhorrent. Nonetheless, it cannot be discounted that achieving justice through remote and electronic means may have a big role in the new and hopefully better normal. (By Atty. Joahna Paula Quiros-Domingo)
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Atty. Joahna Paula “Joeie” Q. Domingo obtained her Doctorate Jurist degree from the Ateneo de Davao College of Law and her field of practice is focused on litigation. Atty. Joeie is also a broadcast journalist and a law professor. She will be writing regularly for this column of News Fort PH, Soliloquy.
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