How new lawyers can survive and thrive in the uncharted era of COVID-19

There is no question that the first year of practicing law is meant to be challenging, but nothing could have warned the class of 2019 that we would spend a portion of our first year as attorneys, working remotely, due to an international pandemic.

Just six-months ago, I, like much of the class of 2019, was anxiously awaiting the results of the July 2019 California Bar Examination. After enduring three grueling years of law school, 10 weeks of studying for the bar, and then sitting for the actual exam, I was ready to take the legal world by storm.

At 6 p.m. on Nov. 15, 2019, I found out that "my name appeared on the pass list for the July 2019 California Bar Examination." After a few minutes of shock and disbelief, I recognized that my life-long goal of becoming a lawyer had finally been achieved. I was lucky to have previously secured an associate position at a high-level litigation firm, and after being sworn-in on Dec. 4, 2019, I was ecstatic for the road ahead and eager to begin getting the practical experience of being a trial lawyer.

Between December 2019 and early March 2020, everything was going well. I was assigned my own list of cases, and working with my team to prepare those cases for trial. I even flew to New York to defend my first expert deposition. I knew that as long as I continued to push myself, the possibilities seemed endless. I had set goals for continued growth in the next six months -- which included assisting my senior associate at a March 17 arbitration, challenging myself to take and defend more depositions, attend court hearings, argue motions, and communicated directly with clients.

Little did anyone know, that in just a few months, the entire legal profession would be flipped upside down due to COVID-19. Whether you're in law school, a first year-associate like myself, a senior associate, or a partner at a law firm, everyone has felt the impact of COVID-19. For a first-year associate, who needs to use this year to prove herself as a valuable member of the firm, this new terrain has been extremely difficult to navigate. Without trials, fewer hearings, and appearances overall, my expectations as an incoming lawyer at a trial firm needed some readjustment. A prior classmate of mine, now also a first-year associate, suggested that "the expectations we set for ourselves, manageable when things were normal, are no longer feasible." We share a constant feeling of underperformance based on standards that no longer exist. COVID-19 is forcing us to use our creativity and resilience in order to find ways to still thrive, and prove ourselves valuable, even though much of the legal world is currently on pause.

My biggest takeaway during this time is that despite the inherent challenges that come along with remote work, court closures, indefinite trial and hearing postponements, etc., there is still an opportunity for new attorneys to shine. Here's how:

Be available. Any experienced attorney will tell us young lawyers the importance of putting ourselves out there. But what does that truly mean in the era of COVID-19? Personally, I strive to take the initiative of asking others in my office whether they need help with a project -- if I'm low on work -- I constantly seek where I can lend a hand. Why is this important? We want other attorneys, outside of our immediate superiors, to notice our work ethic and ability to be flexible with the projects we undertake. Now is the moment to find work and get it done.

Be creative. The reality is that the civil legal environment is in many ways stagnant at the moment and the ways in which we typically learn -- by doing -- seem halted. When nothing is truly urgent, it's easy to lose motivation and drive. Thus, it is crucial to find creative ways to remain a necessary resource for our firms. In order for our careers to move forward, and for us to continue learning, we need to provide further initiative, beyond that of a typical first-year lawyer. Personally, this required me to dig deep and find way to still build up my trial skills, even though there are no trials on the horizon. I've taken an inventory of my assigned cases, and created lists of what still needs to be done in preparation for trial. This means summarizing depositions, working on trial documents, or even cleaning up and organizing the files. Once a trial date gets set, I will thank myself for this work. Strive for creativity and continue to challenge yourself to produce exceptional work.

Take care of yourself. Of course, we can neither be available nor creative if we are not taking care of ourselves. In this stressful time, this element may be the most important. The line between work and home, which is normally blurred in this profession, is now completely gone. To combat this, I have structured my days, as much as possible, even as I work from home. This means taking breaks for lunch, and putting work away at a reasonable hour. Also, just like when we were studying for the bar a few months ago, getting good sleep and physical exercise is imperative.

Needless to say, this is not how any of us envisioned our first year practicing law. But this is where we find ourselves, and we must make the best of it. When the impact of COVID-19 diminishes, and our work-lives go back to what used to feel normal, we will remember how we endured this challenge and how we overcame it. If we're lucky, the partners at our firms will remember us as the first-year associates who managed to shine during the uncharted era of COVID-19. 