The legal industry might anticipate an earthquake in values.
That force field could rock law firms and in-house legal departments. The pheonomenon could be triggered both from those inside and third parties.
The U.S. Supreme Court might be shaken up also. Last Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced establishing a 32-person panel to review every aspect of the High Court.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, the majority of Americans are not the professionals and human beings they were before COVID became a reality in March 2020.
Let's look at that from our own experience. You probably have plenty to add.
First of all, they get it that they are alive. They didn't die from the virus. Sure, those they cared about or knew from work those who did die. However, they didn't. Survival provides a platform for a new start. Despite hatred of change, many are ready to do just that: Change.
Also, they might have experienced profound anxiety about their professional status. Would their law firm lay them off? Corporations' financial performance got hit hard by COVID. In-house legal was no longer a safe (and relaxed) harbor. After so much suffering they have gained a fresh perspective about the place of work in their lives and how much they are willing to endure for traditional achievement.
Therefore, it's no newsflash that James Suzman's "Work" is a best-seller. Although it's ponderous - 464 pages - it ranks high on Amazon - 33,314. In addition, Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Jeffrey Pfeffer is getting attention for his "Dying for a Paycheck" movement against exploitation of the global workforce.
And, third, social isolation provided over and over again that moment of clarity: Relationships are important. Human beings are a social animal. You bet, make time to find and nurture those human ties.
The legal industry will have to pony up real solutions for work/life balance. Read Glassdoor and the universal complaint is too much work, much of it unscheduled. That eliminates the opportunities to lock up social. For Jones Day, an associate posted on Glassdoor in January 2021: "zero work/life balance." That employee gave the firm a 2.0 out of a possible 5.
Of course, media outlets are in the business of picking up on trends. The disruption in the cultures in the legal sector is what they will probably focus on. And it's not just the advocacy player Abovethelaw. Traditional media centers such as Law.com are also looping in. Recently it published an article that indicated some skepticism about Orrick's much-praised paid Unplug initiative.
For decades, thought leaders will analyze how COVID transformed the perception of work per se and the collective unconscious of America. A lot is so so different. It's up to the legal sector to adjust.
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