Young lawyers and law students are feeling the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic in the legal profession. Jobs, summer positions and articling opportunities have been slashed. Many of those who are working are at home, balancing professional demands with families, or – at the other end of the spectrum – unable to take advantage of socializing and networking benefits.
The CBA Young Lawyers Section is filling some of these gaps with Coffee in the Times of COVID. This weekly virtual meet-up discusses a topic of common interest for young lawyers (with some for articling students and law students too).
Sessions began in May and will continue as long as there is demand. Sign-up to our new CBA Young Lawyers listserv to get regular updates! If you are interested in moderating your own session, submit a topic and become a Coffee in the Times of COVID facilitator.
The Lost Jobs Series will explore the impacts of COVID-19 on summer positions, articling, and associate jobs. Participants can share their experiences, resources, and tips with other young lawyers and law students from across Canada.
The Well-Being Series will address everything from stress to socializing. Candice Pollack, Executive Director of APPTA, moderated the first Coffee in the Times of COVID on maintaining productivity and boosting morale while working from home.
“The challenges that were identified by participants were both shared and unique,” she says. "Some had been working from home for a long time and were dealing with changes related to having spouses and children at home as well. Whereas, others focused on the difficulties related to keeping motivated and connected.
"Everyone in the session had tips to share with others, from apps to workouts to mindfulness practices, which ultimately led to everyone leaving with some new ideas about how to handle our “different normal” moving forward.”
The Substantive Law & COVID-19 series deals with the changes that the pandemic has forced on the practice of law and how it will be conducted. CBA members will be invited to facilitate conversations on how their area of law has been impacted by COVID-19, and what the future looks like for the profession.