CLERKS IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS (WITH APOLOGIES TO GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ).

• Author: Hawkins, Michael Daly

1. THE "OLD" NORMAL

   The relationship between judges and clerks is both close and critical. Clerks come to chambers as essentially strangers to one another, the staff, and the judge. Communicating with each other, learning on the fly, and having the ability to adjust to short attention spans are essential. Clerks quickly adapt to the pace of the work of chambers. If done right, the unit becomes cohesive as a small law firm, where the firm members constantly bounce ideas off one another and have the judge available for consultation. They learn that the judge's assistant is the Mother Superior/First Sergeant, the keeper of chambers protocol and history, someone who never forgets their names or that of their children long after they have left the nest. This would describe the pre-pandemic work atmosphere of most, if not all, appellate chambers.

2. THE "DOG" DAYS OF ISOLATION

   All of this changed dramatically in mid-March 2020, with the impact of COVID-19. Shutdown orders put our chambers group suddenly at a considerable distance. Three of my clerks are married, live in the area, and could shelter at home. My fourth clerk was living alone in an apartment. My initial concern for her situation was alleviated when she adopted a beautiful Husky mix from a local shelter. At that point, none of us knew how long our isolation from each other would last. It soon became apparent that this was not a week-long, or even month-long, hiatus. With my encouragement, the clerk with the new dog moved home to the Midwest and continued to work remotely from there. Two other clerks followed the canine acquisition process, leaving the last clerk with the two she already had. (1)

   1. What Is Lost

      Individual chambers will lose the mentoring relationship between judge and clerks, and the ability among clerks to bounce ideas off one another and with the clerks in other chambers in the same building. This will be a long-term problem if the pandemic persists. Because the chamber shutdown occurred in March, this year's clerks at least worked roughly half the year under normal conditions. Future clerks may start and even finish their clerkships physically distant from both judge and fellow clerks. The lack of contact with other clerks and judges can lead to impressions based solely on panel email exchanges, impressions that may not reflect the actual collegiality that exists between other judges and their clerks that would ordinarily result from personal contact. Remote contact...