From the President
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Pages | 0006 |
ELIZABETH L. FITE
President
State Bar of Georgia
president@gabar.org
Professionalism and Civility After the Pandemic
The arrival of spring is a something to celebrate. Everything seems fresh and new, or at least restored to the way we remember it before the harshness of winter set in. Warm sunshine, colorful flower gardens and the opportunity to spend more time outdoors can brighten anyone’s outlook—even those averse to pollen.
That is not to say all our worries disappear. The past two years have brought unique challenges to the legal profession and justice system—as well as new ways of doing things. Court proceedings, client meetings and Bar conferences conducted virtually became the new normal and will remain so to some extent. Despite the convenience of working from home, enduring trial delays and being deprived of personal interaction with our colleagues has been difficult for many in the legal community.
No doubt most of us have had difficult moments getting through all of this, and nerves were worn thin on more than a few of those Zoom sessions. Extra doses of grace and understanding have been needed to maintain the level of civility and professionalism expected among our attorney peers, especially opposing counsel. What have these challenging situations taught us as we return to in-person office and courtroom settings?
Dentons partners Shari Klevins and Alanna Clair addressed this in their article “The New Professionalism Created by the Pandemic,” published by Law.com in January. They contend that during COVID, “there has been an increased emphasis on civility and respect for others in the practice of law, and a call for practitioners to think of their litigation opponents as colleagues and people first.”
Part of this, they said, arose from an increased understanding for “colleagues (who) are dealing with health issues or other pandemic-driven logistics. ... With the challenges faced by courts and attorneys alike during the pandemic, courts recognized the need for perspective, even when attorneys would otherwise act as a zealous advocate for clients.” In certain court orders, judges “have been critical of litigators who cannot work together to resolve technical or deadline-related disputes or who seek to use the court’s limited resources to resolve issues that the courts do not view as truly ‘urgent.’” Indeed, our judicial system faces an unprecedented backlog and limited resources, and I respectfully submit...
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