Blog
April 15, 2021
My mother is always ready to channel her inner Zen master and insert her mantra of “good thing—bad thing” for nearly any scenario. To her credit, she usually brings it up to lift spirits during the bad times as opposed to vice versa. I like to think the apple didn’t fall far from the tree in that regard, and the effects of the pandemic have not escaped such reflection.
For starters, the ongoing global pandemic, its fallout, and its exhaustive list of bad things need no introduction. We got all that. And for everyone’s sake I’m going to fight the urge to use the phrase “the new normal” throughout this post.
However, it is worth noting some things have changed for the better. For all its quirks and shortcomings, I am grateful for the proliferation of videoconferencing as it applies to legal consultations and even routine court appearances. Overall, the platform we have been forced to embrace has introduced an entirely new way for me to be more available to clients at times and places that are convenient for them.
During the thick of the pandemic’s distancing demands, I expanded my Zoom consultations by implementing a “post-bedtime” slot for parents of young children. I opened up the 6:00-9:00 evening hours, and that was received quite well. It turns out those hours are a great time to have a 30-60 minute exchange on important subjects with minimal interruption aside from a restless baby or a little chit chat (because we aren’t all robots after all.)
Thanks to the ubiquitousness of Zoom, few people take pause when discussing how or when to meet. This evolution has given us a new perspective on ideal times and places. Everyone is spared a commute, and we are able to sit down to real discussions while I can also share screens with documents to be reviewed and edited in real time. It’s a welcome adjustment as we are all increasingly busy with work, life, family, and just trying to manage everything else under the sun.
Sure, we didn’t ask for this budding technology to be accelerated from a neat accessory to every day necessity. Certainly, we have all come to know videoconferencing so well as to also get fatigued by it. Still, I understand the area of estate planning can be a chore and abstraction for many parents of young children, yet it is so important and often overlooked as we all just try to keep pace with life’s demands. Having a collective ability to just open up the computer at an opportune time after things have settled to really get a conversation going has proven itself to be one great way to get this serious task checked off of the list.
What’s more, I’m not only available during those late hours or solely for parents with young kids. I’ve been able to cover a wide variety of legal needs and meetings with people as we review concepts and documents (e.g. estate portfolios, contracts, filings, etc.) from the comforts of our respective spaces. I’m happily available to hold a consultation during the day on a variety of matters if there is a time that works for everyone involved.
I invite anyone interested in discussing estate planning to check on my estate planning appointment scheduling page and schedule a time that works for you. Otherwise, I have a variety of other slots in various legal fields available here.
