Helping address isolation

The sudden transition to Zoom everything in March 2020 was harder on some people than others. Young lawyers, law students and articling students were among those who suffered the most from not having ready access to work-related resources, mentors, and opportunities to learn from others. And that’s for those who didn’t suddenly lose their positions and found themselves in precarious financial situations.

The Mental Health & Awareness Committee of the Young Lawyers Section decided to do something to fight the isolation experienced by many of its members. It launched a program called Coffee in the Times of COVID.

At the beginning the goal was to provide a virtual space where small groups could gather and discuss common interests. Twice a week for an hour at a time, as many as 15 participants gathered online with facilitators to discuss anything from launching a firm to ensuring a healthy work-life balance and many other subjects that were top of mind at that time.

As we entered the second COVID year, the Section decided to step things up a notch. “Now we’re seeing the focus shift to something that’s more substantive law,” explains Candice Pollack, Chair of the Young Lawyers Section. “And it’s not even really about COVID anymore. This is more about how the legal practice has changed.”

Seeing the interest in building lasting connections and a professional community in a remote or hybrid work setting, it was decided to switch from the single-session model to a “cohort” model whereby small groups sign up for five sessions every other week and stay together for that length of time.

It provides participants with an opportunity to get to know peers in their areas of practice, people with whom they can connect on LinkedIn or in person elsewhere and stay in touch with beyond the program’s duration. “The overall goal for us is really about helping young lawyers build their legal community,” Pollack says.