As we continue to progress from the internet age into the age of artificial intelligence, professionals of all stripes find themselves asking what can be expected from the emerging generation of lawyers. Whether this question is being pondered by a managing partner looking to fill their bullpen with the best legal minds, or by a prospective client looking for the strongest legal advocate, it is important to bear in mind a fact shared with me recently by my greatest mentor: the journey is far more important than the destination. This is hardly a groundbreaking revelation. Our occupations are a reflection of self and personal journeys and tell others a great deal about who we each are and what the employer/client can expect from us. When weighing what to expect from this generation of legal advocates, that journey has been particularly unique.
My journey as a lawyer began as a prosecutor in fall 2017. Two years later, having just secured convictions in a spousal torture trial, I made the difficult decision to trade what seemed to be a dream come true working in the challenging areas of domestic violence and sex crimes prosecution, to try my hand at civil plaintiff’s work. What neither I nor the rest of the legal practice could have foreseen back in September 2019 was that the entire world would change just six months later. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic altered much of the world around us at lightning speed. Just a couple weeks after sitting on one of the last civil cases tried in Orange County, Florida before the pandemic, I watched as the legal world ground to a halt. Little did we know how dramatic a shift it would be.
