Making Our Own Benchmarks
Everyone is struggling to adjust to their new day-to-day lives. Since Gottlieb & Gottlieb is maintaining its hours from a distance, we get a lot of questions from our clients about what's going on — and what to do. For example, a client called me who was trying to figure out how to juggle working from home and homeschooling her children, one of whom has multiple disabilities.
My advice to her was to do the best she can right now. I think that advice can be extended to everybody. Right now the definition of what's reasonable or what’s expected of you is really unclear. We can make our own benchmarks by just doing the best we can. We're experiencing a period of deep uncertainty, societal upheaval, and economic turmoil — it's okay to be less productive than you would be on a day when everything is going according to plan.
My next piece of advice is to do what feels good — specifically in relation to how much information you're consuming about the current state of the world. If it’s the state of special ed law that is keeping you up, it’s understandable. There have been a lot of concerns that protections for kids with special needs will be rolled back, taken away, or suspended during the pandemic. If there's something that is concerning you and it feels better to shield yourself from some of that information, I encourage my clients to do that. Because we are paying attention and if anything happens that is going to change the landscape of special ed law, we will let our clients know.
Finally, the role of a lawyer is a flexible one, especially in times like these. Sometimes a lawyer is a problem solver, other times the role is more that of a counselor. I want to remind our clients that we're here if they need that reassurance to know that everything is still on track with their case.
I encourage my readers to look for ways to counteract negativity with feelings of gratitude for the ways in which they are fortunate. Look for opportunities to feel grateful, which is a basic human need, in my opinion. If you are sheltering in place with a loved one, that can be as simple as taking solace in the fact that you’re spending time with that person.
Whatever you choose to do, do it safely, and in the knowledge that we’re watching your case for you.
Jonathan Gottlieb
Partner
195 Montague Street
14th Floor
Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
Jonathan@GottliebFirm.com
(646) 820-8506