Litigator Lauri Cleary Quoted in Daily Record about Missing Office Camaraderie During COVID

Litigator Lauri Cleary appeared in a Daily Record article about Maryland lawyers looking forward to a return to office camaraderie after the recent approval of a COVID-19 vaccine.

From the article:

Attorney Lauri E. Cleary said she remains hopeful the comforts of home and the ease and cost savings of remote communication will not supplant the unplanned banter that can only occur in an office and is so critical to the successful practice of law and the training of fledgling lawyers.

Scheduled Zoom meetings cannot replace the “spontaneous mentoring” of junior associates that often occurs at the office, where senior attorneys can see how the young lawyers interact with clients and be on hand to readily advise them and answer their questions, said Cleary, of Lerch, Early & Brewer Chtd. in Bethesda.

“You lose the spontaneous serendipity … of in-person interaction,” Cleary said.

“The training you get working with people as a team is difficult to duplicate, I would say impossible,” she added with regard to virtual communication. “That is the biggest loss that we’ve had.”

Nevertheless, Cleary said she embraces technology as a litigator who represents companies and management.

“I can take a phone call from anywhere on Earth,” Cleary said. “Litigators are used to being out and about.”

To read the full article (subscription needed), check out “Md. lawyers yearn for return of office camaraderie, brainstorming.”

Lauri Cleary is a trial attorney who helps businesses, employers, and individuals resolve disputes in and out of the courtroom throughout Maryland, DC, and Virginia. For more information on nonprofits and gift giving, contact her at 301-657-0176 or [email protected].