Paul McConnell of McConnell Family Law Group in Connecticut says the COVID-19 outbreak has changed the traditional role of family law attorneys, and how they interact with clients.

"It definitely feels like we are therapists now," McConnell said. "We tell our clients we are not therapists, but that's how it often feels."

Now, along with weighing clients' legal options, McConnell considers the new pressures that public rules such as shelter-in-place orders have put on people in abusive or unhappy relationships. He works especially hard now, for instance, to reach informal agreements, and might refer a client to a co-parenting therapist.

"I try to calm them," he said. "I work to develop ideas and courses of action for them. Action is the best anecdote for anxiety."

On the West Coast, Oakland, California-based solo practitioner Fred Hertz said he offers "holistic counseling," increasingly in demand as clients, already enduring family upheaval, now face the fear and uncertainty of a global viral pandemic.

"Instead of just looking at the application of legal rules, you are also looking at what the client's overall needs are," Hertz said. "What is their psychological disposition, and what are their financial goals? You try to integrate those components into your legal analysis."

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Money matters

COVID-19-related economic pressures are prompting changes, as some clients delay litigation to avoid new constraints.

"I'm seeing people put divorces on hold because of the difficulty of making a financial decision during this time," said Hertz, an attorney for 38 years. "There is uncertainty on whether or not they will have their jobs, and whether the couple can afford at this time to live in two different homes. It's all about the houses and the income, and people are thinking to put their divorce on hold for maybe six months."

And that's likely to be bad for business in the short term.

"Most of the family attorneys I know have seen a dramatic drop in income," Hertz said. "There is less activity, and people are putting off the sale of their home and postponing their divorce. They are less willing to spend money on an attorney, because they just lost money in the stock market."

Connecticut attorney Gayle Carr of Cohen & Thomas agreed.

"Family law is a highly emotional charged area of law, and my role, as I see it, is to get families through it as intact as possible," Carr said. "Rather than increase the heat, I want everyone to take a step back."

Meanwhile, attorneys are helping clients navigate rough waters.

"COVID-19 is most definitely impacting parenting plans," McConnell said. "The stay-at-home orders have caused confusion, especially when one parent has to cross over state lines to see their child. Different parenting issues are magnified during a health crisis like this. You might, for example, have one parent whose style during this time would largely be to stay indoors and insist that their children have masks, while another parent might be more comfortable going outside without a mask."

Stress and isolation increase the level of conflict, leading litigators to seek solutions.

McConnell said, "One silver lining is that in light of an already overcrowded court system, more divorcing couples will turn to nonadversarial divorce methods like mediation and collaborative divorce."

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