"This damn virus will probably do more to promote the retirement of you boomers than any seminar." That was what one colleague, only half-jokingly, responded when I mentioned that we had no fixed date for our next seminar on the ethics and mechanics of attorney retirement.

I've written before on the demographics of the profession, and though there are some states with growing young bars, many—ours included—have a large percentage over 50 with many over 60 and 70. Some friends and I have been doing seminars on the tricky issues attendant upon wrapping up a professional career spanning 40 or more years. They were very well attended until the pandemic hit. We're shut down now, but will probably get going again in the fall, after things sort out and we shift to e-platforms. I bet we'll have a good audience when we begin again.

Yes, some of us will be able to master the new post-pandemic legal world. While many are "over" the COVID-19 virus, both literally and figuratively, its effects on society are just beginning. Despite what the president says, sickness and death are a real concern for many. When I called the Social Security Administration about a benefits issue the other day, I got a voicemail message advising me that they'd closed the office due to virus concerns. When I finally got a live person on the line, she told me there was no date set for the resumption of in-person services. If Executive Branch offices directly controlled by the president, who won't wear a mask, are running scared, what are mere mortals to do?

Many law schools have had to grapple with the fact that social distancing has made most of their facilities obsolete. Reducing the capacity of lecture halls by two thirds makes it impossible and impractical to offer survey courses in any form other than online. Ditto for seminars which always met in small venues. The ABA, which has regulated the maximum amount of legal education that could be offered by distance learning, is going to have to abandon its limits. Because it's relatively easy to scale online education, the better schools will be able to expand their offerings and will do fine. The marginal ones will fade away. Darwinian, but inevitable.

Firms which made efficient use of space in traditional office environments may have to double or triple their footprints. Co-working spaces are expecting a boom when businesses of all sorts move their employees to them instead of renting costly offices. Many folks have discovered there is a limit to the amount of efficient work that can be done in the kitchen or bedroom surrounded by pets, kids and dirty laundry. For some, the attractiveness of office work was getting out of the house as much as interacting with peers and teammates.

I'm not sure how well courts will respond to these challenges. Those led by creative and visionary leaders will realize they can use this time to both reimagine how civil and criminal justice can be dispensed in a safe and legal manner while at the same time fixing some of the access-to-justice issues directly tied to the present inefficiencies. But because we institutionally value precedent, and judges aren't often chosen for their entrepreneurial spirit, many will only seek a return to "normal." That's an opportunity lost.

The solo- and small-firm world where I labored much of my career may be well-suited to respond. Many e-platforms are easy to master and readily accessible to the public. While some clients might have been unsure of conducting legal business by email, they may well find Zooming much more welcoming. Without huge investments in offices, technology and overhead, agile and flexible law office operations can quickly adapt. When you can handle a status report, argue a motion or conduct a mediation or settlement conference without leaving your office, you can do a lot of business very efficiently. The next generation of lawyers will all be digital natives for whom all of this will be second nature.

Others of us won't be interested, willing or able to learn new tricks. For this group, we'll need to provide support. I understand that Amy Lin Meyerson, the incoming president of the Connecticut Bar Association, is going to appoint a committee to help. Kudos to her.

A century ago, in Todd v. Bradley, our Supreme Court, writing about the constitutional requirement that judges not serve beyond the age of 70, noted that the rule "rests upon a public belief that there comes a time in the life of a man when it is better for the public interest that he be not charged with the responsibility of continuous and daily work of so complete absorption as the high judicial office calls for." I think that applies equally, if not more, to the challenges of daily legal practice.

Mark Dubois, Connecticut's first chief disciplinary counsel, is with Geraghty & Bonnano in New London and teaches at at the University of Connecticut School of Law. He can be reached at [email protected].