Courthouses on a nearly empty Centre Street, March 17, 2020. Photo: Ryland West/ALM

This is a horrific time.  We are laser-focused on flattening the COVID-19 contagion curve through social distancing, self-quarantine, and washing our hands. Doctors, nurses, hospital workers and first responders are putting their lives on the line—even more than usual. Grocers, pharmacists and those who deliver food and supplies are our new heroes. Reporters brave the conditions to keep us updated with critical information. The rest of us? We are providing whatever comfort and stimulation we can to our children, parents and neighbors. Many of us are praying more than usual. And with whatever energy remains, the fortunate and equipped among us are working from home.

If you are a trial lawyer, what to do with the courts closed, the trials adjourned? If you are otherwise managing the concerns of the moment, how to make the best of this situation? I say lean right into it.

Under the best of circumstances, trial lawyers need to block out the world. We seek isolation. There is no other way to master the facts, internalize every detail, and become one with your cause. Forced seclusion has always been part of our team's trial preparation. We looked forward to it. We created it. We routinely moved to a hotel near the courthouse and prepared for trial away from family, friends, pets, and pressures. Without the time drain of commuting and the assorted distractions of office life. We set up virtual offices and networks in our respective hotel rooms, and commandeered a suite as our "war room."  We brainstormed for hours as a group—another vital component of trial prep—and made sure we were aligned on arguments, themes and theories. Then we retreated to our individual rooms and self-imposed lockdown. That's where outlines were drafted, angles of attack were sharpened, rhetorical flourishes were inserted and graphics were designed.

The current environment inspires the same approach. Forced sequestration feels like trial prep mode. So own it. Prep like jury selection is next week.  Let videoconferencing and screen sharing be your team's virtual war room. Share ideas with your team and run your themes by non-lawyers—they are your mock jurors and they bring perspective to your case. Then log off, embrace the silence, absorb the facts and the documents and the witness statements until they are etched in your DNA. It is a universal truth that no trial prep is ever "on schedule," so use this time and be the first trial lawyer in history to be ready-to-go way ahead of time.

The conditions are awful. The conditions are ideal.

Marc L. Mukasey is a founding partner of Mukasey Frenchman & Sklaroff LLP.