March 6, 2020 is the date that forever changed how we work. That day, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf issued a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency that led to his April 1, 2020, “stay at home order.” The order read, inter alia, “All individuals residing in the Commonwealth are ordered to stay at home except as needed to access, support, or provide life-sustaining business, emergency or government services.”

As a result, all nonessential workers, whose jobs permitted them to work from home were required to work from home. While we as lawyers might like to think we are essential, with limited exceptions, lawyers were nonessential workers. For example, lawyers representing clients in child abuse cases were considered essential. The effect of the governor’s order changed the face of how all of us work. The pluses and minuses I experienced include, but are not limited to:

Pros of the New Workplace