Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series that looks at how New Jersey State Bar Association members’ work lives have changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nine months into the pandemic that has gripped the country, James A. Lewis V has learned to adapt to a new paradigm for how and where to practice law.
In terms of the setting, Lewis has adopted a hybrid approach since August, when he joined Chasan Lamparello Mallon & Cappuzzo in 
Secaucus as a partner, practicing employment and civil rights litigation.
“I find for some activities, such as research and review, I have increased productivity at the office where I can get a prolonged time to look into the things I need to look into. When I have a series of phone calls or virtual court meetings or appearances, I generally do those from home,” said Lewis, an NJSBA Trustee and Diversity Committee co-chair.
At Chasan, where desks in common areas are separated by Plexiglas, Lewis gets his temperature checked when he arrives and wears a mask when not in his own office.
“The firm has been flexible. They truly prioritize the health and safety of the employees,” he said.
Lewis has discovered there are pluses and minuses to working from home. Although there’s no commute to his office in the living room, Lewis finds he sometimes misses the 30-minute drive because it affords him time to plan his upcoming day.
His home office set-up involves two monitors—one for virtual meetings and the other dedicated to reviewing documents—and a dinner tray, where he places additional notes, codes or hard copies of court rules, and the occasional snack.
A downside has been the proximity to the kitchen.
“The refrigerator being a stone’s throw away has not been great for my suits,” Lewis said.
There have been some silver linings to working from home, he noted. His wife’s desk is only a few feet away, which he said has given him a new appreciation for what she does as a charter school principal. Family time increased during the shutdown, and Lewis led his wife and two children, ages 7 and 4, in morning yoga sessions.
“I think now more than ever we need to look internally to find some peace. [The children] are dealing with being away from friends and family for an extended period of time. I wanted them to have something we were doing together as a family,” he said.
Lewis said he relaxes his work attire at home, but always wears a full suit for virtual court and meetings.
“I just can’t do suit-up-top with sweats/shorts on the bottom—it feels incomplete for me,” he said.
Lewis has learned to improvise when necessary, for example when barbershops were closed and he had to cut his own hair. “I’m like, even if it’s bad, I don’t have to be on a screen for four days,” he said.
Working from home has meant the occasional disruption during a Zoom call from one of his children who want a snack or insist another urgent need be met.
“I think there are just more folks whose home lives are more visible. You get to meet folks’ pets and children. We are all in this together. I always found the New Jersey bar to be collegial and I think there’s definitely been more of a bonding through all of this.
“I’ve learned folks can be very resilient. This is not something we could have planned for, but my experience and the experience of my colleagues and adversaries, is that we’re all finding ways to serve our clients despite the unusual circumstances. Hopefully when we are beyond this, if we can make it through this, in service of justice there can be very little that can upset us in service of that cause.”