Be prepared. Think ahead. Make a plan.
However you want to say it, that is the key advice the NJSBA's Lawyers Helping Lawyers offered to attorneys who want to ready their practice to withstand a medical crisis. The legal system knows what to do when an attorney dies, but when someone becomes sick and has to step away from the practice temporarily, there is less clarity.
"Thinking about it now can give you control," said Hillary Horton, of the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics. "You also protect your clients and provide risk management for your loved ones and clients and partners."
NJSBA 2018-2019 President John E. Keefe Jr. assigned a task force to study the ways the legal community can help attorneys facing a medical crisis. It released a report with recommendations that includes asking the courts to consider adding a voluntary item on attorney registrations asking lawyers to identify someone who can handle their practice in an emergency. The NJSBA also just launched the Lawyers Helping Lawyers portal at
njsba.com with information and forms that attorneys can turn to. NJSBA 2019-2020 President Evelyn Padin has vowed to keep the association focused on the effort in the year ahead.
"You never know when grief will strike," said association Trustee Amy Vasquez, who was a member of the task force.