Just when you thought email skills could not matter more, now they matter more.
Once, we worked in offices and spoke face-to-face. Partners popped by with stories and assignments. Colleagues workshopped arguments over lunch. Associates stopped by assistants’ desks to plan court filings. Though cloaked in camaraderie and accompanied by smiles, jokes, and chitchat, these interactions drove the practice of law.
Those offices are now quiet. We are working as hard as ever, but we are often working alone, from home. Conversations are taking place by phone, or more likely, email. The help sought and received with a smile, a joke, and some chit chat is now just another demand on a screen. Support is still available, but it may be given with a mutter of discontent.