President’s Message: Networking Opportunities in a Post-COVID World
Monte Weiss, President, Wisconsin Defense Counsel

Although everything changes with time, over the last several years especially, we have noticed a sea of change in terms of how we practice law. COVID forced the judicial system to substantially modify how litigants and attorneys accessed the courtroom and likewise, the pandemic forced attorneys to make major shifts in how we practice. During COVID, even though the world shut down, our obligations to represent our clients did not. We had to find ways to do virtually what we used to do in person. Zoom, Teams, Google Meet and other videoconferencing systems transported us electronically to our trials, our court conferences, our depositions, our meetings with our clients, and contact with other counsel. For some it was perhaps done reluctantly, but we learned during COVID that we did not need to be somewhere physically to effectively communicate with others and fulfill our obligations to clients and to the courts. There was, is, and continues to be a great benefit in using these internet-based meeting tools. But there may also be a cost to replacing face-to-face human connection with these online meeting platforms.

In some ways, although we have gained efficiency, we have lost the personal touch of communication. Recently, I was at a law firm function celebrating one of the numerous year-end holidays. An attorney I knew for many years came up to me and relayed a story about one of our meetings long ago in court which, in all candor, I did not recall. It was a scheduling conference and when I showed up, opposing counsel (who was regaling me with this memory in present time) was already present. The court was not ready for us and as I had miraculously arrived early, we had an opportunity to chat. After talking for a bit, I turned the discussion to the case at hand. I advised counsel, who at that time was just starting his legal career, that one of the claims he was asserting was not recognized in Wisconsin and I suggested that we simply draft a stipulation and order to eliminate that cause of action, allowing the rest of his case to go forward.

What struck me about this story was the impact this casual interaction had on opposing counsel. He remembered that courtesy and how I handled the situation to this day. He commented that I was kind and respectful about the issue with his case and our interaction made an impression upon him. Since that time, I have had a number of cases with this attorney, and we have worked professionally and cordially in each instance.

When counsel retold this story to me at the year-end function, it reminded me of how “we used to do things.” We used to attend court scheduling conferences in person. We would, hopefully, show up a little early and we would chat with opposing counsel before the conference and get to know each other a bit. Sometimes, the judge would even come out early and casually interact with the attorneys before starting the proceedings. After the conference was over, counsel would often leave the court room and continue our conversations about practice, the case or really, anything else on the way to the elevators and eventually, to our vehicles. What I did not realize at the time was that we were building a rapport with other counsel through these seemingly simple interactions. We were establishing a network of counsel that we could call upon.

With Zoom, Teams, and other virtual platforms, we have largely ceased showing up to court in person. The concomitant reduction in travel time and corresponding expense has been a boon to attorneys and our clients. For example, we no longer have to travel an hour for a 15-minute conference. Our clients no longer have to pay us to travel to the conference. Once the modern-day virtual conference is over, we disconnect and continue to work at our desk.

This convenience, however, has come at a cost. We no longer have those invaluable minutes to chat with opposing counsel before the court calls the case. We no longer have the opportunity to walk out of court or a deposition with counsel and discuss the case or the Bucks or our families or anything else for that matter. In short, our opportunity for meeting new counsel, for establishing a rapport with our colleagues, and for building a network has been dramatically reduced. For older attorneys this is not as much of an issue as we have spent our entire careers showing up in person and it is only in the last few years that personal appearances have been curtailed. But it is the younger generation that will feel the impact of the post-COVID virtual appearance world. The younger generation will be limited in their ability to meet opposing counsel in a manner that is conducive to creating a network in the same way the older attorneys have previously done.

But, alas, there is hope for this younger generation. The Wisconsin Defense Counsel provides several fantastic ways to build a network. First, young attorneys especially should attend the invaluable seminars put on by our organization. There are only three seminars each year for WDC members but by attending these seminars in person, younger attorneys have a meaningful opportunity to meet other WDC members and valuable contacts like possible experts and supportive vendors.

Second, young attorneys should make every effort possible to join a WDC committee. WDC has twelve different committees: the Amicus Curiae Committee, the Awards Committee, the Bylaws Committee, the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, the Employment Law Committee, the Insurance Law Committee, the Law School Committee, the Litigation Skills Committee, the Membership Committee, the Website and Social Media Committee, the Women in the Law Committee, and the Young Lawyers Committee. I would encourage each of you to read Heather Nelson’s (President-Elect) article in the Winter edition of the Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal. Heather discusses each of the WDC Committees in detail and it is a great place to start thinking about which committee or committees interest you.

Finally, young lawyers—and all of our members for that matter—should read the Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal and for those especially motivated and adventurous members, please consider contributing to this resource. If you have written a brief or research memorandum, consider reworking it as an article. If you have been working on a matter and the court of appeals or the supreme court has released an opinion on one of the issues in your matter, consider writing an article about that case and what it means to the practice of law. By writing an article, you draw attention to yourself and begin making connections with other attorneys.

I cannot stress enough the importance of having a good network. I have lost count of the number of times I have reached out to my network for help with an issue. I recall one time, I reached out to another attorney about an issue in a case that had just been referred to me. We chatted on the phone for a bit and then, on his way home, he stopped off at my office and dropped off several cases and briefs that he had regarding the very issue I had been dealing with in this new referral. The cases and briefs decreased the grade of my learning curve of the issue tremendously. I would have spent substantially more time than I would have wanted to in order to learn about the issue had it not been for my network.

With all the benefits of virtual appearances, there are costs. One of the costs is the negative impact virtual appearances have on networking. However, WDC has so many ways to overcome the impediments to networking created by virtual appearances. Take advantage of what WDC has to offer; there are many ways to build your professional network here. I guarantee that you will not regret being involved in WDC. 

Author Biography:

Monte E. Weiss, Case Western Reserve Univ., 1991, of Weiss Law Office, S.C., Mequon, practices primarily in the defense of bodily injury, property damage, and professional negligence claims for insurance companies and self-insured companies. In conjunction with this area of practice, he has drafted several personal lines insurance policies, including homeowner and automobile policies. He routinely represents insurance companies on insurance contract interpretation issues and is a frequent lecturer and author on insurance topics. He also represents policyholders dealing with coverage denials from their carriers. He the current President of the Wisconsin Defense Counsel. Attorney Weiss can be reached at via his firm’s website at www.mweisslaw.net.