Small Law Firms

Working With A Disability During The COVID-19 Pandemic

As many of us plan our re-entry into the world, it is a great time to evaluate what procedures from your work-from-home life might be worth keeping.

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Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Jonelle Redelman to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.

Twenty years ago, I was working as a case worker for the state government and knew that I did not want to do a job like that until I retired. When deciding between pursuing a law degree or a social work degree, I remember thinking that if I could not find a job as a lawyer, I could make one. At that time, I had no idea how important that decision would be to my future quality of life.

Over the years, my health changed. A complicated pregnancy, a life-changing diagnosis, and a few surgeries later, I can confidently say that the only reason I have been able to continue to work is that I have been able to create a flexible work environment for myself. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, my assistant and I had to prioritize flexibility to be successful.

According to the CDC, approximately one in four Americans have some type of disability. There are more people practicing law while living with a disability than you might expect. We all must be adaptable in order to be successful. The way I built my practice allowed us to easily transition to working from home, when we needed to due to the pandemic. We were more prepared to adapt to all of the necessary changes brought on by the pandemic because of my disability.

I am fortunate that my husband is an IT security professional. I knew I needed to create a work environment that would allow me to be completely functional no matter where I was located. In a dream world, this would be on a balcony overlooking the ocean, but in reality this meant whether I was in the office or at home on my couch. Our answer was Microsoft Teams because it integrated our phone system and file storage. We were already working from laptops for increased flexibility. It is also fully functional on my cell phone, which means that I can speak with a client regardless of my location and that no one but my assistant needs my personal cell phone number.

Through Teams, my assistant and I can also send each other messages and generate to-do lists for each other, which has created an easy way for us to discuss clients securely, even when I am not in the office. This open line of communication is critical for us. Everything we have done is based upon how we can effectively communicate amongst ourselves and with our clients and stay on top of urgent issues when we are not in the same space or even working the same schedule.

Setting reasonable expectations with my clients has been crucial. Every client is told how closely my assistant and I work together and that she is a valued member of the team. I explain how she helps throughout representation, and that I rely on her, which helps them trust her. Of course, I put out the fires, return calls, and talk to clients throughout representation, but my clients expect from the beginning to have a lot of interaction with my assistant. We also clearly lay out a time table for representation, so that our clients have an idea of how long it will be until they have a decision on their case.

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When the pandemic hit, we did not have to make very many changes in how we operated due to the flexible procedures we already had in place. We were already accustomed to working in different locations because of my health. The only new item we had to purchase was a printer for my assistant, so she could work from home, as our office printer was too large to transport. The open dialogue with our clients about how our office functions helped tremendously as we adjusted to working from home. Our clients knew things would be different. A year into our new way of work, nearly all of my clients know about our newest team member, my 4-year-old daughter, and are not surprised by her surprise appearances on phone calls or video meetings.

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we all operate. As many of us plan our re-entry into the world, it is a great time to evaluate what procedures from your work-from-home life might be worth keeping. No one plans on becoming chronically ill or disabled, but many professionals out there are. We have all been through a pandemic that has forced so much change, and now is a really good time to consider what changes should be permanent, so that your business can be more accessible for employees with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

Jonelle Redelman is a solo practitioner in Indianapolis, Indiana, who focuses her practice on Social Security Disability Law.  She represents clients at the administrative levels and in federal district court. Jonelle graduated from Indiana University School of Law (Indianapolis).  Prior to law school, Jonelle spent five years as a Disability Claims Adjudicator for the State of Indiana, determining eligibility on both children and adults at the initial and rec.  She is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association, currently serving as the Chair of the Social Security Disability Law section, Indianapolis Bar Association, and the National Organization of Social Security Representatives (NOSSCR).  When Jonelle is not working, she enjoys exploring her urban neighborhood with her husband and four year old daughter or reading in her backyard.  

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