Hello CELAmates,
Elizabeth Riles
I hope you are all doing well during these difficult, abnormal times. I want to let you know what CELA has been doing to rise to the challenge. As soon as COVID-19 became an emergency in California, the staff, and members of CELA kicked into high gear creating resources for both workers and our members.
Our social media and blog posts have had historic engagement – reaching tens of thousands of Californians since mid-March. In fact, a singular CELA Facebook post, focused on worker rights vis-à-vis school closures, has garnered 12,000 views. That content was part of a larger piece for CELA Voice, written by Andy Katz, that has since been translated into Chinese and Spanish, by Ken Wang and Megan Beaman, respectively. Additionally, several CELA members have recorded short “Know Your Rights” videos for California residents struggling with the economic impact of COVID-19. Thank you to Ella Hushagen, Lauren Teukolsky, Pinky Ghuman, Jennifer Kramer, Erin Pulaski, and Nina Baumler for making these great recordings. Thank you also to Andy Katz, Sarah Schlehr, and V. James DeSimone for the comprehensive articles.
Our committees have also been working hard to produce content for our members and the community. This is just a couple of examples of all the great work CELA committees are up to. The Diversity Committee, in place of the two Diversity Summits, is working on providing a series of workshops for new graduates and law students. The workshops will empower them to interact with CELA members and get advice about these trying times, as well as specifically talking to members who graduated during the last recession. If you are interested in participating, please let me know. The Practice Management and Education committees have been extremely busy putting together a variety of SuiteTalks for members about what you need to work from home and what we as lawyer-employers need to know during this time. The latest seminar was A Review of Workers Rights, Leave Laws, and Practicing Law in a Pandemic, a three-hour master class on COVID-19 laws hosted on Monday, April 27, 2020.
These programs will be available for attorney members to view by logging on to MY CELA. Also, we have put all of the content and resources together – for you and the public – onto a new COVID-19 landing page on the CELA website. Please do check it out. It has links to COVID-19-related webinars, court closure information, a list of mediators who use video-conferencing technology, support for lawyers going through difficult times, and more.
CELA will continue to work for you during this crisis. I am still encouraging you to reach out to me and CELA staff to let us know how we can help you during this difficult time. Also, reach out if you just need to see a friendly face via Zoom or hear a friendly voice on the phone. We are in this together and we are here for you.