According to the dictionary, nostalgia is defined as a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for a past time or condition. It can be a bittersweet feeling, often involving a longing for simpler times or a sense of loss, even when reminiscing about positive experiences. Various things, including music, smells, memories of people, places or events can trigger nostalgia.

Jeremy Wade

Many of us have felt this feeling or anxiety post-COVID from things as simple as going to the doctor, shopping or even going to church. Many of our lives changed in 2020; however, at the time, I am not sure any of us knew the extent of what change meant.

On March 16, 2020, I was at the Sacramento Workers' Compensation Appeals Board when Judge Harter came out into a crowded hallway at the board. He yelled to get everyone’s attention and stated, “The board is now closed due to new COVID restrictions, and I have no idea when we will reopen.” As he disappeared into a back room, I knew at that moment life had changed.

As COVID restrictions ran their course, different industries began to adapt, and platforms like Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Court Call became huge businesses.

In our world of workers’ compensation, we have become a world of remote connections. Meetings, depositions, settlement conferences and now hearings all started to take place on digital platforms.

I grew up in workers’ comp, pulling two trolleys into the board, looking for opposing counsel in the hopes of settling cases I wasn’t even on calendar for. In today’s practice, this is no longer a reality. Firms have gone paperless, remote in depositions, settlement conferences and with hearings.

The question one may ask is, did we leap too far forward that we are missing the personal interactions that created, or did we leap too far forward with no way back? Is this going to be the new, new moving forward?

Pros of being remote include:

• It’s more cost-effective for office overhead.
• It’s more cost-effective for clients, and there are fewer mileage fees.
• Efficiency is up, as more work can take place in a day.

Cons of remote work include:

• Loss of personal interaction.
• Loss of the ability to read the credibility of a deponent.
• Loss of the ability to build a professional relationship with opposing counsel that could expedite matters in the future.

So, like the grandpa sitting in his rocker on the front porch telling old war stories, I, too, long for the good old days. Things were slower, clearer and more professional. This is one guy’s opinion, mixed with a little food for thought.

I still believe there is a hybrid of the old and new that will arise from the COVID ashes.

Jeremy Wade is a hearing representative for Bradford and Barthel’s Redding office. This entry from Bradford & Barthel's blog appears with permission.