The new normal of coronavirus is slowly seeping in across the legal world. Biglaw is reacting to the pandemic, with work from home policies becoming increasingly popular. And law schools have almost uniformly responded with physical class closures, some 190 law schools — representing 95 percent of law schools — have moved to online classes.
The global health crisis has managed to produce anxiety in even the most even-keeled individuals, so in high pressure environments — like law school — it’s just bananas. And law school deans are aware the panic settling over their students is more intense than the usual spring finals anxiety. So, it really is a good thing that University of Michigan Law School Associate Dean Gil Seinfeld reached out to students with a detailed email addressing some of their most pressing concerns.
There are attendance policies, time zone complications, grading standards and a shortened finals study period to deal with. And really, kudos to Seinfeld for addressing those concerns before they reach a fevered pitch (too soon?). But in the long email Seinfeld also noted the surprising upside to the COVID-19 safety restrictions — more study time!
“You all know well how vibrant our community is. And that vibrancy flows, in significant part, from the dazzling array of extracurricular activities in which our students are involved. Many of you, no doubt, have been lamenting (among many other things these days) the loss of opportunities for connection, public service, and learning that the cessation of those activities entails. You can make up for some of those lost opportunities for learning by squeezing everything you can out of your coursework. And you can do that, in part, by devoting some (but only some) of the hours that would otherwise have gone to extracurricular pursuits to careful study of the material you’ll be covering in class.”
As an Above the Law tipster quipped, “UMICH Law School Dean praises Covid-19 epidemic as a new study tool.” Burn.
In fairness to Seinfeld, he’s quick to point out you should not spend all your free time studying. There’s a clear message of compassion and understanding throughout the email. But noting it is also a gunner’s dream to have a sudden boon of study hours is also pretty damn funny.
You can read Dean Seinfeld’s full email below.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).