By: Tekhara L. Silva, Day Pitney LLP
Mid-morning every Tuesday, Rich Wasserman, a corporate finance partner in his 40th year of practice at Day Pitney LLP, logs into a virtual reading program to read to a first-grader in the Hartford Public School System. A long-time volunteer and regional board chair for the Read to a Child mentoring program, Rich has traveled to schools in the city of Hartford to promote literacy, community and mentorship for years, and is pleased that the program has been able to function virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic. Still, the transition to a virtual program has required volunteers to adapt, in some cases, beyond their comfort zones. Rich’s advice? “Don’t fight it. Take the time to learn the technology, and embrace the opportunity to connect with one another.” In writing this article, I spoke with several ACIC Fellows who have similarly discovered new ways to stay connected – both in their professional and personal lives – over the past year.
Rich’s legal practice, which includes a wide variety of corporate finance work in addition to representing institutional investors in traditional private placement financings, has maintained a brisk deal-flow throughout the pandemic. “Some businesses have been disproportionately impacted, but based on what we have seen, companies want to borrow and institutions are looking to lend,” he said.
But getting the work done looks a little different these days. “I almost never do regular phone calls anymore. Whenever possible, I insist on Zoom,” Rich told me. “I think it’s important to have those person-to-person meetings.” He also stressed the importance of compassion in his practice, now more than ever. “You have to be relaxed and expect the unexpected. I find it delightful to see kids and pets during Zoom calls. Those kinds of things should never require an apology.”
Ann King, Assistant Vice President and Senior Counsel at SLC Management, the institutional asset management business of Sun Life Financial, agreed. “This was unlike 9/11 or the 2008 financial crisis, where the private placement market dried up for some period of time – we just weren’t doing deals. This time, deals were going full speed ahead. Meanwhile, we were adjusting to working from home at our kitchen tables, with no high-speed printer and kids home from college. It was a little crazy,” she told me with a laugh.
Danielle Maksimow, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP who represents U.S. and Canadian life insurance companies in cross-border private placement deals and restructurings, has had a similar experience. “My daily routine contains more digital calls than ever before, and now the dial-in conference call where you cannot see the faces of those involved almost seems archaic! People working at home are looking for ways to connect to others, and these platforms offer a good way to do it.”
Danielle, too, has seen an increased sense of empathy among individuals in the current environment. “I have learned more about my colleagues and clients than ever before – I ‘see’ their homes, pets and children and they see mine. Being able to connect in this way gives a human factor to our interaction that we typically did not have before – we all are going through similar challenges, and that is unifying,” she said.
Without a doubt, the challenges of the past year have been felt by all, including the ACIC Fellows I spoke with. For institutional investors and their counsel, the last year has raised unprecedented questions related to conducting due diligence, drafting effective representations, warranties and covenants in light of new and previously unforeseen risks, and navigating the short- and long-term impacts of the pandemic across sectors and industries.
According to Danielle, “the inability to travel and the move to remote working present logistical hurdles. Due diligence sessions and investor meetings can no longer be face-to-face, and while there are new digital ways to connect, it is hard to replace an in-person site visit to an issuer.” New laws and regulations arising from the pandemic have also kept counsel on their toes. “The instability of the markets and the need to keep up with constant changes to regulations and government incentive programs for various types of issuers across different jurisdictions all present significant challenges to institutional investors,” she said.
But when asked about the biggest challenge of the last year, the response was almost universal: isolation.
Alex Judd, an energy partner also at Day Pitney, shared the sense that outreach to clients has actually improved since before the pandemic. “People are communicating more due to the need to stay in touch, and tools have been enhanced to do that. With clients all over the country, this virtual pivot has benefited us in staying front of mind and being in touch with clients.” As the President of the Connecticut Power and Energy Society, he has seen an expanded audience at meetings. “Events in person would be just with locals. Now, with virtual meetings, participation is all around New England and nationally. We benefit from hearing more voices.”
Still, Alex looks forward to being able to interact in person at the office again. “We used to have that daily hallway interaction with colleagues, which can’t really be replaced,” he explained.
Some have turned to technology to fill this void. Alex told me about a “zombie challenge” at his firm where participants “run” from zombies to get steps in and compete against other teams. “It’s a lighthearted way to interact with others and also encourages folks to get active,” Alex told me, mentioning that he was outside walking during our phone conversation.
Like Alex, Danielle has found maintaining social connections to be crucial to her personal well-being during the past year. “Taking the time to interact in smaller groups virtually on topics outside of work – be it a book club or a wine tasting – is important,” she said. “For training and supervising colleagues,” she added, “regular check-ins are key, as well as making time to talk about personal things and asking the deeper questions to really assess how people are holding up and if there are any resources they need.”
Ann told me she has maintained a group text chat with high school and college friends, which has been a “lifeline” in these challenging times. She also commits to early-morning Zoom workouts on a daily basis. “I try to do it no matter what,” she said. “It keeps me healthy, sane and grounded.”
Another common challenge: balancing work with other important aspects of life. “One interesting thing about pandemic life is that while working remotely has freed up a lot of time in the day, I have found that if I don’t schedule appropriately I just end up devoting all that extra time to work, and my work-life balance may actually be worse than before,” Danielle said.
Rich shared this sentiment. “It’s good news to cut out the commute, but the flip side is, there is no time where you aren’t at work. Even more so than usual, there is an expectation of constant availability.”
Rich recommended setting up a separate workspace, if possible, to maintain some level of separation between work and home. Danielle suggested blocking off personal time on the calendar first thing in the morning. “Rather than immediately reaching for coffee, I drink water with lemon and do a guided meditation and gratitude journaling exercise and then try to get some physical exercise, even if it is just a quick walk outside with my French bulldogs or a twenty-minute ride on my Peloton,” she said. “It is so true that you cannot pour from an empty cup!” She recommended the apps “Calm” and “Insight Timer” for daily meditations.
But there are also positive aspects of the current work environment, which include more environmentally friendly practices, an increased focus on substance in work performance, and more time spent with family. Rich, for one, said he is not printing as much these days, and has picked up on virtual tools that allow him to be (mostly) paperless. He has also gotten used to his more casual office attire. “Going back to the old way is going to be difficult in some ways,” Rich told me, laughingly pointing out his jeans and sneakers.
“There is also less focus on appearance, how people are dressing and the like. It’s the quality of work that should matter,” Ann said. “Not being seen in the office may give people a chance to be judged on the quality of their work and not what they look like or what they’re wearing.”
Danielle, who has two young children, told me “the most positive thing has been having an opportunity to see [my kids] more! I was around to see my daughter crawl for the first time, and am hoping to witness her first steps as well! I likely would have missed these milestones if I was working from the office, and for that I am very grateful.”
Indeed, among the ACIC Fellows I spoke with, there was a sense of hopefulness that despite the many challenges of the past year, the tools and experiences they have gained will improve their practices for the better, perhaps indefinitely.
