The New York Times and Pandemic Me.

At the start of the pandemic, I sought out new (and sometimes indulgent) ways to stay connected and informed. The Covid-19 experience coincided with a toxic election year. Public health guidance was undermined by “Fake News” allegations. Working from home, alone except for my canine comrade, I wanted the benefit of the offerings of vetted sources. I also sought a sense of community.

To that end, I subscribed to The New York Times three days/week. I already had access to the digital version but always appreciated the ritual of reading the actual physical publication. The paper was spread over my kitchen table for days, permitting me to alight on the quirky and the substantive. When I needed an escape, I could visit the “Style” section, with its charming and outrageous tales of weddings and society gatherings, or tackle the weekly “Spelling Bee'“ challenge.

The New York Times still arrives thrice weekly to my front walk, tossed by a middle-aged man in a Volkswagen Beetle. I appreciate these deliveries nearly two years since the onset of the pandemic. The newspaper is an indulgence that I hope to maintain into a post-Covid world.

What I didn’t appreciate when I first subscribed to the paper edition is how it would intersect with my law work. I was reminded of this by two articles this past week. Both pieces may have been missed had I not been able to meander through the papers stacked on my kitchen table, rather than scrolling through the digital editions at my desk.

The first piece was a recent study on Multiple Sclerosis [MS] and its potential links to the Epstein-Barr virus. <https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/health/multiple-sclerosis-epstein-barr-virus.html?searchResultPosition=1> The article described how a common virus, Epstein-Barr, was seen to precede the development of multiple sclerosis. MS is much less common than the presence of Epstein-Barr, but the possible relationship between the two entities may provide new ways of treating the often disabling MS.

In my practice under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program [NVICP], I have had the privilege of representing a young woman who developed MS following a vaccination. The case took off in another direction, but it intensified my interest in MS.

The above-referenced article also dovetails my legal practice as it quotes an acknowledged MS expert, Dr. Lawrence Steinman of Stanford. Currently, I am honored to work with Dr. Steinman in my representation of a young girl who developed Transverse Myelitis [TM] following a Prevnar-13 vaccination. The case still awaits a determination of whether the child is entitled to compensation. TM and MS involve similar processes and present many of the same diagnostic challenges.

Another recent NYT article, also focusing on an individual with MS, addresses the financial planning needs of adults living with chronic disease.< https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/business/chronic-illness-financial-planning.html?rref=your-money&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Your%20Money&pgtype=Blogs> In my law practice, many clients face the daunting prospect of coping with the expenses required to pay for the care, therapy, equipment, housing modification, and other services that accompany a chronic medical condition. Expert navigation of insurance policies, public programs, scarce providers and other resources is often provided in the form of life care planners, Long Term Disability attorneys, estate planning lawyers and other specialists. These are issues I face when representing children and adults with disabilities or other significant conditions in the NVICP, Long Term Disability application and appeals and personal injury arenas. The financial planning factors discussed in this second article are instructive for all adults when they speak with their financial planners about Social Security, retirement scenarios and various Plan Bs.

I haven’t looked into whether my NYT subscription should constitute a business expense for tax purposes. It is a credit, however, to me as I do my best to function as a lawyer and citizen in these taxing times.