🔒Street’s managing partner reign defined by overcoming, managing through pandemic

Feb. 1, 2020, will stay etched in Richard Street’s mind.

On that fateful day about six weeks before COVID-19 hit Connecticut, Street became managing partner at Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP, a 100-year-old New Haven-based law firm with a team of over 75 attorneys scattered across the state.

When he began practicing law in Connecticut 27 years ago, Street remembers many lawyers feared the glow of an unprotected computer screen.

“Attorneys were resistant to even having a computer on their desk. It was unheard of,” Street said.

These days, many of the attorneys at Street’s firm present evidence by screen sharing. They video chat, sometimes all day long. Since COVID-19 started, Street works on average 80 hours a week. He also finds time to be a father of three sons nearing college age.

Prior to becoming managing partner, Street was one of six attorneys at the firm named “Local Litigation Stars” by Benchmark Litigation’s Guide to Leading Business Litigation Firms and Attorneys. His job includes managing the firm’s day-to-day activities, which are 50 percent litigation based. He’s also an active trial lawyer with experience working for electric and hydroelectric companies, as well as large and small businesses specializing in land use.

Since the beginning of COVID-19, lawyers and staff at his firm have learned how to adapt in what he called “extraordinary” ways.

The firm’s Director of IT David Orschel said many obstacles had to be overcome including device shortages and support services.

“COVID-19 greatly increased the speed of transformation from a workforce that had to be in the office to be productive to a workforce that was able to be productive regardless of where they were working. We were fortunate to have many of the key technology solutions already in place for attorneys that we were able to focus on providing that same level of access to the staff, drastically reducing the business impact to the firm,” Orschel says. “We did encounter hurdles along the way, from device shortages, ability to train employees on new services and providing remote support, but the firm was able to overcome those obstacles to quickly adapt and maintain productivity and most importantly keeping our workforce employed and safe during the pandemic.”

Street brought his staff back to 50 percent capacity in June, but had to enact changes to the workplace that included strict limits on conference rooms, along with a mask mandate unless employees sit at their own socially distanced desk.

He also credits the “excellent” cleaning company that upped its services to come in during the day and again at night.

The company, Performance Environmental Services, is a 30-year-old commercial cleaning and maintenance firm based in New Haven.

“Our number one priority was safety for our staff, it didn’t matter to me what the extra cost was,” Street said.

Strategic expansion

COVID-19 isn’t the first time Street’s firm has overcome a crisis.

“In boom times, mid-2004, 2005, 2006 we stayed conservative while other firms didn’t. As a result, when 2008, the Great Recession hit, we didn’t have to lay off any of our lawyers,” Street said proudly.

He believes a focus on making conservative business decisions has enabled him to succeed even in unprecedented times.

In late 2013, Fairfield County-based Sandak Hennessey & Greco joined Carmody & Torrance to create Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP. The merger was an important strategic expansion that combined both firms’ strengths in litigation and commercial real estate. It also expanded high-growth practice areas such as real estate, labor and employment, all of which Street said have seen upticks during COVID-19.

With emergency laws and legislation changing at what can seem like a “rapid fire” pace, Street noted his firm has been able to step in and advise companies on how to decipher these new laws and what their impact is to businesses.

He said many companies need more guidance right now than the law currently provides. In particular, several of his clients need help with their HR departments when it comes to navigating COVID-19 and their employees.

“At this point, employers cannot require vaccines,” Street said. “Having said that, I really hope as many of our employees as possible get vaccinated.”

A mid-March blog post on the firm’s website analyzes this important issue:

“As the state and national rollout of COVID-19 vaccines continues, some large employers have already stated their intentions to provide employees a few hours of PTO, or modest cash bonuses, to allow and encourage employees to get vaccinated. While certainly well intended, employers and HR departments should be mindful of certain legal traps surrounding these types of incentives.”

For Street and his staff, the bright side of COVID-19 isn’t just surviving, it’s about thriving.

“I think there is hope. I’ve seen large and small businesses that have managed to work through this,” he said with a smile.