Of course, even considering the many areas of concern and possible issues that may arise when dealing with technology, there are many benefits to advancing the practice of law through the adoption of new technologies. In many ways, the further use of technology in the legal profession makes life easier for the practicing lawyer. No more spending an hour in traffic trying to meet with a client, no more trying to conjure up an excuse for being late when speaking with a judge, no more struggling to find a venue to host an important trial meeting when the team is made up of lawyers spread out throughout a state. Facetiming a client, joining a Zoom meeting, and relying further on email are all solutions offered by the increased use of technology in the practice of law. Incorporating the new age of technology, especially Zoom, into the daily life of the firm will go a long way in both modernizing the firm and creating a more efficient practice. The most apparent benefits are the cost advantages associated with the incorporation of videoconferencing and Zoom. By holding meetings, hearings, and depositions through Zoom attorneys save money not only for their clients, but for their firms. Zoom alleviates the needs of travel, hotel arrangements, and renting out conference rooms for depositions. Instead, all parties involved could simply be connected no matter where their location is through a simply link and click. Incorporating similar technologies also saves the court time, which is a staple of our legal system. Lawyers are constantly told from their first day at law school to use judicial resources effectively and efficiently. In essence, lawyers are told to not waste the court’s time. There are also more specific benefits that technology introduces to a law firm. Consider mediations. Videoconferencing through Zoom allows for both joint discussion in the main room and private discussion in the break-out rooms. (1) What about depositions? As highlighted above, parties, witnesses, and attorneys that are in different locations can all be brought together through a simple link.
(1) Donald L. Swanson, Practicalities of Litigating Via Zoom: Mediation, Facilitation, Deposition, Trial, and
Witnesses, 24 J. Internet L. 12 (2021).
(2) When considering the use of exhibits during Zoom depositions, the best practice might be to email them out to all necessary parties one by one as they are being used. To be even more effective with this, attorneys should have the emails assigned and ready to send, sitting as drafts in their email account, prior to the start of the deposition. Can bench trials really be done through Zoom? In short, yes and they have been since the start of the pandemic in many jurisdictions across the country. To help picture this, think of the judge sitting in the courtroom in one city, with the attorneys in their respective offices, and witnesses potentially in an entirely different location, all brought together on one computer screen denoted by camera boxes and labels.
Today, (3) lawyers should be spending time going through the different features and capabilities Zoom provides or trying alternative videoconferencing platforms that may better fit their practice. Litigators need to research what service their local courts have adopted in order to meet their standards and be prepared to best serve the court and their clients. A new age of technology is here, and, for better or worse, it will not being going away. Products like Zoom quickly became a fundamental piece of the practice of law in 2020, and have help revolutionize the litigation process. Of course, technology will not always be reliable, and some glitches and learning curve struggles are to be expected. Moving forward, lawyers will need to accept the changes and embrace the new opportunities and benefits provided through technology, even if it means going from the court room to the Zoom room.
(2) Id. at 13.
(3) Id.
