In a marked shift from the first hearing in the opioid litigation, a federal judge praised lawyers for getting closer to reaching a global settlement to address the epidemic.

“Judge Ruiz and I want to thank everyone for all the hard work that all of you have been doing over the past several months,” said U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, referring to U.S. Magistrate Judge David Ruiz, at a rare public court proceeding on Thursday morning. The courtroom was standing room only, with two overflow rooms and, according to Cleveland.com, a few dozen protesters gathered outside the Cleveland courthouse.