'No Commute. No Traffic': Pluses, Minuses as Lawyers Log on Remotely

As more and more law firms in South Florida transition to remote work amid the coronavirus outbreak, attorneys report advantages, challenges and setbacks as they embrace the new normal.

One of the benefits for Paul A. Shelowitz, a partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, is having two additional hours in his work day.

“No commute,” Shelowitz said. “No traffic.”

Shelowitz is still in court — telephonically. On Monday, he was in a multi-hour telephonic evidentiary hearing before Eleventh Circuit Judge Spencer Eig, who he said is attempting to avoid a huge backlog.

“There’s a judge that is trying to move cases along,” Shelowitz said. ”He gave us filing deadlines, proposed orders in 10 days.”

Still, Shelowitz is worried the effects of the coronavirus are going to set litigation back several months. A real challenge for him is the schedule disruption, amid cancellations of hearings, depositions and trials.

‘Advocacy suffers’

Jacqueline Calderín, managing partner at Agentis, suggested attorneys miss nuances during telephonic hearings, especially if they don’t know the judges presiding over those hearings.

“I know the bankruptcy judges. They know me. You go in there knowing what you are going to encounter for the most part,” Calderin said. “When you are practicing in state court, like my litigation partners, there are so many judges and there are thousands of lawyers, that I think you lose that personal connection, like body language, inflection. Your advocacy suffers.”

The real hindrance, Calderin said, are evidentiary hearings because the judge needs to examine the demeanor of the witness.

The coronavirus has led law firms and courts to either encourage or instruct their employees to work from home. The move is to slow the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak.

As of Tuesday morning, officials reported more than 170 confirmed coronavirus cases among Florida residents, according to the Florida Department of Health—an increase of about 30 confirmed cases of the coronavirus affecting Florida residents within the last 12 hours.

The health concerns have prompted courts across the country and in South Florida to close and embrace telephonic hearings. For instance, the Miami-Dade County Courthouse, where Judge Eig sits, has shut down facilities until March 27, with employees working from home.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida is using technology like Court Solutions and CourtCall. Enrolling with these conference telephone systems is required to participate in hearings before the Bankruptcy Court. Otherwise, attorneys must file a motion to submit the case on their papers.

New software licenses

Stuck at home, Shelowitz is not having any problems accessing those types of technologies as well as the system portal for his firm.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan has undergone testing in preparation for the transition, including conducting a comprehensive stress test last week, in which lawyers from around the country simultaneously logged into the system.

Jeffrey C. Schneider, founding partner at Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman, said the attorneys are now logging on to the same systems, just remotely. Initially, the firm did not have as many licenses for remote use as it needed to accommodate all its employees.

“We never encountered something like this before,” Schneider said.

Usually, around 20 percent of the 15 lawyers at LKLSG operate remotely from home or another location. But now, all the firm’s employees are working remotely.

“This has been something that we have been contemplating for the last week,” Schneider said, “so we made sure to secure those extra licenses.”