An attorney, whose story of escaping communist Russia with her family as a 7-year-old to eventually pursue the American dream in New York City, inspired many constituents and led her to become a Broward Circuit Court judge.

And among the trends Broward Circuit Judge Mariya Weekes observed while on the circuit court bench is that, even though lawyers might be much more efficient appearing on Zoom, in part because they save travel time, many attorneys in these virtual hearings do not feel “the gravity of appearing in the courtroom.”

Broward Circuit Judge Mariya Weekes. (Courtesy photo) Broward Circuit Judge Mariya Weekes. (Courtesy photo)