With courts closed and the logistics of filing documents and taking depositions mounting challenges across the board, some litigators are finding the COVID-19 outbreak is a good time to ease up on hardball litigation tactics and talk settlement.

“We’re finding that plaintiffs attorneys are reaching out to use this as an opportunity to resolve cases that would normally take months or years, and probably go to trial,” said John Hall of defense firm Hall Booth Smith, which boasts about 250 lawyers in eight states.