Minimizing calendar malpractice risks is fundamental for all law firms and for all litigation practices. As basic as calendaring sounds, the myriad details involved in court docketing, rules, calendaring and filing deadlines can create the conditions for a perfect storm of administrative errors that may ultimately lead to malpractice suits. The risks are especially acute in the current business environment, as the COVID-19 crisis forces teams to work remotely, and as courts quickly change rules and issue emergency orders to reflect the new reality.

The landscape is changing daily. An unprecedented number of courts have either put their dockets on hold or have shifted scheduling of court hearings, depositions and filings to accommodate safe, remote-work scenarios. To cite just one example, in California, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye has issued emergency orders covering 59 courts. On March 30, she issued an order that allowed courts to extend deadlines for arraigning defendants and holding preliminary hearings and enabled proceedings to take place remotely using technology. New or changing orders continue to roll out across the country as the COVID-19 crisis continues.