Thankfully, we are starting to see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel. Businesses and courts are trying to unscramble the egg and get back to “normal.” As we focus on what our work and practice will be like post-pandemic, it is worthwhile to think about what role, if any, Zoom hearings and trials should have going forward.

Although the law is generally slow to change, courts and the bar took quickly to the new reality, and it had many benefits, particularly for the young lawyer. Young associates were able to join hearings and trials that, if held in person—with the associated waiting around the courthouse—would have been inaccessible to them due to client and cost concerns. No longer will attending a routine 15-minute status conference result in hours of non-billable travel time and an inevitable late night to catch up on the day’s work.