A Fort Lauderdale law firm scored a multimillion-dollar verdict in an Iowa federal court in a rare in-person federal jury trial that took place amid the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

And one of the biggest obstacles for Bryan Hofeld, a partner at the Schlesinger Law Offices in Fort Lauderdale who represented Lori Nicholson, hit him right at the start. When Hofeld conducted voir dire of potential jurors, they wore their masks concealing the lower half of their faces to prevent the spread of COVID-19.