Recently, I had court appearances in Darlington at 9:30 AM, in Janesville at 10:30 AM, in Monroe at 2:00 PM, and a conference with individuals in Monroe and Madison at 3:00 PM. No, I did not get a speeding ticket or burn up a tank of gas. Instead, this was all possible from the comfort of my home using Zoom, which allowed both attorneys and Judges to see each other while discussing the pending case. Four months ago, this way of practicing law was not on anyone’s mind.
Everyone has made major adjustments in their workplaces and personal lives due to the Coronavirus pandemic; and the practice of law is no different. Fortunately, at Duxstad & Bestul, S.C., we have been able to change certain aspects of our practice, such that we can still deliver critical legal services to our clients.
To begin with, under the Safer at Home order issued by the State of Wisconsin, (and later declared unenforceable by the Wisconsin Supreme Court), legal services were determined to be an essential business and therefore we have remained open for business. And while we remained open these last several months, we did so while putting into effect a number of safeguards, not only for the protection of our staff, but our clients as well. Many of these practices continue today, as we still face the uncertainty involved with the spread of coronavirus within our community.
Those safeguards included limiting access to our office by clients, vendors and other members of the public, except when necessary. We are keeping our front doors locked, so if a client brings documents to the office, they are met at the door or outside by a staff member, or they may use our drop box. In our Monroe office, we have a conference room with a door to the outside so we can have clients enter directly into the room without having to go through our general office areas. Even so, we are limiting client meetings in the office to just essential conferences, such as will signings.
When the Safer at Home order went into effect, the attorneys at Duxstad & Bestul, S.C. worked remotely from their homes, so there was less direct interaction with others in the office and our staff could better socially distance within the office workspaces. For many years, the attorneys at Duxstad & Bestul, S.C. have had the ability to work remotely. To some extent, the recent crisis created a realization that working remotely from home can be as productive or even more productive as working in the office (once you have established a suitable workspace at home and completed the inevitable list of chores associated with being in one’s home during the day). Once the “all safe” signal is given concerning the current Coronavirus pandemic, I predict that there will many attorneys that never return to working strictly in the office.
By far, the most significant change for the practice of law has come about via Zoom. Initially, when the Coronavirus pandemic hit us in March, the Wisconsin Courts reacted by cancelling virtually all in-person court appearances. I had a three-day jury trial scheduled for late March and a two-day court trial scheduled in the first week of April canceled. However, within several weeks the Wisconsin Court system began using Zoom for its court proceedings; and now with the exception of jury trials, the Courts have been holding almost all court proceedings via Zoom. While this has created additional work for court personnel, the kinks are being worked out and these court proceedings are going surprisingly well. It may well be that the Courts will never give up using Zoom in the future. The added benefit is the public has better access to the court system since the public can watch court proceedings held with Zoom by going to YouTube and watching the proceedings as they take place.
But all is not a bed of roses as we sit at home and “go to court”. There are significant challenges that remain. The first is the difficulty in conducting trials long distance. The flow of a trial with witnesses taking the stand and exhibits being shown to witnesses and admitted is not easily replicated long distance. Not to mention the additional risk of technological glitches and the inability to sense body language of witnesses, litigants, attorneys and the Judge.
Conducting a trial to the Court is always easier than conducting a jury trial; but the safeguards required for a jury trial held in person present a second significant challenge for the justice system. The need for social distancing and wearing masks makes a jury trial a monumental task for all concerned. For myself, I simply have a difficult time speaking through a mask especially in a manner so as to project clearly to twelve people, all seated six feet apart from one another. Likewise, how can a juror or judge really determine a person’s demeanor or speech inflections when they are looking at a masked face? To date, there have been no jury trials held in Green or Lafayette Counties, as proper protocols are being developed and adopted. Beginning in August, the Courts will begin conducting jury trials. The Coronavirus pandemic has created a backlog in the Courts, and the mechanics of conducting trials in the future with the safeguards we are all expected to follow will create greater backlogs and less efficient and desirous means of achieving justice.
The third significant impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the practice of law has been the loss of personal interaction with clients. The face-to-face meeting in a private setting is often critical for the development of a strong attorney-client relationship that is heavily founded in trust. Whether the client is discussing their behavior that led to criminal charges, relating issues concerning their relationship with their spouse or children in the context of a divorce, expressing their wishes in the event of serious illness or death, relaying information concerning a serious accident; or dealing with the financial affairs of a loved one who has passed, it is almost impossible to have the same relationship with a client via a Zoom meeting as with an in-person meeting. The practice of law is very much dependent on human interaction one that is being diminished by the “new normal”.
The lack of face-to-face meetings in the long run will impersonalize the practice of law unless we strive to connect with our clients as much as possible. Our profession is by no means the only profession or trade that is confronting this issue. The advent of virtual doctor’s appointments and visiting loved ones in a nursing home through a window are just a couple of examples of how our relationships are being impacted negatively by the inability to be in the same room with other people. While there are ways to work around this new situation, they will never be as good as the face-to-face meeting we expect and desire. Let’s hope that we develop vaccines and safety protocols that allow us to return to having the best possible attorney-client relationships. In the meantime, it’s time I go change the laundry.