Lessons learned working at home as time goes by

Sybil Dunlop, BridgeTower Media Newswires

Has it been a month since I last wrote a column? Time seems to slip sideways during the global pandemic. A recent McSweeny’s article describes the phenomenon:

A minute used to be sixty seconds long. We thought this could be spiced up. A minute can now either be one hour, or it can take 3.5 seconds. We hope you enjoy this new feature.

But while time may be throwing me for a loop these days, our profession is learning how to cope. I’ll admit, I was slow to realize the pandemic’s full impact. I cringe, in fact, to think of myself in March. Back then, I was chatting with one of my partners about case scheduling. We had only two more depositions to schedule before the close of discovery in a matter. I remember a younger, more naïve me saying “let’s just wait until we’re back in the office to schedule these depositions. We’ll be more effective in person, and how long can this last?” Silly ol’ March Sybil! It turns out, it’s going to last for a while. But it also turns out that video depositions aren’t as awful (or as ineffective) as March-Sybil feared. That’s one of the things I’ve learned.

In this month’s article, I want to share some of those lessons learned in the hope of saving others my trial-and-error processes.

It has taken me a while to adjust to practicing law via video. I now, however, have a professional background (a painting by my father), a well-lit space, and my camera at the right height. I realized that my laptop really needs to be placed on Black’s Law Dictionary so that I’m making eye contact with my fellow Zoomers. Otherwise, folks have a great view up my nostrils. This article (How to Look Good on Camera, According to Tom Ford), in the New York Times, helped me. So did the “touch up my appearance” option on Zoom. (Open the Zoom app and tap Settings, which is found on the bottom of the screen. Next, select Meetings.
Tap on the “Touch Up My Appearance” option and toggle it on.) I’m not sure what exactly it does, but it seems to make me look more polished.

Official matters (depositions, settlement conferences, and court hearings) are even more interesting on video.

I’ve learned to let my family know when I cannot be interrupted (with a friendly sign on the door that says “INTERRUPT ONLY IN LIFE-OR-DEATH EMERGENCY. HEARING IN PROGRESS”).

I’ve learned to make sure that certain people (children) in my family won’t be streaming a movie during a hearing because that will impact my bandwidth.

I’ve learned to set up a backchannel way to communicate with co-counsel ahead of time (text messaging works well).

I’ve learned that “gallery view” works better than “speaker view” if you want to see how the judge is reacting to an argument.

I’ve learned that video depositions require even more preparation than those in-person.

Specifically, I need to have my document situation completely figured out so that sharing documents with opposing counsel, the court reporter, and the witness, can proceed as seamlessly as possible. (Note: there are multiple ways to do this, including using the court reporter’s technology, emailing exhibits to all involved, or using the chat feature in Zoom to share documents).

Courts seem to be figuring this out, too. At a recent virtual hearing in federal court, our judge saved questions for the end of each party’s presentation (perhaps thinking that interrupting would create a messier telephonic record). She asked everyone to announce their name before speaking. And she asked the non-speakers to put their phones on mute (perhaps to avoid a Supreme Court-like toilet flush incident). It worked. The hearing proceeded seamlessly.

I’ve also found that courts are helping folks navigate this new world.

If you’re looking for updates from the federal courts, this website contains every federal court order related to COVID-19 (and is updated every day at 1 p.m.): https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-website-links/court-orders-and-updates-during-covid19-pandemic

Finally, some law firms have done a fabulous job compiling state and federal court information in one easy location. I’ll give a shout out to Paul Hastings whose compilation of U.S. court closings, cancellations, and restrictions due to COVID-19 is awesome and can be found here: https://www.paulhastings.com/about-us/advice-for-businesses-in-dealing-with-the-expanding-coronavirus-events/u.s.-court-closings-cancellations-and-restrictions-due-to-covid-19 .

I’ve also learned that remaining connected with my colleagues is easier than I thought. I used to email folks instead of walking down the hall, but now I’m making a real effort to video-call my case teams, paralegals, and LAA when I have a question. It is so nice to see people, and it is amazing how much more quickly an actual conversation can resolve something that would otherwise take 10 emails to address.

The global pandemic has taken me through several stages of grief. Denial (back in March when I believed I could reschedule depositions for April). Anger and depression. But I’m reaching acceptance. We can practice law this way and do it well. When global pandemic ends, I know that I will have new tools in my lawyer toolkit as a result of this strange time.

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Sybil Dunlop joined Greene Espel in 2010. Her practice focuses on representing individuals, corporations and public-sector entities in business and governmental defense litigation. She can be reached at sdunlop@greeneespel.com.