Zoom Or Room?

As Courthouses begin to reopen in earnest, I have begun to appreciate the transformational advancement in the legal profession know as the Zoom conference. I hope that judges and court administrators throughout the country realize how much more efficient it is for garden variety conferences to be conducted this way. Before COVID-19, for instance, if I were to attend a scheduling conference in Court, I could expect to drive 45 minutes each way, to pay for parking, to wait patiently until my case was called, and then to spend 15 minutes or less actually discussing the case with the Judge. The client would be billed 2-3 hours for 15 minutes of time actually benefiting its case. Under the Zoom approach, the client is billed 15 minutes. Zoom is not perfect, and it certainly should not be used for trials once the Courts reopen, but it has been an advancement for the legal profession that has greatly benefited my clients. Zoom conferences should be used in the future for those matters where an in person appearance is not truly necessary.