🔒Hartford area law firms say use of remote technologies in court cases will outlast pandemic

Attorney Tom Rechen wasn’t sure what to expect when he represented a client in a real estate dispute in July.

It’s not that Rechen, a partner at law firm McCarter & English’s Hartford office, lacked experience. He’s got plenty of that with three decades as a trial lawyer under his belt. He’s also president of the Hartford County Bar Association.

Instead, unlike all his prior cases, this one was held remotely over a virtual platform.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing — some documentary evidence was difficult for people to read on the computer, Rechen said. Still, attorneys on both sides were able to present evidence and make arguments to the judge without anyone being in the same room.

Overall, it was a good and efficient experience. That felt like a game-changer to Rechen.

“It’s very significant,” he said. “The legal profession … can accomplish [virtually] what they need in the litigation process more efficiently with less time devoted, and therefore less in the way for attorneys’ fees and costs.”

After shuttering completely in mid-March amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecticut courts have been slowly resuming some proceedings largely through the use of virtual platforms like Teams, Zoom and WebEx. Use of these tools were born out of necessity, but attorneys and legal industry experts say they save money, time and increase the ability of witnesses from far-flung areas to testify in court.

Use of remote technology in court proceedings, some lawyers say, will likely outlast the pandemic. That could save lawyers time driving to and waiting at courthouses, speed up procedures that take place outside a courtroom (like depositions and mediations) and allow firms to offer clients a larger slate of services for less than they previously charged.

Among the most noticeable changes Rechen said he has experienced from attending hearings virtually is the amount of time he’s saved waiting around in courtrooms.

For all the solemnity and ritual ingrained into proceedings, courts aren’t great at maintaining an efficient schedule, he said, sometimes causing lawyers and their clients to wait around all day for a brief appearance in front of a judge.

In the virtual setting, lawyers and their clients are being provided a specific time for each case, making it unnecessary to wait around while the judge handles other disputes.

Retired state Superior Court Judge Robert Holzberg, who now handles civil litigation for law firm Pullman & Comley LLC, said he thinks expanded use of online platforms can speed up mediations significantly. When it’s not necessary to get everyone in the same room, it’s easier to schedule a time during which everyone can jump on Zoom, and have a similar enough experience.

“My hunch … is that this is going to represent a permanent change in the legal landscape,” Holzberg said. “I don’t think there’s any question that this process has the capacity to speed up the legal process.”

Anthony Campanelli, a partner at consulting firm Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, said he’s not sure remote technology will significantly speed up court proceedings, but it does help reduce travel, which means fewer bills law firms have to cover for flights, hotels and meals.

Rechen said the savings involved with using remote technologies will force lawyers to adopt them regularly going forward.

“Cost is always a factor in decision-making in litigation,” Rechen said. “The lawyer and oftentimes the client as well are always engaging in a cost-benefit analysis.”

Expert witnesses

Use of virtual platforms could also expand options for expert witnesses in cases, said Joseph Fortner Jr., a partner at law firm Halloran & Sage LLP.

Whether it’s a civil or criminal trial, real estate dispute or even a divorce case, attorneys often enlist subject-matter experts to testify in favor of a client. Before widespread use of online platforms in court, lawyers were limited to witnesses geographically close enough to physically attend hearings — unless the lawyer or client can pay travel costs. It’s a problem, for example, if an attorney is trying a banking case, and the best banking expert is located in Switzerland, Fortner said.

“It broadens the spectrum of who you could have as a witness,” Fortner said.

However, use of these platforms in legal proceedings isn’t without drawbacks.

Even when the technology is working, presenting physical evidence can be challenging, said Halloran & Sage attorney Jennifer Pedevillano.

For example, an attorney representing a construction worker in a workers’ compensation case may have a harder time demonstrating a defective ladder.

“I think right now everyone is adapting and doing it, because they have no choice,” Pedevillano said. “I think when it becomes a choice, you’ll see a divide [over whether to continue using them].”

Deloitte’s Campanelli said virtual platforms will become commonly used for certain court proceedings like depositions and arbitration, and there might be some opportunity in using them for networking and finding new clients.

Some things will likely resume in-person once the pandemic subsides, Campanelli added, noting that building relationships with clients sometimes requires a personal touch, and that some aspects of remote technology could be problematic in a criminal case.

“If we’re in a post-COVID world and we don’t have to worry about the current situation, I think there will be a blend of in-person and remote,” Campanelli said.