Jacob A. Epstein, left, and Roger Slade, right, of Haber Law.

The coronavirus pandemic has almost caused the Florida court system to completely shut down. Most of the buildings are closed for business, as they should be. Nonetheless, for those of us who regularly practice in the Florida courts, it is both somewhat unrealistic and unnecessary for absolutely everything to grind to a screeching halt for an unknown and likely substantial period of time. For much of the business world, and for many attorneys, working remotely has been a reality for the better part of the last decade. So, why is it that the Florida courts have been so slow to adapt? Does the legal community and the clients it serves have to remain paralyzed with trials stacking up and hearing calendars cancelled? The answer is no. Here are some suggestions of things we can do now to make this new reality work for our clients so that when the pandemic is over, which we all hope will be soon, we are not hopelessly behind.

Virtual Hearings. Most court hearings do not require witness testimony. Court call remains available. The entire court docket for every case is now available online. Judges can access their email remotely just like everyone else so they can read courtesy copies prior to any hearing. And, of course, lawyers are now using Zoom, GoToMeeting and FaceTime. The Dade County Bar Association just conducted a board of directors meeting using GoToMeeting that was attended by 41 people who could all see and hear one another.

In sum, the Florida legal community can utilize the time we have been given to knock out a backlog of motion calendar hearings which stretched months into the future in some courthouses even before the arrival of coronavirus.

Virtual Bench Trials. Our law firm recently conducted a bench trial in the Family Court with two witnesses who were scheduled to testify from their respective locations in Europe. The parties had stipulated to the identity of these two witnesses. The idea was that the lawyers would call the witnesses on Skype so the judge could see the witnesses and evaluate their credibility. Seems simple right? Unfortunately not. Apparently, it is very difficult to obtain a reliable Wi-Fi connection in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court. We ultimately were able to have one witness testify through Skype. However, the second witness found it easier to get on an airplane and fly to Miami.

This does not have to be the case, however. The problem with this testimony was not necessarily technological; rather, it was the building itself that was not equipped for extended communication over Wi-Fi. This issue is likely to be cured with Miami-Dade Circuit Court judges and all the lawyers and potential witnesses now working from home. Zoom, GoToMeeting and FaceTime can accommodate multiple parties appearing simultaneously using a shared screen.

The current crisis presents an opportunity to start using the technology the way it was intended to be used.

Virtual Depositions.Our firm has an active construction litigation practice which means that each case can routinely have more than 15 parties. This week our firm conducted its first virtual deposition through the use of Zoom. With similar applications like GoToMeeting, Skype and FaceTime, all the lawyers and the witness will be able to see and hear one another. Thanks to the Florida Supreme Court's March 18 order allowing court reporters to swear in witnesses remotely, the witness doesn't even have to be in the same room as the court reporter. Problems with objections can be cured by each lawyer simply announcing their name before an objection is raised.

Virtual Mediation.Most of us who practice before the Florida courts have at least one case (likely more than one) which is ripe for mediation. Now is probably a good time to get rid of it. Call your favorite local mediator, get your client's consent, clear dates, email the mediator your mediation summary and send around to all parties a videoconferencing invitation. When the case is settled, you can share the settlement agreement with the parties via email just like any other contract. When the settlement agreement is signed, you can scan the signature using your iPhone with an application like Genius Scan, which is available in the Apple Store for free.

While there certainly are constitutional concerns with things like jury trials, which may not be ready for this process, do the Florida courts really have to close down completely because of the crisis we are currently in? If that does in fact happen, imagine what things will be like when the crisis hopefully ends. That is not something that anyone should be looking forward to. If we take reasonable interim steps, we may be able to minimize the damage that this crisis will cause to the court system. If this crisis stretches through the summer, there could be long-term negative consequences.

Roger Slade is a shareholder at Haber Law. He concentrates his practice in commercial and business litigation, international business law and litigation, shareholder and partnership litigation, and family law litigation. He can be reached at [email protected].

Jacob Epstein is an associate at the firm. He concentrates his practice in the areas of business litigation, condominium and community association law, construction law, and real estate litigation. He can be reached at [email protected].