Some South Florida lawyers have a bone to pick with Zoom but also acknowledge its potential to facilitate litigation practice during and after the COVID-19 shutdown.

Joel Hirschhorn, a shareholder at GrayRobinson in Miami, for instance, said there is something about the "roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd" that is lost by using Zoom to facilitate hearings and court testimony.

To make his point about losing the rush of emotions that come from being in the courtroom, Hirschhorn pointed to a federal court case where he was tactically cross-examining a witness.

The man "slammed his hand on the bar in front of the witness stand and said, 'You want to go outside and settle this man to man?' " Hirschhorn said. "Of course, everybody in the courtroom cracked up. The judge said in his southern accent, 'Mr. Hirschhorn, I believe you made your point. I don't think any further cross-examination is necessary.' You won't get those moments."

Lost elements

Hirschhorn said those elements of surprise and the drama that can ensue are critical to courtroom litigation.

Zoom will hinder that, he said.

That is the reason the veteran trial lawyer, whose career has included landmark cases defending pornographers, drug kingpins and U.S. congressmen, is choosing to postpone three jury trials in the next year.

Christina Paul, a partner at K&L Gates in Miami, has had a smooth transition with the switch from in-person hearings to having remote, Zoom hearings. Yet, she finds some of the camaraderie is lost when she has cases before the Miami-Dade Circuit Court that are now conducted through Zoom.

"You come in and you see people that you practice with," Paul said. "You see people that you've gone to law school with and there's a connection that emanates out of that building. So sitting behind a desk at your home, you lose that sort of aura that you get when you walk into that building and the connection that you get with your fellow bar members."

Zoom technology has become essential in the coronavirus reality that has generated stay-at-home orders and strict social distancing rules. Before COVID-19, video calls were a novelty. Yet they have now become a necessity.

Stephen N. Zack, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner in Miami, said lawyers are becoming more comfortable with Zoom. Before the coronavirus pandemic, Zack thought it did not make much sense to "go to a one-day hearing in Chicago from Miami."

"A day going, a day coming, and sitting around waiting for your flight," Zack said. "I strongly believe it will never go back to the way it was because people realize there is an alternative that may be more efficient going forward."

Still, that efficiency can come at a price. Zoom just released a draft design on GitHub for end-to-end encryption as part of its plan for "major security and privacy upgrades." Previously, Zoom software raised privacy concerns as the communication application became a widely reported target for hackers.

While not as threatening as a full-blown data breach, partner Aliette Rodz of Shutts & Bowen in Miami warns other lawyers of a severe mistake that litigators can make when utilizing remote communications — the possibility of revealing documentation that could jeopardize confidential conversations. Her recommendation is to make sure that before sharing your screen, you set up links to the documents you intend to share on your desktop to ensure you are not sharing information about other documents or clients in your database.

"Have your documents properly earmarked so you're not going into your own database because otherwise, you would be showing your database to the people that are on your Zoom hearing," Rodz said. "You have attorney-client privileges. It's prudent to make sure."