It was the last leg of a weeks-long jury trial, and the lead attorneys in the case were headed to Dallas' federal building for a jury charge conference, when frightened callers stopped them in their tracks.

They learned that early that morning June 17, a masked man wearing tactical gear had shot up the Earle Cabell Federal Building, which houses the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and where their patent infringement case, CommScope Connectivity v. Dali Wireless, was being heard. No officers or people where shot, thanks to the fast response of the Federal Protective Service, which returned fire and killed the shooter.

But what followed was another point of grace. Instead of allowing the unfolding chaos to derail the jury trial, Chief Judge Barbara Lynn and her staff took swift action. They quickly moved the jury charge conference to Lynn's home, and secured a mock courtroom in a Dallas law school for closing arguments.

Saving the trial was utterly important since, for two weeks, lawyers had been laying out their arguments and evidence to the jury. The only thing left was closing arguments, then the jury could deliberate on its verdict. Jurors were counting on the court sticking to its trial schedule so they could finish their service and go on with their lives. Also, attorneys had traveled from Minneapolis and Seattle, so a delay in the trial would be burdensome.

“If I could avoid an unscheduled break in the trial without jeopardizing justice, and in fact accomplishing justice, then I would do that,” Lynn said.

Banding Together

Phil Caspers, lead counsel for plaintiff CommScope Connectivity, and Dali Wireless Inc.'s co-lead counsel Mark Strachan and Cris Leffler, all said they were very relieved and thankful to learn later that day that no one was hurt.

Philip P. Caspers, founding partner of Carlson Caspers Vandenburgh & Lindquist.

“I know my team and their families, they all have little ones at home, and it kind of makes you miss home a little more,” said Caspers, a founding partner of Carlson Caspers Vandenburgh Lindquist & Schuman in Minneapolis. “Everybody called home to their loved ones and told them, 'All is good.'”

The next concern was how the incident would impact the trial.

Some may think attorneys in this situation would feel extreme anxiety, but in hindsight, all three lawyers expressed gratitude for how Lynn handled the situation.

“It was quite jarring. The news there was a shooting at the building of the courthouse the day before closing arguments was not ideal,” said Leffler, partner in Dorsey & Whitney in Seattle. “But credit to Judge Lynn for figuring out a way to push it through.”

Cris Leffler, partner in Dorsey & Whitney in Seattle.

Because law enforcement closed the federal building to process the active crime scene, it was impossible to hold the jury charge conference there. In an extremely rare move, Lynn invited the parties and their counsel to her home for the conference that afternoon. It was only delayed slightly, as Lynn had to make special arrangements to get her court reporter, Debbie Kriegshauser, and law clerk, Al Suarez, to her home from the federal building, which was still on lockdown.

Caspers, Leffler and Strachan all said that never in their careers has a judge invited them to her home for a hearing. The informal setting, compared to the cavernous and sometimes intimidating space of a federal courtroom, created a cozy meeting to discuss the jury charge.

Caspers said it was a friendly environment. His twin sons, who are 23, had traveled to Dallas as a surprise for Father's Day to watch their dad in the trial. He was relieved they weren't already at the courthouse at the time of the shooting, and thankful that Lynn allowed the twins to come to the conference at her home.