As we continue in this pandemic one observation has become readily apparent, video conferencing, and for me video court appearances are here to stay. So, my question is, is it getting any easier for you?

For me that answer is complicated. I had two opposite experiences in the same week.

Early in the week there was a scheduled video court conference in a matter I was no longer appearing on. I received a call from the court asking me if I would mind “clicking into the appearance,” as a favor to the judge, as she had some questions that she believed only I knew the answer to. Being smart enough never to deny a request from the court I quickly clicked on the link, appeared at the virtual conference, and answered the judge’s questions. I was on and off camera in ten minutes. In the past such a request would have taken at least an hour out of my day as I would have had to drive to the courthouse, find parking etc.

The next day, I had a completely opposite experience. A colleague and I were co-counsel on a matter. I was appearing at the virtual conference with the client in my conference room. My co-counsel was also appearing virtually from a different office. We were both using the same link from the same email address. For some reason, and it took us twenty minutes to figure out this was even happening, when I clicked onto the link, it would turn off my co-counsel’s camera. And when we signed back in, if my co-counsel had gotten in first, the judge could not see me or the client. After twenty minutes of clicking in and out of the virtual conference, I finally called into the conference so the Court could see my co-counsel who was taking the lead.

So, while the video technology appears to be more efficient, there are still some glitches. How has your experience been?