You may be no stranger to business litigation. At some point, you may have been sued or had to sue someone to resolve a legal dispute. If so, you know how much time you will spend in face-to-face meetings, depositions, and hearings. But with the COVID-19 crisis, the court system seems to be in an impossible situation: How can cases proceed without endangering lives? As legal professionals and courts struggle with this issue, you may wonder if the future of business litigation will still allow you to resolve your differences.
Litigation Has Evolved
Someone once said, “There is nothing so constant as change.” The legal community has sometimes adapted to new technologies and new ways of doing business unevenly and at a snail’s pace.
However, even before COVID-19, many attorneys had embraced technology and its many uses in the legal field. Although the ability to conduct remote meetings has existed for years, people were still concerned about using software to conduct business litigation hearings and depositions.
The COVID-19 Effect
With face-to-face and in-person contact limited or outright banned, technology has begun to take a starring role in business litigation.
Frankly, technological innovations had already separated generations of lawyers. Some attorneys clung to their Dictaphones and legal pads. Others relied on laptops and voice recognition software. Now, though, even attorneys unable or unwilling to face a brave new world of Zoom and digital discovery will have to get up to speed.
Business owners embroiled in lawsuits face trouble on several fronts. In addition to worrying about family and business, the future of business litigation may spell long delays in resolving legal disputes – at least disputes that require spending time with mediators, arbitrators, and judges.
What’s Being Done?
Attending trials, depositions, and hearings in person carry a certain formality that cannot be replicated on platforms like Zoom. However, Florida courts began using Zoom for hearings in order after governments issued stay-at-home orders. This, in turn, has given rise to the need for new guidelines to maintain the integrity of the meeting while avoiding distractions from people’s work and home environments. For example, courts have actually had to instruct people not to attend hearings in their pajamas!
As for actual cases, we are seeing a spike in contract disputes and class actions litigation filings related to COVID-19 issues. Also, we could see an influx of people who delayed filing because of court shutdowns.
Business Litigation Will Still Be an Option in the ‘New Normal’
Although the ways that a lawsuit may change, laws are largely the same. As such, the future of business litigation should still include lawsuits, mediations, and arbitration. We just may handle the day-to-day work a little differently.
Attorney Richard Sierra at the Florida Small Business Center assists clients like you with business and litigation matters. As always, Our Goal Is to Help You Succeed™. For an appointment, you may call us at 1-866-842-5202 or use the contact form on our website. We represent clients throughout the State of Florida, including Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Pompano Beach, Sunrise, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Deerfield Beach, Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Orlando, Naples, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Tampa, and surrounding communities.