Thanks to litigators Anne Posno (Lenzcner Slaght LLP) , David Steinberg (Steinberg Barristers) and Nadia Campion (Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP) for their time and insightful discussion.
One year since the pandemic hit and with a new Stay-at-Home Order in place, litigation continues to take place virtually, except in very few cases. This accomplished group of panelists provide their impressions on how virtual litigation is going and also look ahead to the future to consider which reforms (if any) should remain in place when the "new normal" arrives.
One year out, what has excited you about the transition to virtual litigation?
Anne Posno:
The things that I have enjoyed about it is it's forced me to be more electronic. It's also facilitated ease of accessing records when I'm dealing with clients and whatnot as well because it's, again, required me to learn the technology a little bit better. I used to have a little pile of files beside my desk that would be active files, and I would have 10 to 20 file folders sometimes with motion records sometimes piling over, and I don't have that anymore. I have it now on my desktop, but nobody's tripping over it anymore.
David Steinberg:
I'm getting ready to be called the Grinch. The short answer is that virtually nothing excites me about virtual litigation. This was, for better and worse, foisted on us by external circumstance, and I guess like all external circumstances, it can create opportunity for learning and growth.
But to Anne's point, I think that this is an impetus to learn about how to use new technology. I think there's a difference between using technology to better organize oneself versus using technology in our relation to other people. And for me, that's a meaningful and significant distinction.
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