LawCall: Attorneys Are Still At Work

Attorney Michael Timberlake discusses how courts and judges are proceeding during this coronavirus pandemic.

Pull some of those out and have some of those live tonight.

Getting us started tonight, michael timberlake is with us from siniard, timberlake & league.

Actually, live from his home.

Good evening.

>> michael timberlake: good to be here.

Thank you for being here from your home.

>> sharon doviet: it's weird to be doing the show from video conferencing, but lawyers are having to do a lot of things they didn't in the past.

How are lawyers functioning if the courthouse is closed, is anything getting done?

>> michael timberlake: yeah, i mean, it's amazingly -- it's amazing how the court system has adapted without a whole lot of planning ahead of time, the court system has allowed ways they can continue on with hearings.

The judges are having video hearings or teleconference hearings or they're hearing arguments on motions that are not trials, but, you know, things headed to trial.

But they're trying to push things along if something is an emergency and protection or abuse order or something like that, the judges are, you know, going ahead and hearing that and doing it via teleconference or telephonically.

They're pushing forward.

Now we've just got an order that jury trials will be canceled until the end of june.

That is something that we're very concerned about, but it's obviously something that is going to come into play.

But, you know, our office is open.

We are being very careful about how we deal with people or contact.

For their safety as much as our safety, but we're holding depositions via zoom conference.

Our videos, we're having mediations the same way.

All kinds of conferences, client conferences.

So we're still moving our cases forward on a daily basis to the best that we are able to.

>> sharon doviet: my office too.

It's a challenge to figure out how to make it work, but lawyers are and judges are still handling motions that get filed electronically