The Zooming of Federal Civil Litigation

Abstract

Federal civil practice has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by using new technologies, including, prominently, remote technology. How will reliance on remote technology during this pandemic transform lawyers, courts, and the law going forward? What changes to civil litigation practice should be embraced, what changes should be discarded, and what changes should await further technological advances? We explore these questions. Surveying some key pandemic-fueled developments of remote technology in federal civil litigation, we conclude that the pandemic’s push toward the zooming of legal practice is likely to leave enduring marks. We identify the most promising uses for remote technology, strike cautionary notes for more pervasive implementation, and offer some suggestions for moving forward.

Keywords: zoom, remote technology, venue, personal jurisdiction, discovery conference, pretrial conference, pandemic, COVID-19, coronavirus, depositions, oral argument