{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2Fd0b2b367-828b-4802-ab4c-169e7bf80a6d","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"55 \u2013 Jacob Leibowitz \u2013 Overcoming COVID-19: Working Remote & Staying Afloat","description":"In this special Trial Lawyer Nation podcast, Michael discusses COVID-19 with fellow trial lawyer Jacob Leibowitz. This episode focuses on adapting your firm to function in an ever-changing crisis situation, including insights on safety, remote work, technology, cash flow, and employee morale.\nThe show begins with a discussion on using technology to keep cases moving. Jacob emphasizes the importance of continuing to have depositions utilizing video conferencing technology. Their firm has chosen to use Zoom for depositions, mediations, and client meetings, and they have been successful with it. They discuss the pros and cons of Zoom, highlighting many useful features including video recording, \u201cbreakout rooms,\u201d options to increase audio quality, and a way to share exhibits that Jacob argues is even better than the in-person method. The challenges of this technology for depositions, and in many states across the U.S., is the person who swears in the witness needs to be in the same room to make the oath sufficient. Jacob shares how the Supreme Court of Texas has assisted with this. The use of online notaries is also discussed and both Michael and Jacob implore the listeners to reach out in their respective state to determine if this can be a solution.\nOriginally, Jacob believed mediations via video conferencing would be extremely complicated, but he has been pleasantly surprised by the ease of using breakout rooms in Zoom. While some mediators have resisted, Michael is confident they will come around soon, telling them \u201cEither you\u2019re not getting paid or you\u2019re going to do it this way.\u201d Jacob echoes this thought by stating, \u201cIt\u2019s here right now, and we have to adapt to it.\u201d They apply this same reasoning to defense counsel who may have objections. Michael strongly believes if the defense doesn\u2019t bill, they don\u2019t make money, and they don\u2019t survive. Jacob thinks it is the plaintiff lawyer\u2019s responsibility to push the case, educate all parties involved on how to use the technology, and has been kind enough to create a https://triallawyernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Using-Zoom-for-Depositions.pdf (Zoom Deposition Guide) to share with everyone. This guide can be shared with defense counsel, mediators, and anyone else hesitant with this process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_F3R3LMEMY ((A Zoom video tutorial for clients has also been created and can be found here))\nThe conversation shifts to remote work and how their firm of over 30 employees in different office locations has navigated the transition of physical office space to a virtual office space. The process began with Michael deciding to purchase company laptops for staff who did not have one. This was necessary because his IT company would only allow access to the server through a private VPN on a company-owned computer for security reasons. They discuss other challenges of remote work during a quarantine, including working with kids at home, server capacity, and cloud migration. Jacob then shares valuable advice for other firms to mitigate these challenges by advising \u201cYou just need to go full force into this, because you\u2019re going to end up learning a whole lot, and you need to.\u201d The reality is no one knows how long social distancing and a nationwide quarantine will last, so lawyers need to adjust accordingly.\nOn a serious note, Michael recognizes that regardless of technological innovations, the COVID-19 pandemic will disrupt firms\u2019 cash flow. He shares his experience with a market panic and how he has been proactive in protecting the firm\u2019s finances through pulling out money ahead of time and watching his finances very carefully. He also cautions other firms against laying employees off too soon, citing the proposed stimulus bill (which has now passed) would provide loan forgiveness to small businesses who use the money for payroll....","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/80de4db6-da18-41b8-9643-156c5d06db25/tln-logo-itunes-1400.jpg"}