NYC Divorce Lawyer Supports Keeping Many Of The Court Proceedings Virtual Instead Of In Person

NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Val Kleyman, Esq., a New York City divorce lawyer and principal of the Kleyman Law Firm, announced his support for keeping many of the court proceedings in divorce matters virtual instead of in person. 

The New York State Court system was forced to shut down on Friday, March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For approximately two months, all court proceedings were halted except for emergencies. During this period, the NYS courts prepared to move to a virtual setting, and to allow litigants and attorneys to attend court by Microsoft Teams, and to allow electronic submissions of filings. Currently, the courthouses still remain mostly closed to the public, but divorce cases, both old and new, are able to move forward.

"Matrimonial law was the one the last remaining fields of law in New York that did not use E-Filing before the pandemic. An overhaul of the paper system and switch to the online management was long overdue and it's just unfortunate that it took a pandemic to make it happen," said Kleyman.

According to Kleyman, some of the immediate pros of virtual court appearances are safety, efficiency, and monetary savings on attorney's fees for clients. "Virtual court ensures you will not need to leave your house, travel on public transportation, sit in a packed courtroom for hours, and expose yourself to possible health issues. Previously, attorneys and clients would appear in court, sometimes waiting for hours to be called on a matter that would only take a few minutes. This meant that a client needed to take an entire day off from work and worry about childcare, required in many cases. Attorneys would also charge clients for travel to and from the court date, as well as the waiting in the courthouse. With virtual court appearances for court conferences, the parties are provided a designated time to appear virtually, most appearances start as planned and clients are only billed for the time the conference takes," Kleyman said.

Although the positives of virtual court have streamlined and provided ease to the practice of family law, there are some cons to the virtual court according to Kleyman. "When parties have complicated or contested cases, the judge will not have the benefit of judging a person's character and honesty in person. This is especially relevant for trials and dispositive motion hearings. The lack of seeing a litigant or a witness up close and personal and observing their demeanor and reactions detracts from the lawyer's and judge's ability to detect who is telling the truth," said Kleyman.

Generally, virtual court is a success according to Kleyman. "I would like to see many aspects of virtual court remain after the pandemic is resolved such as E-filing and virtual court for routine conferences. However, the judges, attorneys and litigants should carefully weight this option for trials and important motion arguments," said Kleyman.

About:

Val Kleyman is the founder of The Kleyman Law Firm, a matrimonial law firm in New York handling complex, contested and high conflict divorces.  The Kleyman Law Firm is located at One Rockefeller Plaza, 11^th Floor, New York, NY 10020.  For more information visit www.NYC-DivorceLawyer.com, email [email protected], or call (212) 401-1977.

SOURCE Val Kleyman