Covid 19 And Courts

Covid 19 has changed the litigation and judicial ecosystem in India and around the world. In March 2020, when the first Covid wave hit us, the legal fraternity-like other sectors, was clueless. The unprecedented increase Covid cases among the members of the Bar and the Bench led to a situation of fear and uncertainty. The Courts had to be shut down and many lawyers started retreating to their hometowns going to work drying up.

As they say, necessity is the mother of all invention. Technology came to the rescue in those tough times so that hearing urgent and important matters could be made possible. This was also an experiment that eventually prove to be successful and made the system of virtual hearings an integral part of a lawyer's life. What started to be implemented in a phased manner with reluctance became a blessing in disguise admits senior advocate Pramod Dubey. 

One of the advantages of virtual hearing is that you can attend from anywhere. It means that for a senior advocate managing multiple hearings in a single day became a convenient and hassle free experience.

On being asked whether virtual hearings are here to stay, Meghna Mishra, Partner, Kanjawala and Company sided in favour of it. The fact that you can attend hearings from anywhere in the country makes it a very popular option among lawyers. Although eye contact is missing in a virtual hearing, the convenience which virtual hearing has brought is unparalleled.

"Someone could be anxious. Someone could be suffering from ill health, or you could just be a new parent and you want to, for a period of time, not be constantly in the mainstream of litigation, If we give hybrid an option," said Mishra.

Listen to legal experts talking about how Covid 19 has transformed the legal industry in India at the BW Legal World Global Legal Leaders Summit 2021.