In an article by The Daily Business Review, Jamie Cole, Co-Chair of the Broward County Circuit Court’s Civility Program, discusses the program during the coronavirus pandemic.
“One of the reasons why the program was so successful is that many new lawyers come fresh out of law school and are increasingly starting their own private practice instead of joining a bigger firm where they learn the ropes from more experienced legal practitioners,” Jamie explained.
“Clients have a lot of demands,” Jamie said. “They expect results and expect their attorneys to be bulldogs sometimes, even though that’s not the professional way to do it.”
The circuit’s solution in 2018 was to create the program using senior law firm partners as professional and civility magistrate, allowing Broward Circuit Court judges to swiftly sanction attorneys who misbehave during litigation. According to Chief Judge Jack Tuter, Broward County litigators seem to have become nicer in the recent months. The recent shift may be a result from the coronavirus pandemic. The question facing Tuter and his fellow Judges is whether this level of civility will continue once the pandemic passes.
Read the full article here.
