Virtual growth: Video meetings becoming a mainstay for family law consultations

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In her State of the Judiciary address in January, Indiana Supreme Court Justice Loretta Rush laid out the importance of investing in court technology and assisting state residents as much as possible with access to their legal proceedings.

“For a person who has to find a ride to court, miss work, or get childcare, remote access is not just about flexibility—it is the lynchpin to getting their case resolved, getting justice,” Rush said. “Simply logging on to a remote proceeding—at times—is far more practical than jumping the hurdles that can accompany attending court in person.”

For some family law attorneys, the ability to hold remote visual consultations on Zoom is a better way for them to meet with and serve their clients. And while many are taking advantage of that technology, more caution surrounds the emerging use of artificial intelligence.

Zoeller

Brian Zoeller, partner and chair of Cohen & Malad LLP’s family law practice, said his firm is conducting more and more virtual consultations, while still giving clients the option of meeting in person.

Zoeller said the option of talking to the firm’s attorneys virtually appeals to a lot of clients and is convenient, particularly to some out-of-state clients.

“We do utilize a lot of Zoom meetings. That has been helpful to our clients,” Zoeller said.

But the use of virtual consultations and new technology in general varies from firm to firm.

“We have moved away from Zoom/Virtual consultations and appointments for the most part,” Kelli Maxwell, Eskew Law’s marketing director, said in an email to Indiana Lawyer. “We do occasionally utilize Zoom for virtual hearings, but not typically for client interactions.”

She added that neither of the firm’s two family law attorneys have much experience with artificial intelligence.

Shift to virtual

Zoeller said Cohen & Malad’s mix of clients choosing virtual as opposed to in-person meetings is now about a 50/50 split.

Since the end of the COVID pandemic, the popularity of virtual meetings has risen quickly, Zoeller said. Prior to the pandemic, Zoeller estimated, between 5 to 10% of his client meetings were virtual.

Clients still preferring in-person visits are more inclined to do so if their case involves children, Zoeller said.

“Because it’s such an important issue to them, they don’t want to do it over the phone or virtually,” Zoeller said.

Some clients also prefer to meet in-person for initial consultations.

Zoeller said that during those first meetings, the client is trying to decide if they want to hire the attorney to represent them.

However, almost all status conferences with the courts are virtual, Zoeller said, which saves his clients money and is more time-efficient for him.

After the COVID pandemic, most judges are getting back to in-person hearings, Zoeller said.

He said Marion County is still doing a lot of contested hearings virtually, but, for the most part, the surrounding counties generally hold hearings in-person.

Zoeller said he sees the positives of virtual technology and its use in holding status conferences and performing administrative tasks.

He does not like its use in contested hearings, where the credibility of witnesses needs to be determined.

“There‘s so much that goes on in a courtroom that you can see. You lose that in virtual hearings,” Zoeller said.

He added that there are times where litigants and clients don’t seem to take virtual hearings or meetings as seriously as they would if they were attending in person.

Travis Van Winkle

Travis Van Winkle, an attorney with Van Winkle Legal in Indianapolis, said virtual consultations have definitely increased at his firm.

Van Winkle offers guardian ad litem, parenting coordinator and domestic relations mediator services at his firm.

For interviews with parents, Van Winkle said he almost exclusively uses Zoom.

He said sometimes when parents are in the same room for a meeting, there is a lot of negative energy and tension, something that’s diffused to some extent with virtual meetings.

Overall, Van Winkle said a lot of his clients request virtual meetings.

He said he’s had maybe three in-person mediations this year, with the rest being held virtually. The Zoom meetings eliminate the need for clients to pay to drive to Van Winkle’s office and is more cost-efficient, he said.

Van Winkle started testing a virtual platform about two years ago.

The attorney said that, in conversations with his family law colleagues, there is agreement that sometimes there are exceptions where it is better to hold an in-person meeting.

“But most of my colleagues are in a similar boat,” Van Winkle said.

AI use not as prevalent, but coming

Van Winkle has been practicing law for more than 20 years.

He said older colleagues still prefer face-to-face meetings as opposed to using Zoom or other virtual platforms.

There are times where lost connections or audio problems can throw a glitch into a virtual consultation or a client meeting, Van Winkle acknowledged.

But on the whole, he’s embraced new technology and the options it gives him and his clients.

One technological tool that Van Winkle is not using as much is AI.

He said he’s found AI is not always accurate when he has used it for research.

Van Winkle said he expects to see, like in other legal areas, more and more use of AI in family law.

“I’m dipping my toe in that water, but I still trust myself more than I trust AI,” Van Winkle said.

Zoeller said some of his firm’s law clerks have used AI in research projects, but he stressed that he “wouldn’t say it’s widespread.”

“I think everyone is trying to figure out how we can use it to our advantage and streamline it,” Zoeller said.

Zoeller added that some of his family law colleagues use AI technology more than he does.

Like Van Winkle, Zoeller said he’s cautious about using the technology and still learning how it can be employed in the workplace.•

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