A new judicial administration rule allows out of town parties to appear by
telephone if said party will be appearing by phone for a hearing not to exceed
15 minutes, and many judges adhere to this rule. If the hearing will take longer, then the parties may also agree on whether a party can appear telephonically. This should make litigating in Florida for out-of-towners much easier.
Previously, certain judges had their own blanket rules prohibiting anyone from appearing by phone. This caused a lot of inconvenience for the out-of-town parties and attorneys. It created a lot of unnecessary attorney fees because lawyers sometimes were forced to travel one hour or more to attend a brief hearing. This court appearance could easily cost a client hundreds of dollars. Now, these unnecessary fees can sometimes be avoided. Clients too may now save money on airfare and other travel expenses when appearing at a brief out-of-town South Florida hearing. Many times it is a win-win for everyone involved. In fact, it is a shame this did not happen earlier. It would have saved many out- of- town clients a bundle.
However, as many lawyers would admit, the courts are many times slow to adapt to our changing society, and even slower sometimes at implementing changes to meet society's changing needs.
If you or anyone you know resides outside of Broward County, out-of-state or out of the country and needs representation in Broward, please contact our Fort Lauderdale office to see how we may be of assistance.
