47
A New York lawyer may use the street address
of a virtual law office ("VLO") located in New
York as the lawyer's "principal law office address"
for the purposes of Rule 7.1(h) of the New York
Rules of Professional Conduct (the "New York
Rules" or the "Rules"), provided the VLO qualifies
as an office for the transaction of law business
under New York's Judiciary Law. In addition, a
New York lawyer may use the address of a VLO
as the lawyer's office address on business cards,
letterhead, and law firm website. A New York
lawyer who uses a VLO must also comply with
other New York Rules, including Rules 1.4, 1.6,
5.1, 5.3, 8.4(a) and 8.4(c).
11
Prescriptions
Interestingly, traveling abroad with
prescriptions presents logistical issues. As a
nomad, your required medicines, whether
over the counter or prescription, must be
brought to the remote location, but while
they may be legal in the United States, they
may be considered unlicensed or controlled
substances in other countries.
For example, some inhalers and certain
allergy and sinus medications are illegal
in Japan. Moreover, the consequences for
violating drug laws in other countries can
be very serious, resulting in confiscation of
needed medicine and possibly imprisonment
(for example, note the strict narcotics laws
in the United Arab Emirates
12
). A pre-check
with the embassy of that country should
provide guidance about admissibility of
medicine into that country.
13
Another issue is coordinating length of
stay with the expiration of a prescription,
which typically are 30-, 60-, or 90-day
supplies, though insurance may cover only
a limited supply for 30 days. If an extended
supply is not available, it is possible to buy
medicine at your destination, with the caveat
that only reputable pharmacies and doctors
be used, especially in developing countries
where counterfeit drugs are a problem. A
recommended resource is the nearest U.S.
embassy or consulate.
14
Finally, travel with medicine in original
containers and have a note ready from the
prescribing doctor for controlled substances,
such as medical cannabis.
ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES,
ELECTRONIC FILING, REMOTE
BANDWIDTH, AND "ZOOMING" INTO
COURT
Practicing virtual law implies using
an adequate computer system with good
internet access, the latter of which is almost
universally available except in certain
remote areas. Access to electronic signatures
on agreements and court pleadings is
a matter of selection of software, such
as DocuSign and Adobe Sign. All U.S.
federal courts, and all U.S. state courts,
even if partially implemented, have or
require electronic filing of pleadings, again
facilitating the digital practice of law.
15
Ancillary to electronic communications
are virtual meetings and court hearings,
which were used almost exclusively during
the height of the COVID-19 pandemic
to reduce transmission of the virus. The
somewhat unexpected result is that it looks
like virtual hearings are here to stay, to
some degree, which again facilitates virtual
practice, at least for civil law. Some criminal
and immigration court proceedings, in
order to maintain due process protections,
have returned to in-person proceedings.
Studies have found that jurors in criminal
cases respond better to in-person testimony
and that immigration participants
lacked substantive participation in court
proceedings, to their detriment.
16
FLORIDA AS A PIONEER AMONG
COURT SYSTEMS FOR REMOTE ACCESS
In April, 2021, the Florida Supreme
Court launched a virtual courtroom directory,
Courtrooms.FLCourts.org, to publish
information to the public about virtual court
proceedings. e Court noted, "e move
toward more virtual proceedings is a major
historical shift in state court operations, which
have relied heavily on in-person hearings in the
175 years Florida has been a state."
17
e Florida court system is only one
example of court systems throughout the world
who have embraced remote proceedings during
the pandemic, and beyond, to the benefit
of digital nomads everywhere.
18
Reform of
justice systems is usually slow and difficult to
achieve, but the experiences of the COVID-19
pandemic show that change can take place
relatively quickly and efficiently.
Use of technology allows more access to
justice, through use of virtual hearing used
by parties and the public. However, certain
proceedings, like criminal and immigration,
may not be as well suited to all-virtual access.
19
Given the heightened awareness of public
safety and COVID-19 variants, as well as
acceptability and user preference for use of
virtual communications, it looks like the world
of the digital nomad attorney will continue to
expand.
Michelle Garcia Gilbert is
Managing Partner of
Gilbert Garcia Group, P.A.
Garcia Gilbert handles a
wide variety of legal matters
for the firm and has
substantial litigation experience in both default
and nondefault cases, including jury and nonjury
trials, motion practice, and appellate oral
argument, throughout the state of Florida. She
has managed the firm's expansion into probate,
guardianship, estate planning, business
transactional, and corporate law. She has
practiced real estate and business law since 1989,
specializing in default servicing legal work,
including litigated foreclosures, real estate
closings, evictions, and commercial litigation.
10 https://nomadcapitalist.com/global-citizen/mailbox-forwarding-services/
11 https://s3.amazonaws.com/documents.nycbar.org/files/2019509-Virtual_Law_Offices.pdf
12 https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travel-abroad-with-medicine
13 https://www.usembassy.gov/
14 See, id.
15 https://courttechbulletin.blogspot.com/2019/08/2019-state-court-e-filing-program.html
16 https://www.forbes.com/sites/insider/2020/09/15/zooming-in-on-the-flaws-of-virtual-court/?sh=135697953fe2
17 https://www.floridasupremecourt.org/News-Media/Court-News/Expanded-Public-Access-to-Florida-s-Courts-via-the-Virtual-Courtroom-Directory
18 https://www.ncsc.org/newsroom/public-health-emergency; https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/06/18/coronavirus-accelerates-state-court-modernization-efforts; https://www.oecd.org/governance/
global-roundtables-access-to-justice/access-to-justice-compendium-of-country-practices.pdf
19 https://www.oecd.org/governance/global-roundtables-access-to-justice/access-to-justice-compendium-of-country-practices.pdf
