I
have
had
a
number
of
in-person
court
appearances
in
the
past
few
months,
and
the
experience
has
shown
me
that
lawyers
may
treat
in-person
appearances
a
little
differently
than
they
did
before
the
pandemic.
Last
week,
I
wrote
about
how
some
lawyers
seem
to
appear
in
court
in
less
formal
attire,
possibly
due
to
the
return
to
in-person
appearances
following
the
COVID-19
pandemic.
I
have
also
seen
lawyers
bringing
kids
to
court
in
recent
months,
which
may
be
due
to
childcare
issues
or
the
fact
that
kids
were
out
of
school
for
the
summer.
At
a
recent
court
appearance,
I
saw
a
lawyer
bring
three
kids
to
court!
I
was
impressed
with
how
this
lawyer
was
able
to
handle
his
children
as
well
as
the
legal
task
at
hand.
In
some
circumstances,
bringing
kids
to
court
is
entirely
appropriate,
and
in
certain
situations,
this
might
actually
be
an
advantage
to
the
lawyer.
The
first
time
I
ever
saw
a
lawyer
bring
a
kid
to
court
was
about
a
decade
ago
when
I
was
arguing
an
appeal
in
front
of
a
state
intermediate
appellate
court.
The
gallery
of
the
courtroom
was
full
of
numerous
lawyers,
and
possibly
some
clients,
who
were
all
in
formal
attire.
In
the
back,
a
father
who
was
wearing
a
suit
sat
next
to
a
kid
who
was
probably
7
or
8
years
old,
who
everyone
presumed
was
his
child.
When
it
was
time
for
this
lawyer
to
argue
his
appeal,
the
lawyer
told
the
child
to
stay
in
his
seat
and
then
he
approached
the
lectern
to
make
his
arguments.
I
think
the
appellate
judges
were
touched
by
the
fact
that
the
father
brought
his
child
to
court
that
day.
One
of
the
appellate
judges
remarked
“it
looks
like
you
have
a
legal
assistant
with
you”
or
something
to
that
effect
to
playfully
point
out
that
the
lawyer
was
accompanied
by
his
child.
From
the
smiles
I
could
see
on
the
faces
of
the
appellate
judges,
it
seemed
that
bringing
a
kid
to
court
did
not
hurt
this
lawyer,
and
might
have
actually
helped
humanize
the
lawyer
in
front
of
the
appellate
judges.
As
previously
mentioned,
I
saw
a
lawyer
bring
three
of
his
kids
to
court
several
weeks
ago,
and
this
was
an
interesting
sight
to
see.
The
kids
followed
the
lawyer
around
as
he
worked
on
various
matters.
Everyone
was
talking
about
the
kids
and
the
attorney
who
had
brought
them
to
court.
However,
I
did
not
hear
a
negative
comment
about
the
fact
that
this
lawyer
brought
his
kids
to
court.
On
the
contrary,
most
of
the
comments
were
about
how
cute
and
well-behaved
the
kids
were
and
how
it
was
cool
that
this
lawyer
showed
his
kids
what
his
work
was
like.
I
am
not
sure
whether
having
children
helped
the
lawyer
advance
his
client’s
interests,
but
it
definitely
added
some
levity
to
the
drudgery
many
people
experience
in
court.
Granted,
I
am
the
type
of
person
who
likes
it
when
people
bring
their
kids
with
them
to
various
events.
When
I
was
in
law
school,
I
took
a
family
law
class
with
a
student
who
brought
her
infant
child
to
class
with
her.
There
were
only
around
30
people
in
the
class,
so
it
was
pretty
noticeable
when
the
child
acted
up,
but
for
the
most
part,
it
was
really
enriching
to
have
the
child
there.
Of
course,
not
everyone
is
comfortable
around
children,
and
some
people
do
not
understand
childcare
and
other
issues
that
surround
having
kids.
Indeed,
I
remember
one
story
about
a
judge
who
scolded
a
lawyer
for
bringing
an
infant
to
court
even
though
the
judge
refused
to
adjourn
a
matter
because
the
lawyer
had
recently
given
birth.
In
addition,
male
and
female
attorneys
are
likely
to
be
perceived
differently
if
they
bring
children
to
court
because
of
ways
people
unfairly
perceive
women
differently
from
men
if
they
mix
work
with
their
personal
lives.
Moreover,
some
courts
have
rules
prohibiting
children
from
appearing
in
court
due
to
the
disturbance
they
may
cause,
and
this
is
usually
reasonable
if
members
of
the
public
are
not
expected
to
appear
in
court.
In
any
case,
people
should
be
more
understanding
of
lawyers
who
need
to
bring
children
to
court
for
childcare
or
other
reasons.
Courts
are
generally
flexible
to
members
of
the
public
bringing
children
to
court,
and
this
should
extend
to
lawyers.
In
the
post-COVID
era
in
which
in-person
court
appearances
are
rarer,
and
hybrid
work
arrangements
make
consistent
childcare
more
impractical,
judges
should
be
more
flexible
to
lawyers
who
bring
children
to
courts.
Kids
usually
do
not
cause
a
disturbance
in
court,
and
they
can
add
an
enriching
and
humanizing
element
to
court
proceedings
that
is
typically
absent
in
the
legal
industry.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of
The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of
Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at
[email protected].