Technology

Lawyers Forced To Go Old School When Virus Takes Down Court's Website And Electronic Filing System

Lawyering like it is 1995.

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Young attorneys in Philadelphia won’t be so quick to laugh at the old-timey ways of some of their more… seasoned colleagues anymore. That’s because a cyber threat has taken down the website and electronic filing system in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. According to the powers that be, the systems were taken offline as a “precautionary measure,” after malware was found on computers at the courthouse.

The systems have been down since May 21, and there is currently no timeline for when they’ll be back up and running. As reported by Law.com:

A statement released by the court late Friday said the “precautionary measure” was taken after malware was discovered on a limited number of FJD [First Judicial District] workstations. The statement further said no definitive timeline could be given for when the system will be back online, but the FJD is contracting the services of a cybersecurity firm and has created secure network connections so employees can begin docketing filings in an effort to mitigate the potential backlog.

“We are currently unable to provide more information concerning this virus so as not to provide any detail-specific information that could jeopardize the remediation process we are engaged in,” the statement said

So the era of paper print-outs and couriers rushing things to the courthouse is back in Philly. And the inconveniences we thought technology had eliminated are back with a vengeance:

Burns White’s offices are in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, in suburban Philadelphia, 15 miles—and at least a 30-minute drive—from City Hall. According to the firm’s east region office manager Lisa Blair, a courier comes once a day to pick up the filings and drop them off at the court, where they are filed and time-stamped. To ensure the filings make it to the courier and down 14 miles on the congenitally congested Schuylkill Expressway on time, lawyers have been given a 1 p.m. deadline to get their papers submitted.

As Blair noted, “The convenience of e-filing is sorely missed, but we’re making do.”

Lines to file motion have been reported to be up to an hour long, further complicating attorneys’ efforts at timeliness in Philadelphia. And while the technical problem might get lawyers a little leeway, it isn’t something they should count on:

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The court has said attorneys can cite the technical issues if filing deadlines are missed, and the procedural rules allow for some leeway if there is a breakdown in the court system, but John Hare of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman Goggin said that the longer the computers are down, the more necessary it will be for attorneys to adapt.

Although he doubted the technology issues would cause any significant waiver arguments for the appellate courts, after a week of having the filing system down, attorneys should be on notice.

Until the virus is properly dealt with, attorneys with cases in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania are learning (or re-learning) what it was like to practice law in the way back times of the 1990s. And attorneys around the rest of the country are even more thankful their court’s computers are still working.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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