There’s times when those in the legal profession have to make the best out of what can charitably be called a shit sandwich. Doesn’t matter if it’s a bad fact pattern, abhorrent precedent or whatever bad mood a client might be in, lawyers regularly get called to take stinky nuggets of coal and attempt to turn them into diamonds.

One could say this was doubly true during COVID and the era of Zoom court. All of us, from legal professionals to the layperson were busy trying to figure out the time of social distancing, Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls, and how to effectively quarantine. And in that messed up time we were treated to a true gem of the Internet: Lawyer Cat.

Set the wayback machine to 2021 and the Zoom court room of Judge Roy Ferguson in Texas, according to what I was able to find on the ol’ Google machine. It’s a civil asset forfeiture hearing and two attorneys are ready to move forward.

There’s just one problem. One attorney is attending the Zoom Call on his assistant’s laptop. And he looks like a cat.

“Excuse me, counselor, I think you might have a “filter” on your computer,” says Judge Ferguson.

“Yes, your honor, we’re working on that. I have my assistant here and she’s trying to remove it…I’m ready to move forward, I’m not a cat.” says the filter-challenged lawyer.

Mercifully, Judge Ferguson responds with “I can see that” before attempting to help the lawyer remove said filter so the Zoom court session can continue with some semblance of normalcy.

I bring this particular bit of Internet lore up today because I think it’s got some lessons worth pondering.

First, the lawyer behind Lawyer Cat, the opposing counsel, and the judge were all navigating something really new and alien to all of us at the time. Zoom calls were brand new back then to us, and we didn’t really understand the nuances behind all the technology.

And let’s be honest: there’s a lot of lawyers that are bad with technology. Odds are the counselor voicing Lawyer Cat had to use his assistant’s laptop because his personal computer either didn’t have a webcam or the capabilities to use Zoom at that time. The odds are just as likely his assistant’s kid was screwing around with Zoom as our children were learning “virtually” at that time using the same software.

So the lawyer gets on the call. He freezes a bit because he looks like a goddamn cat. He does his best to stumble through the awkward circumstances and do what every lawyer strives to do: represent his client in the best way possible.

And what does Judge Ferguson do? He helps the lawyer having technical difficulties. This jurist displayed the calm, measured temper and even keel one would expect in anyone wearing a black robe. That’s a testament to the man’s character and disposition in a world gone mad.

But I want to take a moment to give the other lawyer some flowers too. He didn’t say a damn thing. This is commendable in its own right because those with less experience or restraint might have lobbed a snarky remark or two at poor Lawyer Cat’s misfortune. But this legal eagle? NO SIR. He understood that of all things, silence in a chaotic time can be golden.
So do us all a solid today and at Scotch O’ Clock raise your crystal tumbler to Lawyer Cat, his opposing counsel, and Judge Ferguson. They took a situation that was subpar at best, made the most of it, and still put forth a commendable effort to ensure the legal system continued on while the rest of the world did its best to shelter in place.

And for that, my friends, they deserve an attaboy.

See y’all next time!