Like many a lawyer in the age of the Zoom hearing, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Tom Dupree decided to head into his office to take advantage of a secure, solid internet connection when handling arguments for automaker FCA US, the maker of Chrysler and Dodge vehicles in a case involving California’s lemon law.

That part we’re kind of getting used to. This part, not so much: Dupree’s office is in downtown Washington, D.C. His argument before the Los Angeles-based Second District Court of Appeal was on the morning of January 6 West Coast time. That meant just as Dupree was getting ready to discuss the intricacies of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act with the three-judge panel, the streets outside his office window were about as far from the atmosphere of an appellate courtroom as you can get.