If ever there was a problem that could only exist now and not, say, five years ago, it's people leaving filters on on Zoom.
For those of us with young ones, it's often the case that you'll log into a meeting and then find that your face is that of a panda before you quickly undo the whole thing and try to look as professional as possible. The trick for that, of course, is to mute your camera before you enter any meeting.
Sadly, this didn't happen in this meeting between two lawyers and a judge, where one of the attorneys ended up with a filter and tried to explain his situation to the judge. What follows is the closest you'll get to some kind of sitcom joke happening real life.
Take a look.
“I’m here live, I’m not a cat,” says lawyer after Zoom filter mishap
“I can see that,” responds judge pic.twitter.com/HclKlAUwbM— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) February 9, 2021
The best part of all this, however, is that the judge in the case has actually gotten in on the action with some helpful tips for anyone in the same sitution.
Judge Roy Ferguson of the 394th Judicial District of Texas posted a tweet last night saying that these "fun moments are a by-product of the legal profession's dedication to ensuring that the justice system continues to function in these tough times. Everyone involved handled it with dignity, and the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace. True professionalism all around!"
Yes, but also, the lawyer was trying to clarify that he wasn't a cat and was happy to move forward with the whole thing.
In the future, all legal proceedings will feature cat filters.