The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote videoconferencing and depositions in the legal industry for a variety of reasons—including social distancing and stay-at-home orders. Although initially borne out of concerns about the virus, the convenience of remote and hybrid video conferencing and deposition services quickly became apparent.
At Coash & Coash Court Reporting & Video, we have expanded our remote videoconferencing services to meet our clients’ ever-increasing need for and interest in these services.
Although there was some initial resistance, many in the legal industry now believe that videoconferences and remote depositions will become standard practice in the years to come. Like organizations in all industries, law firms need to manage the global transition to new norms of hybrid work.
Remote Videoconferencing and Deposition Services—Embracing New Norms
The accelerated move toward widespread remote legal work in 2020 was somewhat haphazard for many law firms. Now that firms have had a chance to settle into the realities of an evolving digital landscape, they need to evaluate how best to incorporate greater reliance on remote videoconferencing and deposition services—which increased out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic—into day-to-day best practices moving forward.
Before the pandemic, there was significant resistance to remote conferences and depositions in the legal industry. Even the law firms that were most firmly against have come to realize, however, that the way people get their work done has changed forever. Although there will always be a role for in-person interactions, the benefits of remote work have now been clearly demonstrated. No matter how steeped in tradition your law firm is, the movement toward the expedience and ease of videoconferences and mobile depositions is inevitable—and Coash & Coash can help you thrive in this new hybrid environment.
The Time and Cost Savings of Remote Videoconferencing and Deposition Services
The benefits of the videoconference deposition and other remote conferencing services include saving both money and time. Travel expenses incidental to the scheduling of a conference or deposition can be significant when all parties are not in the same city. These can include flights, hotels, rental cars, gas mileage, and meals.
Eliminating the need for excess travel results in time savings as well. Instead of a day blocked off for a plane trip, people using remote videoconferencing services for depositions can gain hours they otherwise would not have had in their day—time to work on other clients’ matters or to just get home at a reasonable hour. Scheduling remote videoconferences and depositions is also much more expedient, with fewer conflicts to be factored into each participant’s availability.
Can Video Deposition Services Offer the Best of Both Worlds?
Before the onset of the pandemic, great value was placed on the benefits of in-person interactions, such as being able to read the subtle body language of the person with whom you are speaking. Remote depositions can offer the best of both worlds when done properly, saving time and money while still maintaining the ability to see the visual clues and context given by the other parties through mobile videography.
You can see many of the same visual cues through a monitor that you can see in-person—is the person nervously fidgeting or looking off to the side? A videoconference deposition that includes mobile videography still captures the body language and facial expressions of the deponent—all from the comfort of your own office or home.
The Videoconference Deposition Has Proven Useful
A surprising lesson from the chaos of this temporal pandemic is that challenges to our old assumptions of workplace best practices are taking place—and often result in positive permanent changes.
The time and money savings of remote and hybrid video conferencing and depositions, the ease in scheduling, and the ability to watch for the same visual cues as you would receive in person might just be enough to make remote the better option. Even beyond those benefits is enhanced record preservation. The written transcript of a conference or deposition preserves the record as to what people said, but it doesn’t preserve how the words were said—was the deponent visibly nervous or speaking in an agitated tone? Or was the person speaking calmly and maintaining eye contact? Tone and body language can influence meaning, and visual recordings preserved through mobile videography can allow attorneys to prepare more thoroughly than possible using a traditional written transcript.
The legal industry must adapt to today’s ever-changing environment and the trend toward remote work and interactions. Contact Coash & Coash Court Reporting & Video to learn more about us and our video deposition services, videoconferencing, mobile videography, and other services. We’re happy to help you prepare for and execute your next remote proceeding! Call 800-262-DEPO (3376) or complete our online contact form.