Security & Remote Services Update
Reportex continues to provide secure, user-friendly facilitation of remote services utilizing the Zoom and WebEx platforms. Next up in our extensive testing by our Systems Team at Reportex is MS Teams. Upon initial review, Teams does not offer a breakout room feature, so it’s not a solution for mediations; however, it was recently approved for use within the provincial government, so we are testing its suitability for discoveries and hearings.
There are literally dozens of additional videoconferencing platforms (such as GoToMeeting, Skype for Business, Google Meet, Blue Jeans, etc.), and we will investigate and test these programs for potential use. If your firm requires you to use a specific platform, please let us know so we can try to accommodate your needs.
At this time there has been no official directive by either the courts, the Law Society or any of the various lawyer associations regarding which platforms are approved by the courts. That said, the court of appeal recently announced that they will be hearing matters via Zoom. We understand that the BC Supreme Court is currently testing the MS Teams platform as well.
HELPFUL COVID-19 LINKS:
Court Information
Legal Groups & Associations
- Lawyers Assistance Program of BC
- Trial Lawyers Association of BC
- Canadian Bar Association
- Canadian Defence Lawyers
General Information
- Ministry of Attorney General Response to COVID-19
- Daily Updates from the British Columbia Government
- BC Centre for Disease Control – COVID-19
- Government of Canada – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) – resources and updates
- Live tracker of the spread of the disease from Johns Hopkins University
- World Health Organization – resources
