Meet Lana Allen (again)

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We love seeing the worlds of Veritext and Reportex connecting and getting to know each other better.  Recently Jan Ballman of Veritext Minneapolis took the time to interview our very own Lana Allen, RPR, RCR, CCP. Lana is a realtime court reporter. Realtime reporting is the instantaneous translation of oral proceedings into English text. Counsel’s laptop or iPad is connected to the reporter’s secure realtime network, enabling counsel to read and annotate the text on their screen in real time during the proceedings.

Lana has over 20 years’ experience in both criminal and civil cases, with experience and an extensive knowledge base of Aboriginal, medical, marine, environmental, construction and engineering-related terminology. She also does communication access realtime translation (CART), also known as realtime captioning, for the deaf and hard of hearing.  

You can read and learn about Lana’s globetrotting ways here. 

 

Tools of the Trade When Preparing for an E-Trial

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Digital tools were part of legal services across Canada and the US long before COVID-19. Courts, lawyers and mediators have been using digital tools to enhance the entire legal from discovery all the way through to hearings and actual trials. The ability to expand access to court proceedings hampered by distance or scope is now encouraging more people to embrace a wider use of technology across the legal industry.

Adopting technology into the legal world does not come without problems, and not everyone or every place has the ability to adapt to these tools. We have always been aware of this. Technology is a tool that can be made great only when wielded by the right people — and our team is made up of the right people. 

We teamed up with Veritext because they too saw that the future of legal services goes far beyond booking a court reporter. They too focus on the unique needs of each member of a legal team and strive to provide access to the best technology and virtual solutions as well as the highest quality network of reporters and legal videographers, and they pride themselves on providing unmatched expertise in multi-party and complex litigations. Now we can offer our brand of e-solutions expertise to clients across Canada and the US. 

Getting Ready for Your E-Trial

We want you to be eager to adopt our e-solutions, and we are here to help you build your e-trial. Let’s look at the main things to consider when you request a quote:

  • How tech-savvy are you? Will you require technical support, including a courtroom technician available throughout the examinations for discovery and e-trial?
  • Is the courtroom set up to manage the required technology? Is it set up for videoconferencing, and does it have high-speed wifi installed? 
  • Do you need a way to manage your digital documentation in a secure manner? Are exhibits, transcripts and other documents easy to find in a searchable, centralized hub?

The future is here, and the solution to providing fair and equal access to justice for all lies in your ability to welcome new technology and new formats like e-trials.

The technology required to run a successful e-trial is not large or distracting in a courtroom setting.  The basic e-trial equipment comprises a laptop, viewing monitors, a presenter workstation and additional laptops for both the witnesses and the clerk. Additional hardware may include the following:

  • routers to manage both wifi and WLAN networks
  • a wireless device, such as a phone or tablet (for mobile configurations)
  • an all-in-one printer
  • a SMART Board with at least one compatible pen or a tablet with a stylus
  • video cameras and/or external speakers

We also provide a technician to manage the technology throughout the proceedings. 

Talk to us today to learn more about what we can do for you or take our quiz to get you started!

Welcome to E-Trials

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The call to modernize the court system to ensure fair and speedier resolutions predated COVID, though the pandemic certainly accelerated the entrance of technology into the courtroom. Many trials across Canada and the US have already been moving towards a paperless or near-paperless and virtual manner.

We were ready. We have always known that adaptation of new and innovative technology would be at the core of ensuring access to justice for all Canadians. Investing in growing our technical knowledge and support in the legal service industry has always been at the heart of the development of Reportex and is one of the reasons why we joined with Veritext as they too have long understood the need to stay ahead of the changing needs in the legal system here in Canada and the US.

“Access to justice is a foundation of our society, and we simply had to learn, adapt and evolve.  And now there’s no going back. For us at Reportex, we felt a profound sense of obligation to provide guidance, support and solutions to the legal community. Court reporting is arguably a tech industry; law is not. We see it as our role in the litigation arena to bridge tradition with technology, to reinvent not just the way we deliver our services but to go a step further and actually innovate workflow options for our clients, to shape the future of litigation in Canada.  Lawyers are required to keep one foot in the past, but court reporters are not, and Reportex has been actively doing the research, making the tech investments and implementing e-solutions in discoveries, arbitrations and trials for years now.”

— Christy Pratt, RCR, RPR, CLR

The future is now: E-Trials

We have been here since the beginning. Our technicians and our complex litigation manager work with our e-solutions services to create the e-trial that fits you and your clients’ needs.

From providing independent courtroom technicians to document management and maintaining digital security, we already had the infrastructure in place. There are many things to consider when you begin to build your own e-trial:

  • Do you need one of our full-time in-court technicians?
  • Do your clients require all data to be stored in Canada?
  • Is the judge comfortable with technology?
  • Will you be marking up lots of maps or other documents?

To get you started on the road to your first e-trial, why don’t you take our fun e-trial quiz! 

Visit our new e-trials page and book a free consultation to start you on your journey today.

Connect Series: Meet Zinnie Breitkreutz

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Zinnie is our documents specialist and copy editor. In addition to editing written content for Reportex, she is involved in quality control and the preparation of various documents and appeal products. Zinnie was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, and has loved the written word for as long as she can remember (as a child she could never understand why finding errors in books, menus and signs exhilarated her!). She currently lives in Beaumont, Alberta, with her husband and three school-aged kids.

While editing and proofreading are indeed skills that can be learned, what innate personality type do you think it takes to be an expert QC collaborator and copy editor?

While I’m not sure there is a specific personality type, I know there are definitely certain traits that anyone in this line of work needs to have. When you spend your days happily hunting for errors and inconsistencies, conscientiousness is crucial in order to stay focused and finish tasks meticulously. Perfectionism is a blessing and a curse — editors have to strive for perfection but not obsess over it and risk getting bogged down. It’s also important to be able to look at documents with curiosity and a critical eye, not being afraid to research things, point out weaknesses and make suggestions. Humility is also a beneficial trait since editors don’t generally feel the need for recognition; we tend to enjoy staying behind the scenes.

At Reportex our core values of team, mentorship, equality, community and industry are central to what we do. Veritext’s mission and corporate values dovetail nicely to our already solid foundation. Together we aim to be respectful, ethical, collaborative, accountable and professional. Can you tell us which of these values resonates most strongly with you and why?

Team and collaborative are at the top of my list, without a doubt. I am so grateful for the people I get to work with. Many people I know dread meetings, but I get to look forward to them! Drama with co‑workers? Pressure from superiors? Nope! I have a tremendous sense of gratitude for the fact that I have such a positive work environment. The most challenging projects and tight deadlines can be experienced in a completely different way when you’re working alongside the most amazing team.

Sometimes I pause and think about just how much effort goes into producing a single transcript or appeal product, and it’s incredible. I’ve always been impressed at how much we value quality at Reportex — enough to invest whatever is needed to ensure that we are delivering top-notch products every single time. This simply couldn’t happen if each member of our team didn’t have a pivotal role to play in the collaborative process.

We talk quite a bit about wellness and self-care on our blog and internally through our Teams channels. Do you have a favourite way to recharge or any tips for staying healthy mentally and physically?

Although I’ve always viewed wellness as incredibly important, I had a very disordered way of approaching it until I entered my 30s. One of the most valuable things I’ve learned over the years is that I don’t have to be perfect or live up to societal standards. I do try to incorporate intentional movement into each day, and that’s always a great choice for both my mental and physical health — but I certainly don’t do it because someone else says I should! The most important thing to me is being my best self and doing what feels good to me on any given day or in a given season of life. For instance, I might run and do strength training most days one week, and the next week I might decide that long walks and yoga feel best. One day I’ll crave and enjoy salad for lunch, but the next day might be pizza or a couple of chocolate chip cookies. I’ve found it extremely freeing to give myself permission to take up space in the world, learn how to listen to my body, find balance and avoid comparison. This, for me, is true wellness and self-care.

My faith keeps me grounded, especially in the tumultuous time we’re living in. I’m a very early riser since I love the stillness of mornings, and that’s when I’m most productive and energized. I also love a lot of random things that keep me feeling great mentally and physically (even though my husband likes to tease me for the array of comfort items and routines that I have). These are a few of my favourite things (and yes, whiskers on kittens would be on the expansive list if I had an unlimited word count!): essential oils, lots of water, my body pillow, Netflix, daily chocolate, intuitive-ish eating, kombucha, good books, buttery popcorn, coffee/tea and lingering hugs from my kids.

Connect Series: Meet Abby Morssy

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Abby is the virtual proceedings technician for Reportex, responsible for managing and facilitating virtual proceedings for clients and assisting with technical setup and support. Abby lived in a few different places growing up, including Egypt (where she was born), the UK and even Saudi Arabia. She moved to Canada in early 2017 and was particularly fond of cloudy and rainy Vancouver as her first Canadian city as it was a nostalgic reminder of the London weather that she had grown accustomed to.

As someone who is in the thick of it, what do you see as being the growing needs or trends when it comes to virtual proceedings?

I believe virtual proceedings are here to stay, even as things slowly get back to normal, with a hybrid model being the more likely outcome. As the virtual sector continues to experience growth, connectivity technologies such as 5G and improved wifi will be essential in providing and maintaining high-speed connections. Consumer-grade devices with enhanced hardware that can manage virtual communications will become more widespread and cheaper. Software companies will continue improving their apps to improve accessibility for consumers, especially those who are less technically able. We’ve seen that with Webex and Teams at the start of the pandemic as they looked to simplify their user interfaces to compete with Zoom.

At Reportex our core values of team, mentorship, equality, community and industry are central to what we do. Veritext’s mission and corporate values dovetail nicely to our already solid foundation. Together we aim to be respectful, ethical, collaborative, accountable and professional. Can you tell us which of these values resonates most strongly with you and why?

I would say collaboration, particularly when it comes to a work environment. Impactful collaboration fosters a strong sense of community. Actively listening to fellow team members and supporting them to reach common goals leads to close-knit relationships and stronger bonds. It also makes it easier for them to reciprocate when others need help and support. This contributes to a healthier work mindset — that we all have a part to play, and we learn, succeed and fail together.

We talk quite a bit about wellness and self-care on our blog and internally through our Teams channels. Do you have a favourite way to recharge or any tips for staying healthy mentally and physically?

I am grateful to have discovered and have gotten into meditation during the pandemic, and I credit it with reducing a great deal of stress in my day-to-day life. Doing a 10- to 20-minute session in the morning before starting my day and another session in the evening to unwind has helped me greatly in decluttering my mind and getting me to focus on things that truly matter. I have become calmer, less reactive, less stressed and more grateful since building this daily habit, and now I can’t imagine my days without it.

Are you still fond of cloudy and rainy Vancouver weather? 

It’s almost customary to complain about rain when it’s wet and cold and to wish for its return when temperatures are soaring. However, after experiencing one of the hottest summers this year, I’m so glad to see the city gradually returning to cloud and rain. Plus this also means it’s pumpkin spice latte time!

You can learn more about Abby’s virtual world and our other e-Solutions services here.