The Reportex (R)evolution

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By Megan Ejack, Director of Marketing & Communications

Welcome to 2021

A new landscape of legal tech is before us, bridging virtual services and hybrid options with simple, accessible solutions for your litigation practice at discovery, trial and appeal.

We invite you to join the Reportex tech revolution — tech that truly connects.

Evolution Revolution

Much can be said about the industrial revolutions, about their unique impacts on society and their progressive (though sometimes problematic) natures as they pertain to the human condition. But one truth remains — through simple shifts in means and perspective, often profound in their relative simplicity, these movements altered the very fabric and future of civilization.

Since the dawn of time our world has gone through an endless series of evolutions, and as we look at what has come out of this incredible past year, it is clear we are smack in the middle of another. Was it the most transformative year of all time? Who’s to compare? We are evolving at a different pace and in radically different ways than, say, the hunter-gatherers and farmers of yore or the textile workers and the machinists in the first waves of the mid 1700s.

What is true is that evolution breeds progress and that innovation will always be at the forefront of the human experience. The incredible shift in innovation that we are currently facing is the collective acknowledgement of our deep need to connect.

As we evolve, we challenge ourselves to take great leaps forward in thought, perspective and action. Evolution is an opportunity to rethink the way we do things and to evaluate the potential for new and better circumstances for our world. We find ourselves in such a place now, not necessarily with machinery or technology per se, but with how we approach the tools and systems we already have in place.


Evolve Your Practice with Reportex This Year

The First Industrial Revolution brought with it the machinery and tools that allowed a new kind of productivity to emerge. The Second Industrial Revolution developed the means to share that productivity across oceans, to discover and create commerce with new lands and people, to bridge a gap across the world. As information technology began to emerge in the late 1900s, a new landscape began to develop. That third revolution is characterized by an almost mystical digitization and automation inherent to electronic technology.

Progress. Productivity. The birth of the hustle.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (a.k.a. Industry 4.0) has had us leveraging that technology in new and innovative ways, creating platform-sharing systems and artificial intelligence to aid in the development, production and distribution of products and commodities, goods and services, with a near unlimited potential for continued growth.

Each of the four phases of industrial revolution has marked a major social and economic turning point for civilization, leading to the one we find ourselves in now — or rather where we found ourselves until now.

Reconnect

In 2020 we were faced with an entirely new challenge, seemingly overnight: how to continue to engage in commerce and productivity when the machine had been forced to slow down — and in some cases stop completely. For many it has not been possible to continue, but for some of us there has been an enlightened pivot (word of the year, apparently) that has taken place. As we all faced the challenges of this global event, the only relevant strategy was to regroup, reimagine and move into a different type of growth mindset: connection. Moreover connection through technology.

For Reportex this has meant stepping up our game in all of our e-services. Virtual litigation has become necessary to the justice system, and although we have always been developing leading-edge systems and technology, it has now become the key to our sustained success. Courts are adopting all sorts of new, innovative solutions, and we are at the forefront.

Join the (R)evolution

The new (R)evolution is all about connection. Over the coming months we will be highlighting all of our e-services and offering specialized guidance to help you evolve your practice. Our innovative solutions and hands-on technical team will fuel your work and connect you to the possibility inherent to this changing landscape.

Join us as we help to revolutionize the way you work. #techthatconnects

Zoom’s Latest Release: New Features & Enhancements

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Zoom recently announced its latest release aimed at improving meeting, chat and phone features.

To access the below features you will need to download the latest version of Zoom Client for Meetings. More information on the items below can be found in Zoom’s release notes.

New Updates to Zoom Client

New and Enhanced Features

General Features

  • Sync subfolders in cloud contacts: When syncing contacts from Office 365, subfolders will now be synced in addition to the main contacts folder.

Meeting/Webinar Features

  • Support for live-streaming to YouTube on mobile: Hosts using Android or iOS can live-stream their meetings and webinars through the YouTube mobile app.
  • Virtual background support for additional CPUs: For Windows users, virtual backgrounds are now supported for i3 5th generation and above, i5/i7/i9 3rd generation and above, all including Y-series. These CPUs will support virtual backgrounds at 15fps and 360p.
  • Scheduling with custom Join Before Host time limit: Users can select a Join Before Host option when scheduling meetings to allow participants to join 5, 10 or 15 minutes before the scheduled start time.

Meeting Features

  • End-to-end (E2E) encryption: E2E encryption for meetings is now available in technical preview. Account owners and administrators can enable E2E encryption for meetings, providing additional protection when needed. Enabling E2E encryption for meetings requires all meeting participants to join from the Zoom desktop client, mobile app or Zoom Rooms. Users will not be able to join by telephone, SIP/H.323 devices, on-premise configurations or Lync/Skype clients as these end points cannot be encrypted end to end. Zoom web client and third party clients leveraging the Zoom SDK are also not supported at launch. Enabling this setting also disables the following features: Join Before Host, cloud recording, streaming, live transcription, breakout rooms, polling and meeting reactions. This setting is enabled in the Zoom web portal at the account, group and user level and can be locked at the account or group level.
  • Additional share options with Proximity Share for Zoom Rooms: For Windows, macOS and Linux users, Proximity Share now supports sharing specific apps, sharing computer audio and optimizing for full-screen video.
  • Change ringtone for meeting invites and phone calls.
  • Improved experience for saving annotations on mobile (Android and iOS users).
  • Improved pre-assigned breakout room behaviour.

Chat Features

  • Search in Channel option added to the Channel Info panel for mobile (Android and iOS users).
  • Search starred messages (Windows, macOS and Linux users).

Phone Features

  • Bootstrap mode for nomadic emergency services: If bootstrap mode is enabled by an account owner or administrator, phone users can report their current locations as company locations and/or report underlying network data for existing company locations. User-reported location and network data must be approved by administrators before it becomes actively part of defined company locations. These operations will send email notifications to administrators (at most one email per day).
  • Call notifications for busy call queue members: If enabled, call queue members can receive call queue calls when they are busy on a call.
  • Opt out of specific call queues: Users who are members of multiple call queues can opt out of specific call queues to disable call notifications from those call queues.

Zoom’s Latest Updates

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Read about Zoom’s latest round of features and enhancements below. A reminder, to access these features, download the latest version of Zoom.

New Updates to Web

Changes to Existing Features

• Enhanced Passcode Settings for Select Accounts: The web portal settings for Passcode for instant meeting and Passcode for newly scheduled meetings are now one setting called “Meeting Passcode” for accounts with a single licensed user, Pro accounts with 2 or more licenses, Business accounts with 10-100 licenses, and Basic (free) accounts. If the Passcode requirement for Personal Meeting ID (PMI) is enabled, it will be applied whether Join Before Host is enabled or disabled.

• Updated Settings for New Accounts: All new accounts created on or after September 27 will have the Passcode settings for Personal Meeting ID (PMI), Personal Audio Conference (PAC), phone dial-in users, and Zoom Room Meeting ID enabled by default.

New Updates to Zoom Rooms

New and Enhanced Features to Zoom Rooms

In-Meeting Features

Appliances:

  • Virtual background support on DTEN Me devices must be on 1.1 firmware
  • Video preview
  • View in-meeting chat on Zoom Rooms Touch devices
  • Join breakout rooms using the Zoom Rooms Controller on non-touch Zoom Rooms Appliances (support for more Zoom Rooms OS coming soon)

Management Features

Appliances:

  • Italian language support

Mandatory Zoom 5.0 Upgrade, Zoom Meeting Tips & MS Teams Reminder

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By Kiran Deol, Appeals Coordinator & E-Trial Tech

Important: Mandatory Zoom 5.0 Upgrade

Effective May 30, 2020, you must upgrade your Zoom account to version 5.0 in order to attend any meetings.  You can check your current version of Zoom by going to the main screen (before you log in).  At the bottom of the page you will see the version that you are currently using.  If you do not have the latest version of Zoom, you will be asked to upgrade by your Reportex Technician, as failing to do so will result in technical issues.

Zoom meeting Tips

These tips will help you prepare for your upcoming zoom meeting.

Please remember that a dedicated Reportex technician is always available on our remote proceedings to assist with any technical issues that might arise.

Internet Connectivity

In order to have the best possible Zoom experience, you need to start with an appropriate internet speed to avoid lagging.

  • If possible, use a hardwired connection (as opposed to wifi).
  • Zoom recommends a 25 mbps download speed and 5 mbps upload speed. You can test your connection at www.speedtest.net. If your speed does not meet these parameters, you should contact your internet service provider to discuss your options to upgrade your speed.
  • Avoid running multiple applications while attending a Zoom meeting, as this can slow down your internet speed significantly.
  • Avoid running Zoom (or any other conferencing platform) through a VPN or virtual desktop, as this can create connection and audio difficulties. Instead, join the Zoom proceedings locally on your computer.

Sharing Documents Onscreen

Zoom allows users to share documents right on your screen for everyone to see. Follow these tips to create a smooth experience for everyone:

  • Always ‘stage’ the documents you want to put to a witness. Having them open as PDFs (or in a folder on your desktop that is readily accessible)
  • Sharing documents will allow everyone in the meeting to see the specific document
  • Sharing your screen will share your entire screen, including your toolbars, desktop and whatever program/document/website you have open

Note: Reportex suggests sharing documents rather than sharing your entire screen as you may have sensitive documents open (such as your examination questions).

Video/Sound

In order to replicate as close to an in-person proceeding as possible, please do the following to facilitate clear video and sound:

  • Avoid sitting in front of a window to avoid creating a shadow. Instead, try to have a window in front of you or beside you. If you must have a window behind you, add a lamp to your work area for added light.
  • Do a test at https://zoom.us/test to ensure your webcam and mic are functioning properly
  • If you are connected via multiple devices, mute one of them to avoid echoing
  • If you do not need to speak, mute your mic so that there is no background noise

MS Teams Reminder

The Provincial Court recently announced the approval of MS Teams for trials.

A step-by-step guide to appearing in a MS Teams proceeding and surrounding etiquette can be found here.

While at Reportex we prefer to use the Zoom and WebEx platforms, we are prepared to support our clients using MS Teams. We will be offering firm training sessions on MS Teams for clients who are required to use that platform for court or any other remote proceeding. To book a MS Team training session, please contact us today and we will be happy to assist.

Kiran Deol, Appeals Coordinator & E-Trial Tech

Security, Remote & Office Services Update

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MS Teams:
The Provincial Court recently announced the approval of MS Teams for trials.

A step-by-step guide to appearing in a MS Teams proceeding and surrounding etiquette can be found here.

While at Reportex we prefer to use the Zoom and WebEx platforms, we are prepared to support our clients using MS Teams. We will be offering firm training sessions on MS Teams for clients who are required to use that platform for court or any other remote proceeding. To book a MS Team training session, please contact us today and we will be happy to assist.

Zoom:
Zoom 5.0

A friendly reminder that Zoom 5.0 (released April 27) is now available. This is a mandatory update for all Zoom users.

The Zoom 5.0 update includes support for AES 256-bit GCM encryption.

According to the Zoom website, this encryption provides added protection for meeting data and greater resistance to tampering.

More details on the Zoom 5.0 update and features (including how to report a user and the new encryption shield) can be read on the Zoom blog.

Return to the office:
Reportex, All-Star by Reportex and Island Reporters are all tentatively scheduled to reopen July 6.  In preparation for this, we are currently establishing protocols and taking all necessary steps to ensure compliance with health and safety measures to keep our staff, reporters and clients comfortable and protected.

Until then, we will continue to offer remote proceedings to all of our clients.

Security & Remote Services Update (Including MS Teams)

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MS Teams Videoconferencing Platform

Our technical team has now completed its testing of the MS Teams platform. 

While Teams does offer some of the features that both Zoom and WebEx have (such as sharing documents, unique Meeting ID and password settings and a chat feature), it has no breakout room functionality at this time, rendering it unusable for mediations.  Further, each MS Teams licence has a limit of up to 5 guests per Microsoft account.  This means that, for larger discoveries and hearings, every participant will have to create a Microsoft account in order to access the meeting.

Microsoft Teams’ greatest drawback, however, is the confusing user interface.  It is unintuitive and difficult to navigate compared to Zoom or WebEx.  We anticipate that this will lead to significant delays in proceedings due to increased technical assistance and troubleshooting for clients and counsel, who all bring varying degrees of technical know-how to remote proceedings.

Zoom Videoconferencing Platform – Security Update

Starting May 9, 2020, all meetings conducted with Free or Basic accounts (including previously scheduled meetings, new meetings and meetings started or scheduled using Personal Meeting IDs) will require a password.  Since Reportex password protects all of our meetings, there will be no change to your joining experience for those who use Reportex to facilitate their remote proceedings.

On May 30, 2020, Zoom 5.0 will launch, enabling GCM encryption across the entire Zoom platform, providing increased protection for meeting data.  As part of the Zoom 5.0 upgrade, Zoom will upgrade to Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit GCM encryption, which is a big improvement over its previous 128-bit AES encryption. After May 30, 2020, all Zoom clients using older versions will receive a forced upgrade when trying to join meetings as GCM encryption will be fully enabled across the Zoom platform; in other words, you cannot join meetings after May 30 without upgrading to 5.0.  If you or your client have discoveries or mediations scheduled for May 30, please ensure that you update your Zoom client in advance. 

 Comparing the Zoom, WebEx and MS Teams platforms

FeatureZoom ‘Pro’ LicenceWebEx ‘Free’ LicenceWebEx ‘Training’ LicenceMS Teams
Freshly generated meeting ID and password created for each unique meeting****
Apply a virtual background**
(iOS only)		*
(iOS only)		*
Touch up your appearance*   
‘Waiting Room’ feature (to prevent unauthorized access)****
Mute audio and stop video****
Participants can change their display name after logging in*  *
Host can change participants’ display name after logging in*   
Prevent participants from changing their display name after logging in*   
Lock the meeting to prevent participants from joining after a certain time****
Non-hosts can invite other participants****
Make another participant the host/presenter****
Chat feature****
Disable the chat feature*** 
Breakout rooms* * 
Ability to join a breakout room you are not assigned to    
Leave a breakout room and re-enter the main session area unannounced n/a* 
Show documents or screen within the platform without uploading to US server****
Allow remote control of a document to another participant****
Record feature****

“Having Reportex manage the technical aspects of the virtual mediation was invaluable to me as mediator. Jake, the technical representative, was great, communicated with the parties, arranged all the rooms, gave me a tutorial on moving from room to room and dealt with any and all technical questions the parties had during the day, leaving me free to focus on getting the matter resolved.”
Marina Pratchett (Mediator)

Security & Remote Services Update

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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

General Information

Remote Proceedings: Comparing the Zoom and WebEx Platforms

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Remote discoveries and mediations have now become the new normal and as things continue to evolve, so do the tools and platforms available to you. Security, effectiveness and ease are all equally integral and at Reportex, we are continuing to monitor the rapidly changing landscape carefully to provide our clients with the best possible resources and support.

What sets us apart to ensure your security?

In addition to handling all the admin and setup for remote proceedings (including obtaining and managing email addresses for all participants), our Systems Director and qualified technicians are following each new security development in the Zoom and WebEx platforms and are implementing solutions to provide our clients with the highest level of cybersecurity and service quality.  Here are just a few things that we do for every remote proceeding we host:

  • Reportex ALWAYS uses a unique login and password protection for all remote proceedings (including discoveries, mediations and arbitrations). 
  • We ALWAYS enable the ‘waiting room’ feature so that no one can join the meeting without express approval of the Reportex technician.
  • We ALWAYS disable the ‘chat’ feature so that witnesses and other participants cannot use the platform to chat with someone outside the discovery or mediation.
  • We ALWAYS have a dedicated Reportex Technician on hand at all times who is monitoring the platform. The technician can remove non-permitted users from participating or sharing any content with the group and can prevent them from rejoining the meeting.
  • We NEVER double up on setup options, meaning there is always a freshly generated Room ID for each unique proceeding.
  • We NEVER allow people to share documents through the ‘chat’ screen but instead use the ‘share’ function, which is secure.
  • We NEVER use the recording feature, and our technicians and reporters are constantly watching to ensure that this feature is not engaged.
  • Your Reportex technician is ALWAYS available to provide training and support and to deal with any security or technical issues that may arise during your proceeding.

When working with Reportex, you can be assured that our Systems Director and qualified technicians are following each new development and are managing solutions to provide our clients with the highest level of security and quality experience.

Comparing the Zoom and WebEx platforms

We have created this comparison chart of the relevant features of both Zoom and WebEx.  Please note that since the free version of Zoom only permits a 40-minute meeting session, we have not included this platform.

FeatureZoom ‘Pro’ LicenceWebEx ‘Free’ LicenceWebEx ‘Training’ Licence
Freshly generated meeting ID and password created for each unique meeting***
Apply a virtual background**
(iOS only)		*
(iOS only)
Touch up your appearance*  
‘Waiting Room’ feature (to prevent unauthorized access)***
Mute audio and stop video***
Participants can change their display name after logging in*  
Host can change participants’ display name after logging in*  
Prevent participants from changing their display name after logging in*  
Lock the meeting to prevent participants from joining after a certain time***
Non-hosts can invite other participants***
Make another participant the host/presenter***
Chat feature***
Disable the chat feature***
Breakout rooms* *
Ability to join a breakout room you are not assigned to   
Leave a breakout room and re-enter the main session area unannounced n/a*
Show documents or screen within the platform without uploading to US server***
Allow remote control of a document to another participant***
Record feature***

Helpful Links

“I did my first Zoom mediation with Jake of your office yesterday. An excellent experience.”
John Moshonas, Whitelaw Twining