Introducing Digital Reporter, Elizabeth Pilbrow!
Looking for new career ideas? We took a moment to ask Toronto-based digital reporter, Elizabeth Pilbrow about her experience as a ‘DR’ with Veritext. Click below to read the whole article.
Complex Cases Simplified: Gaining Logistical Control From Calendaring to Courtroom (Revisited)
We are pleased to rebroadcast this webinar for those who missed it in December. Join us on February 9 at 12:00 p.m. PT for a FREE one-hour webinar.
This informative webinar will give you the opportunity to earn one hour of CPD credits and learn about the tools and practices available to you when taking on a complex case in today’s technology-filled world.
Courts, lawyers and mediators have been using digital tools to enhance the entire legal system from discovery all the way through to hearings and trials. The ability to expand access to court proceedings that were once hampered by distance or scale is now encouraging more people to embrace a wider use of technology across the legal industry. Our team is here to help you navigate the process of adopting this innovative technology.
This one-hour webinar will take you through the key areas of managing a large or complex case with the latest in legal technology. The webinar will take a dive into the tools and services available for managing document production and examinations for discovery as well as other e-solutions for complex proceedings.
This includes the following:
- What IS a Complex Case?
- Security concerns
- Document depositories
- Virtual discoveries
- Paperless exhibits
- Virtual trials
Space is limited, so please register here to secure your spot.
Going Paperless: An Introduction to E-Discoveries and Transcript Bundles
“Going paperless” in the legal world has been a challenge that many of us have been facing head on for many years now. In an industry that has been nearly built on documents, files and bankers boxes, it can be a terrifying endeavour.
Clearly the adaptation of virtual and digital technology into the legal justice system is not based on jumping on the latest bandwagon and grabbing the shiny new toy. In fact we already have a working model here in BC: the Civil Resolution Tribunal combines proven technology with flexibility and case management to resolve small-value property and land disputes. Applicants can avoid a pricey trip to the supreme court, where legal costs could easily end up higher than the original sums in dispute.
The main goal is access to justice for all people, no matter where they are or what their circumstances are. Our commitment is to develop and provide tech that connects, and we want the use of technology to enhance rather than hinder people’s experiences.
At the heart of all legal proceedings is the record — official and supportive documentation in all forms. For many the idea of going paperless seems to contravene everything that we envision when we think about the world of law and immediately picture stacks of documents and piles of bankers boxes filled with files. How do we truly manage all of that digitally?
Going paperless needs to be cost-effective, easily managed and accessible to all involved. With advanced planning and cooperation between counsel and the court, paperless trials will not only save time but also significantly reduce legal fees, eliminate the costs of reproducing and handling paper, streamline the presentation of evidence and lead to better trial outcomes.
E-discoveries and transcript bundles are here, and we can help.
Digital technology can allow the sharing of court information (such as disclosures and discovery data) between participants effectively and with privacy and security requirements in place.
Our transcript bundles allow you to unlock the power of your cross-examination by placing both the oral testimony and the documents you put to the witness right at your fingertips, directly where they are referenced in the transcript. Judges love the convenience of reviewing witness testimony, trial exhibits, closing argument and case law with the click of a hyperlink, particularly since our bundles are fully searchable, with excerpts from the proceedings easily copied/pasted directly into the judge’s reasons for judgment.
You can see a sample of a transcript bundle here.
“We remain in an era of threat, with risks of barely functioning court systems, greatly reduced access to justice, and, in turn, a potential weakening of the rule of law. We are also in an era of opportunity — the chance to build boldly on the shift of attitude and on demonstrable recent successes with technology, and to put in place improved, sustainable court services that are much more accessible than today’s.”
— Richard Susskind, “The Future of Courts”
Going paperless is not just part of the new digital court system; it can also better accommodate remote working arrangements in your law offices while keeping documents more organized and secure. By going paperless, you can also make a positive environmental impact by leading the change towards protecting the environment.
Contact us today to learn more.
Complex Cases Simplified: Gaining Logistical Control From Calendaring to Courtroom
Join us on December 22 at 12:00 p.m. PT for a FREE one-hour webinar hosted by us, Reportex, a Veritext Company.
We are very pleased to present you with an opportunity to earn one hour of CPD credits before the year wraps up and to learn about the tools and practices available to you when taking on a complex case.
Courts, lawyers and mediators have been using digital tools to enhance the entire legal system from discovery all the way through to hearings and trials. The ability to expand access to court proceedings that were once hampered by distance or scale is now encouraging more people to embrace a wider use of technology across the legal industry. Our team is here to help you navigate the process of adopting this innovative technology.
This one-hour webinar will take you through the key areas of managing a large or complex case with the latest in legal technology. We will take a dive into the tools and services available for managing document production and examinations for discovery as well as other e‑solutions for complex proceedings.
This includes:
- What IS a Complex Case?
- Security concerns
- Document depositories
- Virtual discoveries
- Paperless exhibits
- Virtual trials
Space is limited, so please register here to secure your spot.
The Future … Right Now
The genie is not going back into the bottle — virtual and hybrid technology is here to stay in our legal and court systems.
And that is just fine.
There are many reasons why the integration of virtual technology is a positive addition to the arsenal of tools required for legal services inside and outside of the courtroom, on many levels. Health and safety is an obvious benefit, and thanks to COVID-19 we have also seen how effective videoconferencing technology has been in aiding access to justice by maintaining fair and legal representation for all despite the pandemic.
But there are many other reasons why this technology belongs here.
Virtual and hybrid options free up both time and resources for everyone, helping to streamline processes in an already-stretched justice system. We have long believed in the advantages of videoconferencing solutions, enabling numerous legal services to become more convenient and efficient for clients and lawyers alike. Clients simply do not need to travel long distances to meet with you, witnesses can be interviewed from the convenience of your own office or specific parties can take advantage of our various meeting spaces for a hybrid solution. We are here to help, guide and even facilitate. We have a myriad of options at your disposal.
Welcome to our Virtual Proceedings page.
Our virtual proceedings tools are at the heart of our e-solutions. We provide the latest technology and support services for whatever legal proceedings you need. From arbitrations and mediations to discoveries, we can connect you securely and safely to your clients.
Our Virtual Proceedings page shares the basic information and technology you need to conduct your practice virtually as well as how we can help you — from setting up your calls to including a realtime reporter or facilitating the entire process.
Find out more about how videoconferencing can enhance your legal services.
Tools of the Trade When Preparing for an E-Trial
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
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.
The Shape of Things to Come
Welcome to E-Solutions — The Future of Legal Services
The future is now.
It may seem to have happened overnight, but the evolution in legal technology we have experienced over the past two years has been possible only because of the advancements that have been happening behind the scenes for much longer than that. That, and the willingness of our clients to get on board.
Even before the world changed, teams across the nation were laying the groundwork for virtual and hybrid court proceedings in anticipation of a new era of work. Our team takes great pride in the ability to look into our crystal ball to determine what the future of court reporting and legal services could look like. Ensuring that we are consistently a step ahead is what helps keep us leading the pack — always with the goal of serving our clients and our partners through excellence and innovation.
So when the time came, we were ready. The value of developing e-solutions encompasses much more than simply being a response to the pandemic and a new virtual climate. It is in fact an integral piece in the evolution of an industry that relies on three things: accurate information, access to justice and connection. The impact of e-solutions on these three things is immense, especially in a world where effective action is key and the ability to continuously adapt to the ever-changing landscape — crucial.
Over the next few months we will be rolling out ongoing information about all of our e-solutions and services, connecting you with the latest in legal tech that connects.
Today we are launching the first piece of that puzzle — our new E-Solutions page.
From this page you will find access to all the new and evolving information for your virtual and hybrid needs. It will be your guide to navigating all of the possibilities available to our clients as we continue to forge ahead.
Take your legal proceedings into the future — with a custom approach for your needs.
Stay tuned to learn more on how to build your own e-trial!
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
— John F. Kennedy
Shaping the Future
As we prepare to return to the workplace, there are new considerations about how we want it all to look.
How might we shift our focus? What has become most important? What do our teams need?
Perhaps most importantly, how can we reimagine our priorities as they pertain to our individual and collective progress. This act (and conversation) of “returning to the workplace” is becoming a conceptual hallmark of how the world has shifted and is continuing to shift.
The pandemic has shown us many things on a global level — the gaps in our systems, the highs and lows of societal need, the value of community and how we can come together in times of crisis. In short, connection is key.
Not only have we all begun to re-evaluate our own small pieces of the puzzle, but we can see evermore clearly that our entire global economy is inextricably reliant on the human element. When humans break down, so do our systems. The one saving grace is how we are able to come together to regroup and succeed.
As humans of the 21st century we have experienced four major industrial revolutions in comparatively quick succession. It is said that we are in the fourth — a.k.a. Industry 4.0 — exemplified by the widespread implementation of artificial intelligence, global platform management and analytic-based progress and expansion. Technology has truly changed the fabric of our world and has added an element of undeniable connectivity. These phases of industrial and technological advancement have shaped us in irreversible ways.
However, throughout this pandemic experience a new layer of progress has emerged — a more profound adoption of these technologies being not only used for economical and commercial benefit but also intricately woven into our basic need for connection.
“Today, technology is changing everything — how we relate to one another, the way we work, how our economies and governments function, and even what it means to be human.”
— Klaus Schwab
A hot topic in our industry, technology that has been in the nascent stages for decades has now finally fully entered our proceedings and our courtrooms. Our ability to properly access the justice system in this type of recent circumstance has been absolutely critical. For us it’s the exciting new territory we have already been working towards, and we are focused on remaining on the leading edge of these developments.
Our team is well positioned to continue to lead the charge through this next iteration of industry progress as we dive headlong into the future. It’s as if we are finally cresting the rollercoaster, having slowly but surely climbed each bar along the track, and are preparing for the transfer of potential energy to kinetic energy by gravitational force.
The momentum will take us, but first, there is almost a pause … a breath. We are in that moment of suspension, just before heading down to what is next.
As a company we are committed to shaping the future of our industry, fostering our community and supporting our team. Continuing to develop solutions for our clients as we move into this next phase is paramount. In essence we have entered what our team at Reportex is affectionately calling the fifth revolution — a.k.a. the Reportex (R)evolution.
Our notion of “tech that connects” carries over into our team values and our support of our community. Using integrated legal technology, we endeavour to provide ongoing mentorship through the support of key programs like the NAIT Captioning and Court Reporting program.
We recognize that we are not an island.
Our success depends on the success of the industry as a whole. Being keenly aware of the challenges our legal system faces as well as the future of court reporting across North America enables us to stay abreast of the trends and to have a hand in continued development. With an eye toward collaboration and collegiality with our counterparts across the nation, we hope to maintain a broad perspective of what is possible and how we can continue to participate in this evolution.
(R)evolution: shaping the future of legal solutions
To say that this pandemic has been disruptive to most industries would be a bold understatement, but it has been particularly disruptive to those who rely on systemic stability and are/have been traditionally slow to adapt to change. It is no secret that our legal community can struggle with the adoption of new technology and procedural shifts. There are also those who have been trying for decades to demonstrate the value of implementing new legal tech, like hybrid proceedings or integrated realtime reporting with videoconferencing in the courtroom. For that reason it was a pleasant surprise to see how quickly everyone was able to adapt to new ways of handling legal proceedings and how readily clients of all ages and demographics understood the need to pivot during this crisis.
Many of these systems were already in the nascent stages, but necessity certainly put a new timeline and a hyper spotlight on the need to be able to adapt quickly and effectively. This was necessary not only to keep the justice system running smoothly on a day-to-day basis but to ensure adequate access to justice throughout this challenging time. Streamlining processes as well as digitizing them has shown everyone that the legal industry can survive dramatic changes and adjust with the times.
Reportex has always strived to stay abreast of new technology, and we are dedicated to helping shape the future of legal proceedings to better serve our clients. Our commitment to remain on the leading edge and our team of technical and reporting specialists have allowed us to weather the last 14 months with barely a ripple.
This has been reflected in the ongoing development of our new headquarters at 700 – 925 West Georgia Street. The plans for the new HQ had been in play long before COVID hit, and we managed to carry on without too much delay. Safe and secure in-person meeting spaces will always be required in the legal industry, even more so now that the pandemic has sped up the shift to remote law firms or vastly downsized office spaces and solo practices. Making sure that we are equipped with the best AV technology, videoconferencing and court bridge services allow our clients to communicate and work effectively, no matter where they are located.
As we plan a more fulsome return to work, we are always cognizant of the health and safety of our clients and staff. Because of ongoing COVID protocols, we are limiting the number of people in a meeting room to six, including the court reporter. Clients can take advantage of our technical solutions for virtual or hybrid communications for mediations, discoveries, arbitrations, and other proceedings.
As part of our ongoing commitment to support our valued clientele and industry partners, over the coming weeks, we will be sharing with you more plans about the ongoing technical developments, e‑solutions, and service solutions.
This is the Reportex (R)evolution. This is our commitment to being the leader in shaping the future of our industry.
You can learn more about our COVID protocols here and our virtual and hybrid systems here.