Tag Archive for: #legaltech

All New Canadian Webinar: E-trials Simplified

Take a tour of the current E-TRIAL trends and technology with some of Canada’s leading experts!

On May 18, we are excited to present an in-depth look at the benefits of e-trials in this complimentary one-hour webinar. Christy Pratt, Vice President of Veritext Canada along with special guests Rose Singh, CEO of Triage Data Solutions, and Ryan Snushall, Account Executive for Case Center will explore advancing technologies and discuss best practices for managing, presenting, and marking documents, while sharing practical easy-to-use tips for conducting a successful e-trial in Canada.

We hope to see you there!

See the link below for more information and to register for this in-demand webinar.

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.  

Security & Remote Services Update (Including MS Teams)

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)

Meet Dr. Chris Watt

Join Reportex and Integra as we co-host a free webinar on Conducting Remote IMEs on Thursday, May 14th from 12:00pm – 1:00pm.

Special guest Dr. Chris Watt.

Listen and learn from special guest Dr. Chris Watt as he shares his experiences conducting an entire assessment and physical examination via video.

Dr. Chis Watt is a Certified Sports Medicine Physician through the Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine and is a Certified Independent Medical Examiner through the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners. He is the Medical Director at Integra Medical Consulting, a locally owned and clinically managed IME agency based in BC with clinics in Vancouver, Kelowna & Edmonton. Dr. Watt is a peer article reviewer for the Canadian Family Practice Journal, and has written articles and made presentations on topics related to sports medicine, occupational medicine and the management of mood disorders. He has provided evidence in BC Supreme Court on numerous occasions.

This webinar will cover a range of things, including:

  • Pros & Cons: The benefits and pitfalls inherent to the process
  • File briefs: Information that would be useful to have on hand
  • Process overview: How it may differ, depending on the circumstances
  • Prepping a client: Key information and tools to provide to your client
  • Best practices: Communication between lawyers and doctors for the most effective examination
  • Q & A following the presentation.

Space is limited. Sign up here to reserve your spot!

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

General Information

Remote Proceedings: Comparing the Zoom and WebEx Platforms


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