Imagine taking the deposition of an expert witness in Seattle, Washington, at 1:00 in the afternoon and then making it home in time for dinner with the family! This without ever stepping foot on a plane.
Videoconferencing makes it possible. It is the perfect solution for dealing with the hassle and high cost of travel, and the pressure of deadlines that exist in the legal industry. Depositions, expert witness testimony, co-counsel conferencing, trial preparation, contract negotiations - these are just a few examples of why the legal world is ideally suited for the videoconference technology.
The alternatives to videoconferencing are either travel to where the other party is or talking by telephone. Travel is time-consuming and expensive. “Cost and time savings are the most beneficial characteristics of videoconferencing,” according to Judge James Twedt. “It allows us to turn our flying time into working time.” And a phone conversation can be impersonal and artificial, not allowing for the effects of body language and expression. By utilizing videoconferencing, a face-to-face discussion can be conducted from virtually anywhere in the world to anywhere else, and at a fraction of the cost, with uncompromising quality.
There is nothing complicated about videoconferencing either. Placing an ISDN videoconference call is much like placing a regular phone call. From the videoconference site, your call is dialed and connected to the far-end site where the other party is located. On a TV screen or monitor you see one another in color, you speak in a natural tone and volume, and at a normal pace. There is no distracting time lag. Within moments of your first videoconference being under way, you forget you’re not in the same room. Rather than being on a TV screen at the end of your conference table, it’s as if the person to whom you are talking is seated there in the room with you. It truly is just like being there.
Videoconferencing has and will continue to have a profound effect on the legal profession. It offers an affordable, convenient solution that makes it an industry leader in the legal field.
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