Most attorneys have purchased plane tickets, reserved hotel rooms or rented cars to attend an out-of-town deposition. An eight-hour deposition (sometimes less) becomes a two or three day affair. With the high quality and cost efficient technology now available, traveling more than 10 miles for a deposition is becoming obsolete. Litigators can now attend depositions remotely from the comfort of their very own home or office using their desktop computer, laptop, tablet or even their smartphone.
Here are 4 reasons why remote depositions are becoming more popular each day:
- Saves on travel – Traveling to another city to conduct a deposition, whether you are an attorney or expert witness can get expensive when gas, plane tickets, hotel charges and other fees are added up. With litigation budgets always a concern, saving your firm and client money by avoiding travel and conducting business via web streaming or video conferencing can prove to be very beneficial.
- Increases your billable hours – By eliminating travel or commute; you can take more depositions in a day by simply staying in the comfort of your home or office. This will increase productivity, revenue and will allow you to grow your firm’s business reach by extending the area you do business. You will have the ability to take cases and conduct business in regions previously out of your reach by attending depositions remotely.
- Reduces your carbon footprint – With global warming and other environmental threats becoming increasingly dangerous, it is important to spare natural resources and be as eco-friendly as possible. By attending a deposition remotely, you cut down on travel fumes (plane or car), paper (documents, exhibits etc. will be electronic), and overall reduce your carbon footprint. Whereas in the past, technology was unreliable, with pixelated images and a time lag between picture and sound, the new internet streaming systems incorporate better quality audio and video, making remote communication as easy to manage as face to face meetings.
- Ability to collaborate – By conducting a remote deposition, you can set up your space so other lawyers sitting in the room can easily feed questions to you. When you’re remotely connected on the internet you can just go off the record, put the microphone on mute, send chat messages and consult freely with co-counsel or an assisting expert witness. This has proven more productive than note scribbling back and forth. In this respect, conducting a deposition remotely can add quality to your questions because it allows for greater collaboration with people who will be assisting you.