While most legal depositions are conducted face to face, in front of lawyers and a court reporter, an increasing number of depositions are taking place over the phone and Internet with desktop webcams. Due to the fact that witnesses are scattered over the country and in an effort to conserve time by avoiding travel, many lawyers are opting to just sit at their desks and depose the parties over the phone. It's easier, much faster, and the results are the same.




Deposition Conference Call Service

While most legal depositions are conducted face to face, in front of lawyers and a court reporter, an increasing number of depositions are taking place over the phone and Internet with desktop webcams.

Due to the fact that witnesses are scattered over the country and in an effort to conserve time by avoiding travel, many lawyers are opting to just sit at their desks and depose the parties over the phone. It's easier, much faster, and the results are the same.

While a few high end law firms host full fledged video conference facilities, the vast majority of lawyers have no access to sophisticated equipment. These facilities can cost up to several hundred thousand dollars and require the support of a full time technician. Of course, if the opposing party doesn't have access to similar facilities in their hometown, then the whole effort is useless.

Regarding video conferencing, the trend is moving away from the expensive conference rooms, video equipment and network connections. With broadband connectivity available to almost everyone, video conferencing is evolving toward the greater use of small desktop webcams that are now routinely included on computer and laptops. These cameras generally cost less than 50 U.S. dollars, camera, conference services, the figures can be from any source.

Still, 95% of the deposition conferences are conducted over the phone and that seems to be the preferred method at the present time since there is universal access to telephones and no special hardware is needed. It's the simplest approach and can be set up quickly and easily.

There are several service bureaus who specialize in hosting deposition conference calls. There are no set up fees and generally speaking, billing is done on a pay as you go basis. You only pay for the time on the system you actually use. This is an ideal method of payment, especially for occasional users.

This is how it works: The opposing law firms each set up an account with the selected deposition conference call service. Once the account is opened, the coordinating law firm informs the service the time the call will take place. The service can dial-out and call each participant, or the participants can call into a toll free number themselves. Either way, the conference service will have an operator organizing the call to make sure all the parties are present.

A new feature has been included recently that provides a tremendous convenience to the respective law firms. It's called "individualized billing." Each law firm is billed separately for its portion of the cost for the deposition conference call. So it is no longer necessary for one law firm to send another law firm an invoice. Each law firm is billed, and each law firm pays its own share of the conference expense directly to the conference service.

While court reporters are on the conference to record the call for future transcript, the calls can also be digitally recorded for download.

Overall, because of the speed and convenience of conducting depositions over the phone, you'll see more and more law offices adopting this method to expedite cases. Travel costs will be cut dramatically and lawyers will be able to use their time more productively.

For more information on how to set up a legal deposition conference call, you click here for a service that specializes in this field: http://www.24conference.com/legal_conference_call.php

calling conference service