Best Practices for Conducting Remote Depositions

If you use a videoconferencing service for remote depositions, does the platform use AI speech-to-text transcription?

Have you done your due diligence to make sure the service has adequate privacy safeguards? And have you prepped your client on the potential perils of being deposed remotely?

Those are some of the questions you should be asking if you use remote depositions in your practice.

“[V]ideoconferencing is here to stay,” writes attorney Nicole Black in this article for the ABA Journal. “We’ve all become accustomed to it, and in-person meetings can be time-consuming and aren’t always necessary. Similarly, virtual depositions for certain types of witnesses, such as costly experts, will undoubtedly continue, especially in cases where travel expenses are unduly burdensome. Why pay hundreds of dollars an hour for an expert to travel across the country for a two-hour deposition when it can be conducted remotely at a fraction of the cost?”

The use of virtual depositions soared during the pandemic. A related software product – AI-based court transcription tools – also grew in popularity.

Nicole Black is a self-styled legal technology evangelist and author of the ABA publication Cloud Computing for Lawyers. Below are some highlights from her ABA Journal article “Conduct Depositions Remotely With These Virtual Technologies.”

Learn Cybersecurity Ethics from a master! Join us on June 29 for the free CLE webinar “Cybersecurity Ethics: Safeguarding Client Data in Today’s Emerging Hybrid Practice.” You’ll receive an insider’s tour of the American Bar Association’s annual TechReport, which covers everything from spearphishing to spam filters, and you’ll learn how small firms are using technology to stay safe, successful and competitive. “Cybersecurity Ethics” features attorney David G. Ries, a contributing author of the 2021 TechReport and a long-time expert in law office cybersecurity. Ries will draw on his cyber expertise and drill down into the TechReport to extract valuable pointers for your practice. You’ll discover the 10 Basic Cyber Safeguards and 3 Bad Cybersecurity Practices to avoid at all costs, as well as four ABA ethics opinions that could save your law license. Join us on June 29. Register here.

Best Practices for Remote Depositions

• Follow the ethics rules. The leading virtual deposition platforms are all cloud-based, meaning the data is housed on a server owned by a third party. “As a result, your ethical obligations will require you to vet the technology provider hosting and storing your data thoroughly,” writes Black. “This duty includes ensuring you understand how that company will handle the data; where the servers on which the data will be stored are located; who will have access to the data; and how and when it will be backed up—among other things.
• Readback Active Reporting is a remote deposition service that uses AI-based speech-to-text transcription instead of court reporters. “As the deposition occurs, the software converts speech to text while a team of transcriptionists simultaneously ‘clean up’ the transcript in real time,” writes Black. “Another individual, referred to as the Guardian of the Record, is also present and is responsible for facilitating the deposition process, the readback of prior testimony and the certification of the deposition transcript. Rough text from depositions is available within a minute of the testimony, rough transcripts are available within an hour of the deposition, and certified transcripts are available within one day. Pricing can be found here.”
• Prevail Legal is a similar service. Per Black: “Using Prevail’s virtual deposition software, you can upload exhibits before the deposition and during the testimony. A Session Manager is present during the process to provide guidance and answer any questions. Following the session’s conclusion, a human review of the draft transcript occurs before it is certified in its final form. Collaboration tools are also included in their platform to enable communication between a firm’s team members and clients during the deposition. Prevail uses flat-fee pricing, and the specifics are not available on the website.”
• Another type of service uses a traditional court reporter. “Typically, these virtual deposition services offer firms access to an online platform for hosting virtual depositions and a ‘concierge’ who assists with the management of the remote deposition. The services provide a court reporter, and some offer attorneys the option to use their preferred court reporter.” Leading providers include: Veritext Virtual, RemoteLegal, LegalView by Lexitas, DepoDirect, vTestify, and Steno. Pricing varies for each platform.

Source: Conduct depositions remotely with these virtual technologies (abajournal.com)

Why choose Alta Pro Lawyers Risk Purchasing Group over other legal malpractice programs? Because Alta Pro RPG gives insured law firms exclusive access to valuable practice resources and cost-saving programs. When you join the Alta Pro RPG, you can use our Pro Practice Resource Center, filled with practical pointers and risk management tools to keep your law firm safe and soaring. Plus you get exclusive access to free CLE webinars, like our recent, highly popular program on Basics of Cannabis Law. Also: discounts on office essentials, Ask the Risk Pro, malpractice defense hotline and more. Don’t miss out on these fantastic perks. If you’re already a policyholder with Alta Pro but haven’t yet created your RPG account, here’s how to do it.