So very often, the people who book our services focus on two specific time and data points: The date of the proceeding and the start time.
In most cases, this is sufficient since, as professionals in providing legal video services in Houston, Texas, we take care of the rest.
As the complexities of legal video depositions continue to increase with the advent of new technologies and the multiple nuances which arise when holding a proceeding in a non-conference room location, we suggest that the following be taken into consideration when scheduling a legal video deposition.
Law Firm Conference Rooms:
a. Start of day depositions: It’s always a challenge to see a start time for a video deposition that is at the same time an office opens for the day or within 30 minutes. Although we’ve streamlined the setup process, it still takes time to get it right.
b. Where to set up: Very often, we arrive at a law firm and are met by a Receptionist who has no idea that a proceeding is taking place or where to have us set up. By asking clients to alert their office staff the day before, ensures smooth sailing when we arrive.
c. Advanced Technology Requirements Take Extra Setup Time: If an assignment calls for “picture in picture (PNP) or Zoom or virtual deposition technology,” additional time is necessary to work out the technical details.
d. Occupied Conference Rooms: Very often, when we arrive to set up our video equipment, we are told that the Attorney is meeting with their client in the very same room where we need to go. We don’t think that our setup requirements are on top of the mind focus for Attorneys in litigation, but if one on one meetings could take place in a private office. Everyone benefits.
Out of Town Attorneys Using Borrowed Law Firm Conference Rooms
a. Attorneys with larger firms often use conference rooms at several offices. Advanced notice of out of an out of town visitor is always best. A lot of valuable setup time can be lost if notification is overlooked as Representatives research the particulars of where to guide us.
Depositions at Non-Law Firm Locations – Hotels and Conference Centers
a. It’s not uncommon to arrive at a hotel or conference center only to find out that the employees behind the counter have no idea where to send our Videographers to set up.
b. Not knowing the correct location for the legal video deposition is usually as a result of a third party booking the facility under a name that is not in the legal notice or on our assignment sheet.
c. Providing the reservation name and the contact information of the hotel or conference center employee who arranged the booking can save very precious time.
Depositions at Non-Law Firm Locations – Medical Offices (Private office of Physician)
a. Medical offices come in all shapes and sizes. It’s important to know where the proceeding will take place.
b. Most often, Physicians prefer for the deposition to take place in their private office.
c. Private offices can be problematic since many Physicians prefer to use their office right up until the start time of the proceeding. Denied access significantly impedes the equipment setup time.
d. Another issue is space. Physicians aren’t always aware that seating and work surfaces are necessary for the Court Reporter, Taking Attorney, Opposing Counsel, and the Videographer.
Depositions at Non-Law Firm Locations – Medical Offices (General Purpose Public Areas)
a. Many times we’re asked to set up for a legal video deposition in a public area such as a waiting room or office kitchen.
b. Additional setup and tear downtime may be needed to arrange furniture before the proceeding and returning the location to the condition as found.
Depositions at Non-Law Firm Locations – Medical Offices – Hours of Operation
a. Most often, start times of Physician legal video deposition commence at the end of the office hours.
b. When depositions conclude, we have to tear down and load out gear way past the end of the medical office’s regular business hours. The teardown period can take about 30 minutes. Office Personnel must be made aware of this requirement and make arrangements to have an employee on hand. Most Physicians don’t like to wait around after the project concludes.
Depositions at Non-Law Firm Locations – Executive Suites
a. Most often, when clients schedule executive suite conference rooms, they focus primarily on the start time of the legal video deposition.
b. As professional Videographers, we always arrive at a location for a legal video deposition at least one hour before the start of the proceeding. Having at least 45 minutes to set up our gear is optimal.
c. Occupied conference rooms are a problem, especially when another tenant has scheduled the conference room before the start time of our legal video deposition proceeding.
d. The solution: ask your clients to schedule a publicly used conference room or area for at least 45 minutes before the start of the video deposition.
We hope this brings some clarity to the time issues we encounter when providing legal video services in Houston, Texas. We can all agree that the main concern is having everything ready when the Attorneys arrive to start the proceeding. Thanks for reading. Until next time.
ARG Legal Video Houston
713-609-9316
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