OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND - The Journal Online

Journal
Videoconferencing
May 2002 Volume 47 No 5 48
She said: “We have a wide range of
clients throughout the world who
have a need to communicate quickly
and efficiently and who come to us
for the equipment to do it.
“The service has come a long way
in a few years and now with the
increasing use of Internet Protocol
(IP) we are able to give greater
guarantees of quality of image and
the reliability of the line. In the early
days of videoconferencing there
were issues over poor quality
pictures, lack of lip synch and the
unreliability of lines. Those are all
things of the past.”
As far as the legal profession is
concerned Heidi Berry lists four key
advantages of using the new system:
■ Multipoint videoconferencing
between clients, solicitors and
counsel which can take place
despite vast geographical
distances.
■ Witnesses and experts being
interviewed via videoconference,
thereby meeting tight court
deadlines more easily.
■ The use of peripherals and data
collaboration technology which
allow all parties access to
evidence and other
documentation with absolute
clarity.
■ Competitive advantage,
increased client satisfaction and
faster resolution of international
negotiation. Furthermore, clients
may be more inclined to deal
with law firms using similar
technology.
Global VideoCom has its head
office in Slough and offices in the
centres of both London and
Edinburgh and as well as offering
facilities at each of these centres for
setting up conferences is able to
take the technology to the client.
Also in Edinburgh at its Palmerston
Place headquarters is European in
Scotland (EiS) which was set up ten
years ago to provide a wide range
of business support services and
which provided the first
videoconferencing suite in Scotland.
The company recognised at an
early stage that technology had a
vital role to play in the development
of international business and it now
leads the Scottish market in
European and global video linking.
General manager Alastair Angus is
already seeing a rapid growth in the
use of their services by the legal
profession but admits there is still a
long way to go.
He said: “There was a reluctance
among the more traditional law
firms to embrace such a new form
of communication. They were
concerned about security and
whether or not the work carried
out on video links would carry
suitable weight and be acceptable
within the law.
“Let’s face it there were also a few
fat cats who rather liked the idea of
travelling the world and living in the
top hotels at someone else’s
expense.
“With the help of lawyers we have
worked to reassure potential users
of the system that the technology is
safe and secure and that they and
their clients can have complete
peace of mind.”
Among the major uses to which EiS
has already put their systems is the
transmission of the evidence of
expert witnesses from Scotland to
the High Court in London during
civil litigation.
Alastair Angus explained: “We have
had a number of cases where
malpractice suits are being
conducted against doctors in the
courts in London and the expert
evidence of a witness from Scotland
is required for one side or the
other.
“That witness can come in to our
offices and be set up within minutes
to give the evidence required down
a secure and confidential video link
to the court.This reduces by a huge
margin the costs to the legal system
and also the time that this expert
has to be away from the important
work which needs to be done at
their clinic or hospital.”
The company also handled the case
of a witness from Scotland who was
unable to travel to attend a murder
trial in Australia but gave vital
evidence down a secure video link.
Alastair Angus added: “We are
confident of the service and that it
will continue to provide a valuable
support to the legal profession.”
Meanwhile the use of video for the
purposes of the smooth running of
the legal system is now also widely
used in the criminal courts in
Northern Ireland.
In the past remand prisoners have
had to be brought from jails
throughout the province for interim
hearings at the courts in Belfast
with the resultant costs in transport
and manpower.
Now, however, after agreement
among prosecuting authorities,
defence lawyers and the accused
persons themselves, many remand
hearings are conducted remotely
with the prisoner going to a private
video room to see and be seen
back at the court.
The courts have now to spend less
time on interim hearings and the
prison system does not have to
devote many hundreds of man
hours to the collection and safe
transportation of accused.
Global VideoCom has all its details
posted at www.globalvc.co.uk
while European in Scotland is at
www.euroscot.net.The Law Society
of Scotland website is at
www.lawscot.org.uk.