Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Joseph DiMonte, Founder & Managing Partner at Planet Depos:
Q: How can litigators keep litigation on track through COVID-19?
A: Despite travel restrictions and court postponements, litigators and the clients they represent expect their cases to move forward toward resolution. Our clients around the world rely on us to meet their needs anytime a legal proceeding takes place. That responsibility is especially important during the COVID-19 outbreak. Fortunately, with available technology, we can still meet the needs of our clients by providing a verbatim record of the proceedings.
Q: How do you manage to serve your clients’ needs in a technologically secure environment?
A: Security is paramount when conducting legal proceedings as they can often involve personal, health, business, and intellectual property information. While there are various options for conducting depositions remotely, our preferred platform is Zoom, although our team can also support other platforms, including WebEx.
Planet Depos uses only the enterprise version of Zoom, not the free version. While the free version of Zoom has become very popular since the crisis began, it does not afford the level of security necessary for legal proceedings, in our opinion. The enterprise version includes enhanced security features that make it HIPAA compliant. Using the enterprise version, all proceedings have their own unique link inviting attendees to the password-protected meeting, and we enable all security settings for every meeting. Additionally, Zoom uses a 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard. Like many other apps/software, Zoom is updated routinely. Planet Depos vigilantly downloads the latest version with each update.
As an added layer of security, Planet Depos does not record to the Zoom cloud repository. All video recordings are stored locally, then uploaded through our secure and encrypted repository. Our technicians use the waiting room feature (not currently available through WebEx) as an extra layer of security, to ensure that only approved attendees are accessing the remote deposition.
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Q: Are there any other reasons why you have chosen Zoom over other platforms?
A: Planet Depos technicians have tested many platforms and have found Zoom to provide superior quality audio and video. This means fewer interruptions to the deposition, a cleaner final transcript from the reporter, and a better experience overall. Additionally, Zoom has an easy-to-use interface, which again improves the overall experience for everyone attending the remote deposition.
Q: How has COVID-19 impacted you and your clients?
A: Having advance notice from our court reporting business in Asia, which was first impacted by the virus in February, helped us position Planet Depos’ remote infrastructure prior to the virus reaching our shores. Before COVID-19, an overwhelming majority of the legal proceedings that Planet Depos covered took place in person. That is, all attendees — attorneys, witness, court reporter, interpreter, and videographer — were in the same room. In the last month or so, we saw this ratio completely flip, with a vast majority of our current depositions taking place with all attendees in separate locations. While Planet Depos has been providing remote deposition services for more than 10 years, many in the legal community were not familiar with the platforms and processes that allow the proceedings to go smoothly. That is why we have hosted webinars for thousands of litigators and support staff to introduce them to the technology and provide training and best practices, including introducing and marking exhibits.
Q: How is the court reporting industry different today than it was just a few years ago?
A: During the past couple of years, the court reporting industry has been impacted by the critical stenographer shortage. There was far greater demand for court reporters than supply. Interestingly, COVID-19 changed that, almost overnight. This crisis brought other methods and technologies of capturing the record to the forefront. With fewer jobs taking place and the willingness of attorneys to conduct depositions remotely, the stenographic shortage evaporated. Suddenly, all geographic barriers disappeared and court reporters in rural areas, who had not had enough work historically, had access to jobs taking place in different parts of the country. While we all hope the COVID-19 restrictions will end soon, we do believe that going forward, remote depositions will constitute a higher percentage of overall depositions than prior to the crisis. Though most attorneys prefer conducting depositions in person, the familiarity and comfort with using remote technologies will no doubt result in a greater use of remote depositions.
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Q: Can you tell us something more about the company?
A: Planet Depos provides court reporting and litigation technology services to law firms, government agencies, and corporations around the world. Our headquarters is in Washington, D.C. Founded in 2009, we are a family-owned and operated company, led by industry veterans.
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