Sunbelt Blog

Legal Video Trends

Once confined to depositions and "day in the life" videos, the use of legal video has expanded dramatically in recent years. Professional legal videographers provide comprehensive litigation support in a variety of settings including in the field, at the law office, in the courtroom, and beyond. With more lawyers relying on laptops and tablets as well as realtime court reporting services and video transcripts, legal video is coming of age.  

Legal Video in the Field
Legal videographers continue to provide a host of services in the field including videotaping depositions and supporting investigators. Though depositions have long been recorded, many legal video service providers work in conjunction with realtime court reporters to either create superimpose the court reporter's realtime feed over the video or later synchronize the video with the realtime testimony. Attorneys also use legal video to document cases. For example, a legal videographer might accompany a private investigator investigating a worker's compensation claim or accident.

Legal Video in the Office (or Home Office)
Because legal video is now typically delivered in an electronic format rather than bulky videotapes, it is also much easier to work with. Attorneys can now quickly find and view testimony on a synchronized video transcript. Instead of fast-forwarding through a videotape in hopes of finding a specific discussion, attorneys can perform keyword searches. Simply enter a phrase and jump to the discussion instantly! In addition, video clips can be quickly emailed to partners or imported into presentation software.  

Legal Video in the Boardroom
Moving into the boardroom, legal video is most often used to present information or for teleconferencing. Litigation support companies offering legal video services can provide everything needed to hold a teleconference including all of the necessary equipment and a skilled technician. Depending on where the remote participants are located, it may even be possible to have your local teleconferencing provider handle the teleconferencing needs of your remote participants. Teleconferencing can eliminate travel and related travel expenses, allowing you to interview expert witnesses or hold meetings with partners located virtually anywhere in the world without hassles or travel expenses.

Legal Video in the Courtroom
Many courtrooms feature A/V systems. Legal video in the courtroom allows for the presentation of digital evidence, remote witness participation, and realtime court reporting. For example, if a witness is deployed overseas, teleconferencing allows the witness to participate in the court proceedings despite the distances involved. If a realtime court reporter is present, it's also possible to overlay the reporter's real-time feed over court's A/V system. This is helpful for participants that have difficulty hearing the proceeding as well as for attorneys who can also have the feed routed to their laptops.  

Legal video continues to be a specialized field with unique requirements. For best results, it's vital that you choose a videographer that specializes in legal video.

What trends have you noticed in the legal video field? What improvements would you like to see? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.