Expert Testimony via Web Conference - Some Personal Observations

While the courts are, for the most part, shut down right now, at least some forms of litigation are proceeding remotely. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to be cross-examined via webcam for a large commercial arbitration. Below are some brief observations on testifying over the internet.

The Case

The circumstances in my case were somewhat different from the current situation: both sets of counsel as well as the arbitration panel were located in the same room, and I was the only person who was not physically there; the testimony was done remotely entirely for scheduling reasons. But many of these observations will likely be applicable.

The Atmosphere

I've testified many times, but courtrooms are still not a particularly relaxing place. I found being able to testify from my firm's boardroom to be a calmer experience. It was also a bit more humanizing; our boardroom is full of sports memorabilia, which drew several comments from the arbitration panel. Overall, the atmosphere was less stressful than normal.

The Connection



Experts are always told to listen to the question, think and then answer. This is easier said than done, but I found it easier to do over the internet, where there is a built-in time lag between the question being asked and the sound waves coming through the ether. It naturally slowed the pace of the cross-examination.

One drawback (at least in my case) was that there was only one webcam in the room; this was focused on counsel who was leading the cross-examination, so I was not able to see the reactions of the panel to what I was saying and whether I should elaborate on any of the points I was making.

The Documents

Our setup did not really allow counsel to put particular documents to me. He tried this a couple of times, but we did this by email so there were sometimes long pauses leading up to questions. More sophisticated platforms allow for quick sharing of documents on a computer screen, and counsel planning cross-examinations would be well advised to ensure they have this capability.

Closing
 If a trial is like live theatre, then a trial over webcam is sort of like watching the Blair Witch Project in your basement. It has many of the same features, but it is just not the same.