Attended my first @SCJOntario_en Zoom motion hearing today.

Honestly, if this is just the beginning of #virtuallaw, this profession is never going to be the same.

It won't be the right solution in every case, and big learning curve, but so so so much more efficient.

Here are a few of our initial thoughts:

The judge hosting the meeting is not ideal. You don't need the judge also acting as the door man.

Having a host, not entirely familiar with how to use the platform was not an impediment, but could have smoothed the process.

A host that knows what they're doing can mute people, and video, to focus on the people that matter.

They can also share common documents. This eliminates the disparity btwn speakers who know/don't know how to use features. N

It also saves someone like me from messaging call-in participants who forgot to mute themselves, that their mics were on.

Even with Zooms simple user interface, it's not intuitive for all.

That said, holding a hearing with as many as 48 lawyers, in a room would never have gone as smoothly as it did, #IRL

The courts just need to train the registrar's as technical video conferencing hosts.

Also, a note on virtual backgrounds.

They are distracting.

The augmented version can make parts of a person's body disappear at inopportune times.

Last, for now: make sure you edit your name to let people know who you are, and who you represent.

Its super helpful, especially with lots of people on the call.