Ride the Lightning

Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.

Law Firm Concludes Five-Week Zoom Trial with $158M Verdict

January 5, 2021

It is no surprise that Zoom itself had a blog post about the trial referenced above as well as a case study.

Houston-based law firm Smyser Kaplan & Veselka (SKV) had a stroke of luck in its timing. Before the pandemic, in August 2019, they worked with AV solutions designer and Zoom partner Data Projections to install and integrate a Polycom Group Series 500 conference room system with over 160 inches of wall monitors and EagleEye Director cameras that track and zoom in on active speakers.

In what may be one of the longest Zoom bench trials in Texas state courts to date, and one of the longest Zoom bench trials for a corporate dispute, SKV won a $158 million judgment for its client, Vitol Americas Corp., in October 2020.

During the trial, SKV attorneys used the firm's new conference room technology to:

  • Examine 18 live witnesses over Zoom
  • Present hundreds of exhibits
  • Share several pre-taped depositions

"The beauty of this trial was that we had not a single delay," said Mohamed Rehman, the IT director at the law firm. "Everything was seamless, which doesn't happen — even in court. [Lead attorney] Lee Kaplan liked that Zoom enabled the judge to focus on witnesses, exhibits, and questioning attorneys with fewer distractions than would normally occur in the courtroom."

The law firm said that it was able to continue providing the same level of service while saving time and money on travel. Its lawyers met with clients, conducted depositions and litigated a number of cases over Zoom.

Security was paramount and Rehman applauded Zoom's adoption of encryption and the ability for him to route firm traffic to any data center he wanted and to restrict certain regions. He further noted that "Virtual trials are more cost-effective and save time, and they also improve efficiency and focus. Our attorneys have said this was one of the most focused trials we've had."

While I have heard of other Zoom trials, this was one of the longest and most complex. But I am unsurprised that the new technology (congrats on your timing in adopting it SKV) worked seamlessly!

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225|Fairfax, VA 22030
Email: Phone: 703-359-0700
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