GENERAL
Esquire eLitigate is a robust integrated purpose-built videoconferencing, exhibit management, and in-session testimony review platform designed to mimic the familiar workflow of an in-person deposition. With the addition of case exhibit management and team-based collaboration tools, eLitigate ensures that all participants can focus on the deposition itself rather than on the logistics. eLitiagate is scalable and perfect for all case sizes.
Rather than combining separate videoconferencing and exhibit management applications from different companies, and different passwords, eLitigate truly integrates videoconferencing and exhibit management tools long requested by attorneys, working together as one simple, intuitive web application on one screen. eLitigate enables participants to fully participate in a remote deposition with the ease of being in an in-person deposition. eLitigate is designed for an optimal remote deposition experience.
eLitigate features focus on the deposition. This includes a display that indicates when the deposition is on and off the record, an on-record duration clock, and easy-to-use breakout rooms that promote secure private conversations, without prior set-up. ScriptSync, a feature unique to Esquire eLitigate, captures individual voices and creates a searchable speech-to-text transcript for in-session review and audio clip playback.
Yes. eLitigate now supports Case Teams. A Case Team supports collaboration by enabling each member of that team to upload, review, annotate, and present on behalf of the entire team. At the simplest level, this means a paralegal team member can log in and upload documents to the meeting room for the taking attorney. Or a new attorney can be added to the case and given access to all past and current exhibits and unpublished team documents.
Upon request, Esquire will create a Case Team from a list of email addresses provided. A team member must have registered for an eLitigate account and verified the registration by responding to the email generated by the registration.
No. Once a deposition concludes, eLitigate automatically creates a case exhibit folder for that deposition which is added to current and future deposition rooms. These exhibits include the stamp and metadata including owner, exhibit number, and date/time of introduction. All previous exhibit folders are read-only, and are viewable in the next deposition’s Exhibits List, and they are accessible for the life of the case. The exhibits are always at your fingertips (and your team’s fingertips), so that you can refer to them, and make a copy of relevant documents from past proceedings.
Case folders are automatically created with exhibits from a previous deposition and are tailored to the individual or team. Included in each folder are all shared exhibits from any attendee for that deposition, and any private unshared exhibit owned by you or your team. Private unshared exhibits in case folders are only accessible to individuals in your case team.
No. eLitigate includes high-quality videoconferencing. This integration provides a superior experience for most participants who want videoconferencing and exhibit management integrated on one screen with components that can be popped out to a secondary monitor.
Yes. Both the audio and video streams are encrypted end-to-end and protected by industry-standard AES-256 technology. Esquire eLitigate also has multiple redundancies in place to protect testimony from poor connections.
No. eLitigate was designed for witnesses to participate in a deposition with no training and minimal effort.
No, not unless the witness is uploading documents to be used at deposition. The witness can simply click on the invitation link and enter as a guest.
No, not unless opposing counsel is uploading documents to be used at deposition. Outside counsel can click on the invitation link and enter as a guest.
eLitigate can support up to 50 high-definition video participants using the Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome browsers on both PC and Mac, and on mobile Android. For Apple iOS, users can use the Safari browser.
eLitigate is compatible with the latest versions of Google Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge browsers.
No, the platform is highly customizable and is fully functional on a single screen without the need for a second. You have the option of popping out video windows and the ScriptSync module.
Yes, eLitigate is a versatile program that does not limit the user to a single screen. The pop-out feature allows multiple video feeds and/or the ScriptSync to be popped out into separate windows for multi-screen configurations.
Yes, you can join by telephone, computer audio, or a combination of computer and dial-in.
eLitigate is fully functional on Android devices browsers. All Apple products support all eLitigate features through the Safari browser on iPad and iPhone.
No, the eLitigate platform leverages account-based authentication allowing Esquire to directly manage deposition access. However, if a participant does not need to upload and introduce exhibits, our “Join as Guest” feature allows the participant to join a specific proceeding with a provided link, but without creating an account. A team member must have an eLitigate account.
EXHIBITS
Exhibits can be uploaded as soon as an invitation has been received, and during the deposition, if a last-minute document is required.
While eLitigate is simple to use, some attorneys may prefer to have someone else present and stamp the exhibits. We automatically add the setting attorney and scheduling contact to the case team. Provide your Esquire contact with the email address of anyone else on the case team who might need access to upload or present exhibits.
Everyone on your Case Team has full control of the team’s exhibits. No additional permission or steps are required. The presenter can enable opposing counsel to recall an exhibit for cross-examination using “Grant Control.”
No, eLitigate ensures that all uploaded documents, including the exhibit list itself, are visible only to the individual who uploaded the documents or other members of their Case Team until the exhibit is introduced.
eLitigate natively supports PDFs, image files (.png, .jpg, gif) and Microsoft Office files (Word, PowerPoint, & Excel), which are automatically converted to the PDF file format. All other file types, including video and audio files, are supported via Screen Share.
Yes, exhibit stamping is built into the platform, with intuitive controls that make it easier than applying an exhibit sticker in a same-room deposition. We also optimize this workflow by informing you of the previously applied stamp label when placing a stamp on a new exhibit to make exhibit sequencing easier.
You can stamp before the deposition, at the introduction of an exhibit, or after discussing the exhibit, before closing the document.
Yes, Excel files can be uploaded into the native exhibit management system and converted to PDF. In addition, screen sharing can be utilized to share a single application to showcase an Excel file and specific cell formulas.
Annotations can be done by anyone given permission by the presenter, including the witness or any member of the presenter's team.
Yes, opposing counsel can introduce their own documents during cross-examination, or recall exhibits of the taking attorney if granted by the presenter.
Yes, the witness (and the other participants) can scroll independently through the pages of any introduced exhibit, as if they were sitting in the deposition room holding paper exhibits.
Yes, the taking attorney or a team member can use the “Direct to Page” control to bring all participants to a particular page. This reduces time spent by others (including the witness) scrolling through their copy of the document to find the requested page.
Yes, there may be times when the taking counsel may want to pass control of the questioning to co-counsel. This is possible using the “Grant Control” button to grant control of the exhibit, and to take control of the exhibit back. When the co-counsel has been granted control of an exhibit, they can direct to page, annotate, and direct the witness to annotate.
Up until the deposition is ended, the stamp on any exhibit can be deleted and changed to correct a mistake.
Yes, while in-session you can retract an introduced exhibit using the Retract control found in the "Exhibits List."
Standard annotations included are freehand drawing, shapes (such as a box or circle), highlight, underline, and strike through, all using colors that indicate whether the presenter or the witness annotated the document.
SCREEN SHARING
Screen Share can be used to share the presenter’s entire screen, a single application (such as Excel or a video), and even a browser tab. Screen Share permits a view of a screen or application controlled by the presenter.
Yes, video and audio files, and other native filetypes supported by the presenter’s computer, can be shown to others via Screen Share.
Yes, you have the ability to share an entire screen, individual applications, and individual browser tabs.
No, we currently do not support the application of stamps or annotations on files that were presented using Shared Screen. We recommend first sharing and stamping a placeholder page, presenting using Screen Share, then sending the final file to the court reporter for inclusions in the exhibits.
The Privacy Shade is a tool that blocks the list of uploaded exhibits to prevent sharing your exhibit strategy to opposing counsel. This is useful while sharing your screen or in a same-room hybrid scenario.
SIDEBARS
A breakout room in eLitigate is called a Sidebar, a virtual, secure breakout room. Much like a conference room at an office, you ask others to join you for a private discussion in a Sidebar. Unlike Zoom, assignment by a host is not needed. Once participants have entered, anyone in the room can lock the virtual room so no one else can join. No discussions can be recorded or observed by others. The Sidebar is available throughout the deposition when the proceeding is off record.
No, like a physical sidebar room, once the session is off-record, anyone can claim a sidebar room and verbally direct others to join them in the sidebar room.
No, the sidebar room cannot be recorded and can only be accessed while off the record.
Yes, anyone can enter sidebar rooms, unless it is locked!
Sidebar rooms may be locked by anyone inside the room like an in-person conference room.
VIDEO
A professional (remote) videographer is required to capture the deposition. When a legal videographer is assigned to the job, the videographer manages going off and on the record and monitors the quality of the video.
Our system does not mute or silence other speakers, thus allowing objecting parties to be heard. The reporter should control the room so that participants don’t talk over each other. However, you can play back each person individually using ScriptSync (see below ScriptSync section).
eLitigate creates a high-definition MP4 video file.
SCRIPTSYNC
ScriptSync is eLitigate’s AI-generated speech-to-text testimony review tool. It acts like an assistant to the attorney for instant testimony review purposes during the proceeding and as a back-up recorder for the court reporter for transcription quality assurance after the proceeding. It provides audio redundancy and eliminates crosstalk by capturing individual voice tracks.
No, ScriptSync is not a replacement for Realtime. It is not exportable for post-deposition review. While the audio is 100% accurate, the transcribed text, while useful for searching, is not accurate enough for post-deposition transcript review purposes.
No, ScriptSync does not provide output to a rough transcript. It is not accurate enough to be used as a rough and is not exportable, meaning that it can be used only during the length of the deposition.
No. The court reporter captures the record and produces the final transcript. The court reporter may use ScriptSync after the proceeding to confirm what was spoken as they prepare the transcription. This is especially useful when deposition participants were talking over each other during the proceeding.
Yes, ScriptSync is keyword searchable.
Each participant’s speech is captured in a separate audio channel. This means if two people are speaking at the same time, each person’s sound is captured as (and played back) as a separate, isolated audio file.
All participants EXCEPT THE WITNESS have access to ScriptSync. The taking attorney can request to have ScriptSync turned off for everyone.
Yes, ScriptSync audio can be played during the deposition to review what was said on the record, either privately or publicly.
The ScriptSync text is about as accurate as mobile phone speech-to-text tools, with accuracy varying based on audio quality and speech patterns. Accuracy improves as the technology improves. The audio playback that accompanies the speech-to-text provides the most accuracy.
POST-DEPOSITION
No. If a video of the deposition was created, it is because one of the parties requested a video record. The video can be ordered through the court reporter or by standing order.
No, as with a traditional deposition, only the court reporter has access to the audio file post-session as a playback for transcript review and correction.
No, only the court reporter has access to the exhibits in eLitigate. As with a traditional deposition, the exhibits are distributed with the transcript based on the transcript order placed with the court reporter.
No, as with a traditional deposition, exhibits are provided as ordered through the court reporter or by standing order.
No, exhibits are provided as ordered through the court reporter or by standing order.
No, a ScriptSync session record does not exist as a single transcript and is not exportable. It is available only as in-session review tool.