In-person depositions were as much a tradition of law as the suit. After coronavirus, they may be an artifact, according to Law360.

• Depositions have been one of law’s most change-resistant traditions: They tend to involve exhibits that are best distributed in person and are generally played back at trials through video, which used to require an in-person deposition. Lawyers also like to be in the same room as their clients. 

• But video conference technology hasn’t prevented any of that from happening: Lawyers can still swap exhibits by sharing screens, they can enter separate “rooms” to pull aside clients and they can record the video deposition. Coronavirus basically introduced lawyers to a technique they should have been following for years. 

States have already extended remote deposition laws 

Florida needed a state Supreme Court decision for video depositions to happen. That decision has now been extended and is expected to last even longer.

The Verdict

The top reason for the remote deposition’s staying power could be client cost. While attorney fees should remain the same, clients will have far fewer miscellaneous costs to pay.