Announcing Free Online Videoconferencing
Milestone Reporting has announced that it will provide online videoconferencing services for free to all attorneys in need of remote deposition services. “We are going to continue to provide free online videoconferencing until at least the end of February 2021,” said Mike McDonner, Milestone’s President. “These services will remain free until a vaccine is developed and quarantine rules are completely lifted.” Back in late March of 2020, Milestone recognized the risks associated with the Coronavirus and was the first reporting company to actively push attorneys to take depositions remotely. The Coronavirus outbreak has created numerous challenges to the litigation industry. Many attorneys and witnesses are members of at-risk populations who should not risk contact with the disease until a vaccine is developed. “A substantial percentage of deponents work in the medical community and either work directly with Covid patients or they are at a higher risk of exposure than the general population. For these types of witnesses, we strongly encourage lawyer to use our online videoconferencing for their depositions,” Mr. McDonner continued.
Surprisingly, most court reporting companies have continued to charge for videoconferencing services. “We recently had an attorney call and complain about how much a competitor was charging for hosting depositions by Zoom. Apparently, they were charging $200 for the first hour and $125 each additional hour,” said Christian Bonilla, Milestone’s Director of Operations. Milestone’s goal has been to keep attorneys and court reporters working rather than profiteering. “I’m at a loss over those prices, you can buy fifty unlimited Zoom licenses a month for a $1000. It is crazy that someone would then turn around and chare $200 for a single hour. Frankly, I would rather lose a little money and be sure our employees and clients are safe during depositions,” added Mr. McDonner.
Whether our clients wish to use Zoom, WebEx, Teams or other platforms, Milestone has the expertise to provide those services securely and free of charge. “We have been taking over 100 online depositions per day for several months now,” said Mr. McDonner. “Everyone’s budget has been a little tighter during the pandemic and we are just happy we can help.