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Compared to other businesses, law firms probably have a stronger need for group meetings and consensus before any decision is made.
Videoconferencing saves a lot of traveling for both client and lawyer
There are frequent meetings with clients from out of state, and videoconferencing saves a lot of traveling time for both client and lawyer, especially where they have one meeting every week or every couple of weeks over an extended period. Minter Ellison uses video for client meetings and witness meetings at all its offices around the world. "It's important to see peoples faces so that you really understand their answers to questions. Seeing someone's facial expression can tell you a lot," says Marc Boyd, Melbourne Office IT and Telecommunications Coordinator.
"Overall video and audio quality from TANDBERG is remarkable," says Boyd. "You could see the difference between TANDBERG and other vendors when you compared the technical specifications. More importantly, however, the difference is clear as soon as you've had a few meetings. Aesthetically, the systems are also amazing. You can tell there was a lot of time and effort put into the system design."
Security Critical
"From an IT perspective, the biggest selling point was embedded encryption," says Boyd. "We use videoconferencing frequently for client meetings and security is crucial. There was simply no other systems than TANDBERG that use call encryption."
Each Partner has an added incentive to use videoconferencing
Everyone at Minter Ellison is keen to take advantage of the new services. Each Partner is an owner in the company, so they have an added incentive to use technology that makes the business more efficient. The various practice groups have regularly scheduled meetings over video and can even meet on the spur of the moment if they need to. The company has a dedicated video team that will set up the meeting in advance, so that participants can walk into the meeting room and the conference will already be connected.
About Minter Ellison
Minter Ellison is an Australian-based international law firm with more than 280 partners and 1,200 lawyers located in Australia, the USA, the UK, Hong Kong, Thailand, China and New Zealand. In Indonesia, Minter Ellison has an 'associated firm' relationship with a leading local law firm.
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