So you are scheduled to go to court or mediation, but it’s going to be by… video? How does that work? Well, let me tell you! It is not perfect, but it is the safest option for everyone involved, and there are definitely some things you can do to make it run more smoothly.

1) How do I use Zoom?

First, install the Zoom app on your phone, tablet or computer.

You will receive a link to the Zoom meeting in your email prior to to the event. You might get it the week or day before, or maybe not until the morning of. Don’t worry, it’s coming.

When you sign in to the meeting, be sure you have your full and correct name spelled out and it doesn’t just say, “iPhone” or “iPad.”

Be sure that your video is turned on, and that you are unmuted when it is your turn to speak. If you are in a court hearing, then it is a good idea to stay muted until it is your turn.

2) What do I need to do to prepare?

First, make sure that you are in a good location to participate. Ideally, this is somewhere quiet where you will not be disturbed and where you have a good internet connection. Feel free to test this out with a friend before mediation starts to test your connection, sound, microphone, and video.

If you are at home, then please arrange for childcare and secure your pets.

If you do not have access to a good location or device, then let your attorney know. There are other devices and locations available that can be reserved for you.

Have any documents you might need printed out in front of you, or have another device available if you need to look at documents on a computer.

Make sure you have lots of good light on your face. Facing a window is ideal. You can stack your device on top of books to raise it up to eye level. Also consider using headphones so that you can hear well and we can hear you.

Dress appropriately in business attire.

3) What about during the meeting?

During the meeting, you need to speak very slowly and clearly. There is often a lag or connection problem, but if you speak slowly, we will still be able to hear you.

If you are in court, only speak when spoken to. If there is an objection, then stop talking until you are told to continue.

You might consider changing your view to “Gallery View” rather than “Speaker View” if you want to be able to see all participants at the same time. You can see directions on how to do that here.

Zoom meetings are never perfect, but let’s all do our part to be patient and kind as we navigate this together. The good news is that we can still resolve your case even in the midst of a pandemic. If you have any questions about your particular situation, please ask. I look forward to working with you!

As you can imagine, the way that we communicate in this day and age has changed the way that judges, attorneys, and the court system operate. I’ll put it this way: clients these days put a lot more in writing than they used to!

If you have text messages on your phone that could be used in court, then your attorney will need you to download or screenshot those messages for printing. (Yes, we still use paper in the courtroom.)

Ideally, you would have one long PDF file of your entire conversation with the other party. Then you would send that PDF to your attorney along with a list of the most relevant texts that they should see. This way, all of the messages are in order, time-and-date stamped, and have context. What a dream! Unfortunately, this isn’t very easy to do.

If you have an iPhone AND a Mac computer, then all you have to do is open the Messages app on your computer, choose the conversation you want to print, then press COMMAND+P and choose Save as PDF. Voila!

If you don’t have an iPhone and a Mac computer, then you will likely have to download a program to get your entire conversation from your phone to your computer. Clients report success with iMazing, which you download to your COMPUTER and works with iPhone.

If you don’t have a computer, then your only option is to screenshot your messages and email them to me. When screenshotting, try not to have much overlap, and try to get times and dates in there as much as possible. Please keep your messages organized by re-naming the files or keeping them in folders with dates. I use Google Drive and so you are welcome to upload the messages in an organized fashion to a Google Drive folder and share it with me. Please also feel free to give me any notes to provide context to the messages.

If you want to take it a (very helpful) step further, then you can stitch your messages together using this app for your phone, which will organize all your messages into a PDF file for me. I love it! It only costs $2.99. Be sure to choose the option of PDF - Multiple Pages as shown below.

If you cannot figure it out, that’s ok. Just send what you have to the attorney in the best order that you can. No one is perfect!

Organization is the key to success in life and in court. Make your attorney’s life easier (and your case better) by trying some of the suggestions above. You’ll be glad you did.