Installation and support for BYOD Zoom rooms and bespoke virtual courtrooms

We have worked with this full-service European intellectual property firm for over four years. As they work directly with the European Court, they came to us during lockdown for a virtual courtroom solution. This was an interesting project that needed to meet certain standards set by the European Court. 

The court stipulated that the meeting rooms had to be facilitated through Zoom, emphasizing the importance of delivering a solution capable of seamlessly connecting to court services via Zoom while replicating a genuine courtroom experience. Key focus areas included video and sound quality to eliminate unintended noise sharing. Additionally, precise camera placement within the room was crucial to optimise the user experience and uphold privacy. 

Our process: 

We developed solutions enabling lawyers to share notes and evidence directly, as well as keeping personal notes private from the meeting space. Special microphones ensured conversations were private and, with no risk of any sound being picked up and shared in the meeting space. The virtual courtrooms were furnished with bespoke furniture for optimal security and comfort.  

When designing and delivering any meetings space, small or large, we always start with an engineering survey; establishing the best route based on room size and environment. We take into consideration things like where to run the cables, any potential background noise such as air conditioning units and the thickness of the walls. The amount of people that might use the room, and thereby placement of furniture also plays an important role in any design process and helps determine the best placement of cameras and speakers. 

Current situation: 

The virtual courtrooms were designed and delivered within 8 weeks, and are still being used today, even after lockdown. Additionally, we upgraded several internal meeting rooms to Microsoft Teams Rooms to offer a more contemporary user experience. 

Conclusion:  

There is still a need for virtual courtrooms as they offer time and cost savings by reducing travel, whilst also delivering a greener footprint. Zoom was chosen as the platform for the courtrooms, while Microsoft Teams Rooms were adopted for internal meeting spaces. Our mission was to enhance connectivity, unify communication strategies, and prioritize user safety and security, especially within the virtual courtrooms. 

At New Era we see that virtual courtrooms are here to stay as they improve the efficiency of hearings, reduce no-shows due to greater convenience, save time, and reduce costs. We are happy to have taken part in this project and to see how it’s still being used.