10 Apr 2018
David Jackson, Director, CaseLines
Our previous post covered the benefits to lawyers from digitising the trial process. Those benefits are substantial and signal that lawyers are ready to embrace digital technologies. But what of businesses, paying the bills – how does digitisation help them?
First and foremost, of course, is cost saving. Litigation can be expensive and controlling escalating costs is one of many considerations for general counsel. The choice of DIFC as a jurisdiction for dispute resolution venue is already a step in the right direction and now digitisation reinforces that choice.
Digitisation saves money in pre-trial preparation and also at trial. Using the new digital evidence management system allows lawyers to prepare trial bundles quickly and easily, with savings of up to 80% in para-legal effort. In addition, copying costs and courier bills are all eliminated. The system also allows lawyers to brief advocates at an early stage, eliminating time and effort. These are all savings that flow straight back to businesses.
Despite best efforts to resolve litigation through early settlement, often a trial is unavoidable. At this point, many businesses face the prospect of paying for expensive in-court presentation. The new digital solution at DIFC Courts eliminates the costs of in-court presentation – no more bills for project management, setting up the court or displaying pages to the court. The new system is easy to use by lawyers, which makes it practical to use at all stages – from an initial hearing to a full trial.
For businesses operating globally, much of the appeal of the DIFC Courts is their focus on a global outlook when introducing new services for court users. Many of the parties bringing cases to the DIFC Courts operate globally and use global law firms.
The DIFC Courts new e-bundling service connects with CaseLines’ interface to facilitate sharing notes between client and legal team members and to access evidence remotely from any location. In addition, a secure system for virtual hearings allows the court to permit remote attendance for pre-trial applications, as well as bring witnesses in remotely, significantly cutting travel costs.
For more information on the e-bundling initiative, please visit https://www.difccourts.ae/media-centre/newsroom/trials-go-paperless-difc-courts-regional-first
