Growing up, my sisters and I loved watching old comedies, particularly those starring that great comedic duo, Hope and Crosby. We could watch their 7 Road movies on a continuous loop. Of course, the premise of each film was roughly the same: Bob and Bing in some exotic locale where, naturally, Dorothy Lamour pops up to sing a song or two and generally serve as the love interest. Hilarious antics ensue, and Bing inevitably winds up with Dottie. Why mess with a formula the works? International depositions are a bit like the Road plot – off you go to a far-away city, with a general routine that varies a bit according to the particulars of the case or location.
The general routine is, of course, the taking of depositions, which follows the same course as depositions in the States. You need a court reporter to take down the record, provide realtime and immediate rough drafts, a videographer to record the proceedings in high definition, and you will usually need an interpreter with experience in the subject matter. This is where the global court reporting agency comes into the picture, to keep the formula working as smoothly as if you were scheduling in the States. Just like the Road trio, the agency’s reporters, videographers, and interpreters live and travel all around the world. Planet Depos court reporting professionals can be found in Hong Kong (the location of the last Road film!), Singapore (the first!), throughout the U.K. and continental Europe, and elsewhere. This helps keep travel costs down, too!
Hong Kong’s skyline. Image by Neal Price, International Scheduling Manager.
Naturally, the global court reporting agency is in the know when it comes to international travel requirements, such as visas, passport requirements, recommended vaccinations, etc. They can provide guidance in that area, as well as guaranteeing coverage of your international depositions. You might consider asking them for hotel recommendations in Oslo, tips for obtaining a deposition visa for Tokyo, or if a visa is required for your particular destination. Paralegals and attorneys have enough work to do leading up to depositions overseas. There is no need to add researching travel details to the to-do list when someone already has the information ready to pass along to you.
As mentioned previously, it is wise to stick to a formula that works. However, sometimes the unexpected happens! In my personal favorite of the Road series, Road to Rio, Bob wins Dottie in the end (not on the up-and-up, of course). Just as unexpectedly, even simple tasks can out of nowhere turn into giant hurdles when you are in a foreign country. For example, the Planet Depos Korea team recently covered depositions in Suwon, where one of the attorneys had leftover documents in several boxes to ship back to the U.S. The hotel could not assist him. The reporter graciously stepped in, took the boxes back to Seoul and shipped them to the States for him, relieving him of the burden of haranguing endlessly to complete a simple task. He was then able to instead spend the afternoon enjoying Korean BBQ!
For more tips on international depositions, contact Planet Depos International Scheduling at 888.433.3767 or international@planetdepos.com.
