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Tips for a successful virtual court experience

Practitioners have been sent a virtual meeting room code for tomorrow’s motions before the Dublin County Registrar, at 11 am.

The cases are:

1) 2019/03118  Belinda Domican v Lorcan Birthistle as nominee of St James Hospital and Flannerys Catering Ltd: John O'Leary Solicitors/Corrigan & Corrigan Solicitors,

2) 2020/2532 Rory Conroy v Alan Kessie and Emma Benton: Gary Matthews Solicitors.

Experience

Those participating have been asked to note the following tips for improving the video conferencing experience:

• Ensure that your internet connection for the virtual courtroom is strong, stable and meets the requirements specified. A stable internet connection is key to achieving a successful video call and avoiding disruption,
• Test your connection in advance. Your assigned virtual courtroom will be opened ten minutes in advance, and you may use the connection detail to test your access prior to the sitting. The virtual room will close following completion of the sitting,
• Ensure all applications on your laptop or device are closed, apart from your video stream. Additional applications may interfere with the quality of your video call and access to the virtual courtroom,
• Be aware of how you appear to others on the call. You image will be displayed in the bottom-right corner of your screen. Shoulders and head centred is the recommended position,
• When not actively speaking in the virtual courtroom, you should mute your microphone to reduce feedback and unwanted background noise,
• Clear sound is essential for a good conferencing experience. The microphones on modern laptops are sensitive and it is not advisable to get too close. It is likely you will improve the sound quality for other users by sitting back slightly from your device. You should also ensure your laptop volume is not too high, as this will cause feedback for other users. Try reducing your volume to the minimum that is acceptable to your ears, using headphones is an alternative if feedback becomes an issue,
• Lighting makes a big difference to how you appear to others on the conference. You should ensure you have a good light source directed towards the face and avoid having any light sources behind or directly above you. It is especially important to make sure windows and daylight sources are not behind you. Any daylight source behind you will overwhelm the camera on your laptop and you will not be easily visible.