In today's legal community, there is a new movement in the way business is being done. It's a new brand of face time that's creating a real buzz due to law firms' focus on investments in technologies that can have the greatest impact on increasing their success and growing their bottom line, as well as pursuing the green policies push – and now "green" doesn't just refer to "environmentally friendly", it also means getting the "green ('cash') back in your pocket."

From Los Angeles to New York to Japan and beyond, law firms are now conducting business over video conferencing, instead of in person, and are seeing significant savings – savings in time, energy, and most importantly money. Helping stimulate this trend is telepresence, a technology that makes you feel as though you are in the same room with someone who is actually hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away. With telepresence, you have a live, immersive, face-to-face communication experience that empowers you to collaborate like never before, and all without having to step foot out of your office. This new technology helps people meet, share content, create high-quality video recordings of meetings and presentations, consult with experts, and deliver powerful personalized messages, all using the power of the network for an immersive, virtual, in-person experience one is not soon to forget.

What's more, leading video conferencing manufactures such as TANDBERG and Polycom are now offering law firms the ability to test the video conference technology out first hand. TANDBERG, for example, offers Executive Briefing Centers (EBC's), which allows law firms nationwide the ability to bring their team into one of TANDBERG's EBC's and have a live video business meeting – getting two things accomplished for your firm at once: 1) a business meeting with counterparts across the country or world, and 2) the ability to experience the benefits of telepresence.

Whether meeting with an expert to discuss or clarify details or preparing a witness for a difficult day in court, face-to-face is the preferred method of communication in the legal industry. Below are the top telepresence uses in the field of law:

• Depositions. Schedules and conducts hearings more efficiently.
• Expert consultations. Allows legal professionals to easily consult experts regardless of distance or geographical location.
• Parole and bail hearings. Increases the capacity to process cases and arrive at a decision.
• Sensitive/remote witness testimonials. Allows witnesses or experts to be offsite to give their critical testimony, which is very beneficial for victims who are fearful of being in the same room with the accused.
• Inmate and officer testimony. Minimizes inmate transportation costs, reduces security risks related to inmate movement, and maximizes prison and jail personnel resources.
• Co-counsel strategy sessions and settlement conferences. Expedites cases faster through the system.
• Partner and board meetings. Allows meetings to be scheduled anytime, anyplace.
• Training and distance learning. Gives employees a low cost, high impact way to extend interactive learning experiences and access to elite legal professors for enhanced learning regardless of geographical location, while still continuing their legal work.
• Job recruiting and interviews. Serves in the screening process and helps cut out three to four of the interview cycles due to the ability to record and archive a video interview for other executives to view at a later time. Also saves time out of the office and allows for more candidates to be interviewed regardless of geographical and financial limitations, thus resulting in law firms obtaining the best and brightest recruits possible.

So the question to you is, what would your top telepresence use be?