In a case where 100s of depositions need to be taken, we asked the City of Seattle and King County to agree that instead of hiring a videographer plus a court reporter for each zoom deposition. That we be allowed to push the record button during the zoom session.

Predictably the answer was(a shocked): oh no! No no no. Pushing the zoom button will just not do.

And so we had to file a motion. Dear Judge: Since we are representing about 40% of our clients pro bono (without fee). And the rest of our clients cannot afford to pay a gajillion dollars to hire a professional videographer to videotape the massive amounts of zoom depositions in this case. Please grant us permission to push the recording button.

First to respond is King County. Which tries to differentiate the requirements of CR 30(b)(8)(F) from the actuality of a zoom. “But more importantly, the person [sic] enables the ‘record’ function on Zoom is not a video operator as anticipated by CR 30(b)(8)(H). For instance, how will the person who enables the “record” function attest to the authenticity and completeness of the recording when that person is not actually operating the equipment?

My favorite part is where the county tries to explain how the Gallery View which “creates separate windows on the screen for each person in attendance” if used would “show a patchwork of tiny squares with the deponent somewhere among them.” Or “Speaker View” which makes the speaker “appear in the largest window” would still resulting the “flip between the deponent, the attorney asking the questions, the attorney making objections. This dizzying effect would be both distracting and annoying for the jury.”

Clearly the County does not know how to “pin” the speaker. An elementary move that even I figured out a day or so after first using zoom.

Next up the City of Seattle. It’s first argument is that we should not be able to hit the button because we are not “neutral” and should be expressly disqualified.

It cites the same rule as the County but goes farther - saying that unless an independent videographer takes the video of the zoom - well heck… then we - the proposed button pushing plaintiff lawyers could tamper with the video. Or leave it open to a hack attack. Or undermine the integrity of the deposition itself!

All in all the City’s motion is 3,411 words long (11 pages). Signed off by its Seattle City Attorneys’ Office and its other attorneys K&L Gates LLP.

You may wonder - why would the City and County spend so much time and energy fighting over this issue. The answer is one of access to justice. Plaintiffs do not have the luxury of bankrolling the expenses of a case with tax payer dollars. They have a built in incentive to be economical and efficient. On the other hand big government and their legions of inhouse and outhouse lawyers can dissuade folks from suits by driving up the expense to do so.

At the end of the day, none of the defense lawyers have probably ever used a zoom video deposition in trial. But I have. Several of them. Taken by Andrew with the mere push of a button. And it all went perfectly.