Work From Home Online Video Conference WebinarThe shift to the virtual environment, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, changed many aspects of legal practice—possibly none more so than the conduct of court proceedings and arbitration hearings.

Virtual hearings enabled continuity over the past two years, and the mix of virtual and hybrid (i.e., in person and virtual) hearings continue to be embraced around the world for their cost and time efficiencies, as well as their environmental benefits.

Much has been written about evidentiary issues posed by the virtual environment, including how witness or expert evidence is evaluated through a screen and the potential implications of uneven access to technology. What has not been widely discussed are the technical issues and inadvertent human errors that can occur during an online hearing, the implications these might have for parties to an arbitration process, and most importantly, the positive steps that can be taken to manage any such risks arising in the virtual setting.