The E-Litigation Team caught up with Mr Tan Chee Meng, SC and his team of impressively authoritative counsel at a rehearsal for the mock “electronic” trial in the Supreme Court. This hotly anticipated event, taking place at Court 4A on Day 2 of the Conference, will showcase a range of technology tools deployed at various stages of a court hearing.
Tan Chee Meng, SC had the support of the National Computer Board (now iDA) to maximize the presentation of evidence in court in the early 1990s when he led evidence for three Inquiries arising from accidents on board two supertankers and a gas explosion in a department store. The Inquiry Panel was sufficiently impressed then by the visual aspects of the presentation. Twenty years on, and Mr Tan can’t wait to show us how far court technology has come!
Some of the technology which will be showcased at the mock trial include -
Lawnet – indispensable online legal research database by the Singapore Academy of Law
Transcend – Using Merrill Corporation’s Transcend, realtime court reporting sends the transcripts directly to counsels’ laptops for instant recall.
Trial Director – With video, sound clips, and a wide range of graphical presentation capability, Counsel can re-enact dispute scenarios with impressive ease
Justice Online – overseas witness can’t get to the court? No worries, give evidence by internet video conference from wherever you happen to be!
Syncpad – everyman’s favourite handheld device proves its worth in this mock trial. We showcase iPad App, “Syncpad” to show you how your drawings can be shared with other ipad users in Court or projected onto a screen.
Mr Tan is also proud of his script which is a joint effort by his litigation team at Wong Partnership and the Assistant Registrars. Without giving too much away, the E-Litigation Team can only tell you this much – a dispute scenario involving a cantankerous “Ah Beng” contractor, a remote witness calling in from Georgetown, Washington and a building construction with engineering flaws of gargantuan proportions – guarantees that you will be thoroughly entertained. Enjoy!
