The National Litigation Support Team (NLST) is providing video conferencing assistance for CJA panel attorneys. In many districts CJA panel attorneys are being asked to use video conferencing. For some, this may be the first time they have attempted to do it. If you would like a second pair of virtual eyes when trying to use this technology, email the National Litigation Support Team at Video_Conference_CJA_Help@fd.org (link sends e-mail) and someone will follow up with you and see if we can assist.
Please remember that this is not NLST's primary area of focus (it’s typically addressing e-discovery challenges and using litigation support technology), and there are many video conferencing platforms and services out there, some of which we haven't seen. But we know that with some assistance, panel attorneys can use video conferencing tools successfully. We work with panel attorneys every day using litigation support technology and we have seen how they have been able to do much more with technology than they ever thought, and we want you to have assistance during these difficult times. We will try and respond quickly, but give us 24-hour notice as we are a small team and there are over 12,000 CJA panel attorneys in the U.S. If there is a great interest for this kind of help, we will expand our group of people who will respond. We may encounter technical problems beyond all our control. Jails may be using a commercial service, or they may be using their own proprietary system. But know that we will do what we can to help make it work and give you some tips and tricks for the next time.
In the weeks to come, we will collect and identify video conferencing training resources for CJA panel attorneys. If you identify videoconferencing systems that are being used in your district, have reference materials that may be of assistance to your fellow panel attorneys, let us know and we can share that information with others on www.fd.org. The Training Division is providing COVID-19 resources and materials, updated multiple times daily, to assist defenders and CJA panel attorneys with understanding and litigating issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.