We were hired on December 15th, 16th 2016 to supply remote Simultaneous Translation in realtime taking place in 4 different courts across this vast country (Toronto, Vancouver Edmonton and Montreal). Proceedings needed to be seen, heard, in both official languages through two-way interpretation . ‘Wow’,
The Superior Court of Justice room in Toronto had three judges, a hum of lawyers, and a dozen or so plaintiffs in attendance, a team of 3 interpreters and court staff. In Montreal, Vancouver, and Edmonton there were several attorneys and plaintiffs as well as their court staff.
Each judge had his own personal video monitor and a giant screen was provided to the counsel and plaintiffs. A Webswitcher cloud based application was used to create a full duplex audio and visual channels. Procom audio wireless headsets were distributed to all the participants enabling them to listen to either French, English or the original to ensure stability and predictability.
My client and the users of our services were delighted by the constant clarity of the sound across all 4 cities, as well as by how easy the equipment was to use. They were also very happy with the quality of the translators. It was rather exciting to be present at what appears to be the new age of our profession which hasn’t changed all that much since Nuremberg with the exception of technical gadgetry. Now, we can offer our same services in new contexts.
This wonderful recent remote interpretation experience is reason enough not to fear the future but embrace the change but under certain conditions.
What made this courtroom remote experience a success was cooperation. Between ourselves, Court staff, Translators and the client of course. We knew what we wanted: perfection.
