trial is to set up shop in Bermuda.

LiveNote Reporting (Bermuda) Ltd. hopes its fast and accurate evidence recording system will be adopted in courts and business across the Island.

Graham Smith, group chief executive of the London-based parent company Smith Bernal International, said: "We believe there is a large market in Bermuda both for the LiveNote transcription services and for the high standards of quality and professionalism for which these services have a worldwide reputation.

"We are excited and confident about this new venture and very much look forward to forging mutually rewarding relationships with the legal and business community in Bermuda.'' The Island will also be among the first places in the world where VideoNote -- a digital video/text system -- is available. VideoNote was described by Simpson's defence attorney Johnnie Cochran as "the cutting edge'' of technology.

The Bermuda office of the English company, which also covered the Bosnia war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Holland, and the massive fraud and theft case against former banker Arnold Todd and three others in Bermuda, is on Queen Street.

The firm will be managed by Linda Gleghorn, who edited the evidence in the Todd case last year and which ended in three acquittals and not guilty or a hung jury on the charges against Todd.

The Bermuda directors of LiveNote are accountant Deborah Brown and lawyer Richard Pearman.

Ms Gleghorn said the firm would offer its services for court reporting, arbitration work and deposition hearings, as well as for witness and media interviews and conferences.

She added the advantages of the system included faster evidence in courtrooms.

It also allowed for quicker sorting of evidence and eliminated the need to take notes, which could cut the time needed for hearings by up to 30 percent.

Ms Gleghorn said: "In this way it saves considerable money and is particularly helpful in more lengthy or complicated cases.'' She added the firm already had plans to expand to meet demand and will be recruiting locally for editors and administration staff.

The firm, expected to officially launch next month, will also offer stenography training to world-class standards at the Smith Bernal training school in London.

Linda Gleghorn