For the past 14 days I've been sitting in an air-conditioned new Supreme Court room at Booth Hall following the Bermuda Fire & Marine Co. civil case.

Downstairs, in the other new courtroom, those involved in the Thyssen-Bornemisza family feud over a $2.8 billion fortune are due to begin that case once preliminary legal wrangles are ironed out.

The participants in both cases were keen to duke it out. Since there was a large number of lawyers involved and big sums being contested they collectively got together and spent about $130,000 fixing up the building on Court Street. They also chipped in to hire UK-based Smith Bernal, which uses a computerised court reporting system called LiveNote.

Lawyers in wigs and gowns with computers before them -- now that's a sight to see.

LiveNote allows the lawyers and judges to get an instant copy of what's being said on the computer screens before them. Claire Stanley is the stenographer for the Bermuda Fire case. She can input words at a rate of 200 a minute but nobody has got that excited yet. The LiveNote software translates the stenographic code and feeds the words directly into notebook computers a few seconds after they're spoken.

Such luxury! Bewigged lawyers with computers before them to call up the famous last words of their opponents. Everyone outlines on their screens key statements in colour codes of yellow, black or green and write their comments on a pop up note for future reference. They can then search the computerised transcripts to trip up the other side in a contradiction or formulate their replies to allegations and claims. It's trial by word search.

In usual Supreme Court cases Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux has had to tediously attempt to write down the points being made in front of him. He still takes notes, but now he and everyone else gets a printed transcript and computer disk of the proceedings an hour after the day ends.

Some of the lawyers in the Bermuda Fire case can instantly bring up documents being referred to in the case. Not everyone wanted to put up the rest of the money. They have to go dashing for Z volumes or B volumes to find page whatever.

Downstairs the Thyssen-Bournemisza participants put up the cash to get the full works. They have larger computer screens rather than laptops. Every document is a click away electronically. Where is all this going? Currently, the software can also transmit the instant transcript directly on to the Internet or to a private computer network so other interested parties can follow what's going on. Expert witnesses in both cases will be kept up to date and can suggest questions to the lawyers.

For example an estimated 40 lawyers are involved in the Bermuda Fire case, although anywhere from 25 to 30 are in court at any one time. The rest are working behind the scenes to research and prepare the lead lawyers for their court appearances.

The LiveNote use of technology allows them, and the expert witnesses who will be called later to keep track of what's going on in the preliminary opening rounds.

For example, Gabriel Moss is the lead lawyer for the liquidators and gave the opening presentation. But the cross examination of the witnesses is going to be done by another hotshot from the UK, Clare Montgomery. The US is attempting to push the technology farther. In February a US Court of Appeals trial was held at the McGlothlin courtroom at the College of William & Mary School of Law in Williamsburg, Vermont. The case involved an Army captain named Lawrence Rockwood, who was appealing his court martial for scaling the wall of the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince in search of abused political prisoners during the US military intervention in Haiti.

Courtroom 21 was outfitted as a test and was billed as the "most technologically advanced trial and appellate courtroom in the world'' according to the New York Law Journal. The proceedings were being broadcast over the Internet with text, video and audio feeds going live to remote users logged on to the Web site.

Getting video over the Internet is still a challenge but the software companies are working on it. Courtroom 21 was using software developed by LegalSpan to transmit the video feeds. The video was jerky but the audio was "superb'' according to one of the participants.

LiveNote (livenote.com) has its own VideoNote software but it's meant as a preparation tool lawyers can use in conjunction with the text. Video deposition is put on a CD-ROM and synchronised with text. The litigation team can then view testimony, video and exhibits on the disks.

While the UK system of courtroom procedure is not as open as in the US, it's easy to see the advantages for companies that have to battle it out in court here. Everyone is kept up to date and can give instant advice. When they're needed they can be flown over fully prepped and ready to roll.

The wigs and gowns may be from a different time, but the computers on the desks are a sign the legal profession are learning how to use the tools of the modern age to their advantage.

Tech Tattle is about issues in technology. Contact Ahmed at 295-5881 ext. 248, or 238-3854, or techtattle ygazette.newsmdedia.bm.