A new technology is now being offered at the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador designed to enhance court proceedings for lawyers and clients. CourtCall, a United States-based company, provides lawyers the option of making appearances via teleconferencing for routine hearings.

"The Williams Government is committed to ensuring we provide a court system that is as effective and efficient as possible," said the Honourable Felix Collins, Minister of Justice and Attorney General. "The technology offered by CourtCall will not only allow the court process to advance expeditiously for lawyers, but clients will be ensured they have timely access to the courts. I am pleased to say that the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador is the first Provincial Court in Canada to offer standardized, telephone appearances."

The technology offered by CourtCall has proven to help lawyers save time and their clients money by making telephonic appearances instead of traveling to court.

"By providing this service the Court eliminates the need for lawyers to make unnecessary trips to court for routine appearances," said Chief Judge Mark Pike. "A lawyer can conduct other business and simply call into the court at the appointed time. This will be a direct saving to lawyers and can be passed on to clients, reducing the cost of litigation and improving access to justice."

The CourtCall system was implemented at the Provincial Court in June of this year. To date over 100 calls have been made from across the province with the assistance of CourtCall.

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Media contact:

Jennifer Tulk
Director of Communications
Department of Justice
709-729-6985, 699-6524
JenniferTulk@gov.nl.ca