How to Attend an eSuite Deposition
For witnesses, counsel, and anyone else invited: how to join, what the buttons do, and what to do if something goes wrong.
You have been invited to a deposition, hearing, or arbitration held in eSuite. There is nothing to install and no account to create. You need the email invitation, a computer or tablet with a camera, and about two minutes.
Everything you need is below. If you only read one part, read Before You Join.
Before You Join
- Join from a computer if you can. A laptop or desktop is easier than a phone, and you will be on camera for the record.
- Use Chrome, Edge, or Safari, kept reasonably up to date. Nothing to download.
- Wear headphones or earbuds. This single step prevents almost every echo problem.
- Sit somewhere quiet, with light in front of yourather than behind you.
- Plug in, and close other video apps. Zoom or Teams running in the background can hold onto your camera.
- Open the link a few minutes early. If anything needs fixing, you want to find out before you are on the record.
1. Open the Link and Confirm It Is You
Click the link in your invitation. You will see Attendee Verification.
- You will see the people invited to this room. Start typing your name to narrow the list, then click yourself. Email addresses are partly hidden, which is normal: enough shows to recognise your own.
- Click Send Code.
- Check that inbox for a six-digit code and type it in. It submits itself as soon as you type the last digit, so there is no button to look for.
That is the whole check. It confirms you are the person who was invited, and it is why your name appears correctly on the record.
NO CODE ARRIVED?
Give it a minute, then check your spam or junk folder. You can click Resend code. If it still does not arrive, use Continue as Guest (Limited Access) at the bottom of the page and tell the host once you are in. They can restore your access from inside the room.
CANNOT FIND YOUR NAME?
Check the spelling, and try just your surname. If you still do not appear, you were invited under a different spelling or a different address. Use Continue as Guest if the room offers it, otherwise ask the host to add you. Either way the host can put it right once you are in.
2. Check Your Camera and Microphone
Next comes a screen headed Camera & Microphone. Your browser will ask for permission to use them. Click Allow. Nothing works if you dismiss it.
On this screen you can:
- Pick the right Camera, Microphone, and Speakers if you have more than one.
- Click Test Speakers to confirm you will hear people.
- Watch Mic Level move as you speak, which confirms the right microphone is selected.
- Use Virtual Background to blur or replace what is behind you, if you would rather not show the room you are in.
When you are happy, click Join Now.
TIP
Say a few words out loud and watch Mic Level move before you join. If it does not move, pick a different microphone from the list. This is the single most common thing that goes wrong, and it takes five seconds to rule out here.
THE BROWSER NEVER ASKED, OR YOU CLICKED THE WRONG THING?
Look for a small camera icon in your browser’s address bar, click it, and set camera and microphone to Allow. Then reload the page. On a Mac you may also need to allow your browser in System Settings, Privacy & Security.
3. What You Will Use
Two controls matter. Mic On / Mic Off mutes and unmutes you, and Camera On / Camera Off turns your video on and off. Keep yourself muted when you are not speaking.
Share Screen shows a document or your screen to everyone, if your role allows it. Witnesses cannot share.
Exhibits and the live transcript, where the proceeding uses them, open from the room menu. You can also open the attendee list to see who is present and send a chat message.
4. If You Are the Witness
The room treats the witness differently on purpose. You will notice some of this, and none of it is a fault:
- Your video is pinned so everyone can see you, and you are the person the recording follows.
- You cannot share your screen, and you cannot exchange private messages with the examining attorney.
- You may not see the live transcript or be able to download exhibits. That is a setting for your proceeding, not a problem with your computer.
If you are unsure whether something is missing or simply switched off, ask the host. They can change it in seconds without stopping the proceeding.
5. If Something Goes Wrong
Almost everything is fixed by one of these, in this order.
- Nobody can hear you. Check you are not muted, then check the microphone picker is on the device you are actually using. A plugged-in headset is often not selected automatically.
- You cannot hear anyone. Check your volume, then check the speaker picker. If you joined with headphones, make sure they are the selected output.
- Your video is black. Another app is usually holding the camera. Close Zoom, Teams, or Photo Booth, then reload the page.
- Everything is frozen or choppy. Turn your camera off for a moment. If it clears up, your connection is the limit. Moving closer to the router or plugging in an ethernet cable helps more than anything else.
- You were dropped. Click the same link again. You will come straight back in.
If none of that works, tell the host in the chat, or by phone if you cannot get in at all. Support is available during your proceeding.
THE LAST RESORT THAT USUALLY WORKS
Leave the room, fully quit your browser, reopen it, and click the link again. It clears the great majority of camera and microphone problems, and it takes under a minute.
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