Presumptive Hearings - Virtual Town Hall Survey

1.What Region of Ontario are you practicing in?
2.In your experience, the online filing system of the family courts in your Region is working well. 
3.In your experience, the Caselines system of access to documents for family court cases is working well. 
4.Most of my clients prefer virtual hearings. 
5.The Bench should consult more with the Bar before publishing new guidelines for virtual as opposed to in-person attendance.
6.If all parties and their lawyers want an in-person hearing, then they should be able to have it that way.
7.If one party or one lawyer has a good reason (e.g has Covid; would have to travel 5 hours to attend court ) to ask for a virtual hearing, then the presumption should be that the hearing will be virtual.
8.How much do you estimate an average client saves in terms of your fees per court appearance when the attendance is virtual? 
9.How much do you estimate an average client saves in terms of fees for
their entire case if all court appearances are virtual?
10.In your experience, it is more difficult to settle a case when a conference is held virtually rather than in person.
11.In your experience, it is more difficult to cross-examine witnesses and assess credibility when a hearing is virtual rather than in-person.
12.At present, how long does it take to set a conference date with a judge in your Region?