Lawyers...Meet The Electronic Transcript

In law school, they should have had a class on how to handle paperwork, how to get rid of paperwork, how to deal with paperwork... we could go on and on. Paperwork is already overwhelming in the legal profession so adding paper deposition transcripts on top of everything else can leave a lawyer staring at a wall of deposition transcripts and trying to figure out how in the world will they find a certain key testimony. And then there are the deposition summaries, though handy, they can still be an annoyance.

Welcome to 2009, the age where electronic deposition transcripts are an option that any credible court reporting agency should offer. If you choose the right agency you can have a edited deposition sent directly to your inbox which is not only indexed, but also key word searchable. No more digging through paper work, just search for what you are looking for and voila!

For example, do you want to know exactly where a witness talked about crossing the street and seeing a red truck run the red light trying to flee the crime scene? Just type in "red truck" or "red truck red light" and find it instantly as well as print out that specific part of the testimony.

So electronic transcripts can come in handy... but how do they work? It's actually not as difficult as you may have imagined. Next week we'll cover the subject in detail.

For qualified court reporters and videographers visit http://www.courtreporternet.com/. CourtReporterNet.com is the one-stop source for all your Court Reporting, videography and Transcription needs. Powered by innovative technologies, and a professional customer support staff, CourtReporterNet.com is sure to meet your complete satisfaction. The court reporters of CourtReporterNet.com are currently available in New York, California, Florida, Chicago and other areas throughout the United States.

Two Great Books for Effective Depositions

Effective depositions are a very important part of a lawyer’s career. Even though a great court reporting agency is an important part of a successful depositions there are many other factors including:

• Deposition Scheduling
• Deposition Timing
• Witness Attendance
• Document Accountability
• Testimony Preservation
• Following laws and rules
• And much more..

Here are a two great books to help lawyers get ready for a great deposition:

Nolo's Deposition Handbook

"Court cases are never as quick and tidy as television dramas would have us believe. In fact, most civil disputes are settled long before a judge has a chance to pound a gavel. That's why pretrial fact-finding procedures such as depositions play an increasingly important role in legal quarrels. In fact, it's not uncommon for a deposition to be the only testimony given. All of this explains why Nolo's Deposition Handbook can be such a useful resource" -Amazon.com

The Effective Deposition

"NITA programs and law schools nationwide have used the first and second editions of The Effective Deposition so that attorneys and soon to be attorneys have all the essential know-how in taking a deposition the most critical step in discovery. Now in a revised third edition, the authors apply their expertise as attorneys and educators to bring the reader critical information on new rules, information on the impact of technological developments including e-discovery and digital transcription, along with new deposition techniques." -Amazon.com

For qualified court reporters and videographers visit http://www.courtreporternet.com/. CourtReporterNet.com is the one-stop source for all your Court Reporting, videography and Transcription needs. Powered by innovative technologies, and a professional customer support staff, CourtReporterNet.com is sure to meet your complete satisfaction. The court reporters of CourtReporterNet.com are currently available in New York, California, Florida, Chicago and other areas throughout the United States.

How To Prepare Your Witness for Video Depositions

With technology becoming more prevalent in today's court systems it's vital that lawyers change their strategy when preparing a witness for a video deposition.

When preparing make sure that your witness understands that in some states a video deposition can be used as an alternative of live testimony; as a result, you need to prepare him or her as if they were in front of a jury. One of the most imperative tips is to educate your witness to dispose of any distracting behaviors such as throat clearing, fidgeting, hair twirling, nail biting, tapping, etc. Why? It’s important because each unnecessary action is exaggerated on camera; especially when the ability to rewind, slowdown and fast forward will be used to make decisions. Making sure your witness remains composed at all times is imperative for a realistic testimony.


Other guidelines include practicing on camera so you can point out the good and bad to your witness, make sure your witness answers the questions instantaneously without pausing and that they are clothed conservatively.


Once your witness is prepped it's time to make certain that your video deposition goes smoothly. You can do this by choosing a reputable court reporting agency to provide your videographer. At CourtReporterNet.com we make sure that the background is simple by encouraging lawyers to choose a plain wall, drapery, or a bookshelf for a background so that the view is not distracting. Our professional videographers also make sure that lighting is ideal and that there are no shadows that could distract from the witness. We also plan ahead for technical issues by having separate microphones for the attorney and the deponent as well as monitoring all audio and video content to ensure the best deposition possible.



For qualified court reporters and videographers visit http://www.courtreporternet.com/. CourtReporterNet.com is the one-stop source for all your Court Reporting, videography and Transcription needs. Powered by innovative technologies, and a professional customer support staff, CourtReporterNet.com is sure to meet your complete satisfaction. The court reporters of CourtReporterNet.com are currently available in New York, California, Florida, Chicago and other areas throughout the United States.

Lawyer Transcript Options: ASCII versus E-Transcript

When it comes to receiving your deposition transcript at the end of a deposition, there are a number of formats that you can receive your transcript in. Hopefully you are aware that court reporting services can electronically send your transcript.

If your court reporting agency is up to date in technology they should be able to tell what is the best option for your transcript to be sent electronically based on your budget as well as your needs. Today, electronically sending transcripts have become a lot easier. Until recently, court reporting agencies had to create an ASCII file of the transcript and then send it through email.
Unfortunately with the ASCII conversions page and line integrity will be loss, 3rd party programs are used for functionality, no password protection is incorporated, it is open to attacks when sent through email, there was no encryptions, and the file could only be opened as a read-only file .

Fortunately, today there are newer ways to send a transcript electronically; it’s called an e-transcript. The major benefits of using an e-transcript include having a standard format, keeping line and page integrity, incorporating encryption and password protection, instant search, hyperlinked word indexes, and the ability search, open, and print using the same software.

It's important to be fully informed on the services your court reporting services offer so that you can save money and conduct better depositions. It will pay off in the long run!

For qualified court reporters visit http://www.courtreporternet.com/. CourtReporterNet.com is the one-stop source for all your Court Reporting, videography and Transcription needs. Powered by innovative technologies, and a professional customer support staff, CourtReporterNet.com is sure to meet your complete satisfaction. The court reporters of CourtReporterNet.com are currently available in New York, California, Florida, Chicago and other areas throughout the United States.

What to expect from a court reporting service

When choosing a court reporter service for your next deposition, remember that dependability, experience, and quality do matter. Your court reporting service should have well trained court reporters and staff that are available to answer any question are served any need you may have.
So what can you expect when you hire a hire a four court reporting service?

Well the first thing that you should expect is instant, expedited, and fast transcript delivery after a deposition. Immediately after a deposition, your court reporter should give the transcript back to you in a record amount of time. It should be accurate, it should be free of errors, and it should take less than 24 hours.

The second thing you should expect from the court reporting service is the availability of nationwide conference rooms. These allow you to be able to meet in a professional, quiet, and organized setting.

The third thing you should expect from the court reporting service is the ability to receive a transcript in many formats. These formats should include electronic delivery, as well as traditional mail delivery of the original transcript. In this technologically advanced age, electronic delivery of transcripts is not only convenient but a necessity. Other technologies offered should include real-time Internet feeds, Internet scheduling, and LiveNote.

The fourth thing you should expect from your court reporting service is a storage area for your transcripts. If something happens after a deposition, to your files, or to your office, you should have the ability to call your court reporter and retrieve your transcript. This service should be standard in all court reporting agencies.

These four things are very important when looking for a court reporting service. Other services include, but are not limited to, mini or condensed transcripts, keyword indexing, daily video grapher, toll free telephone support, and video and audio transcription.

For more information on where you can find a court reporting service that follows these guidelines to visit http://www.courtreporternet.com/. CourtReporterNet.com is the one-stop source for all your Court Reporting, videography and Transcription needs. Powered by innovative technologies, and a professional customer support staff, CourtReporterNet.com is sure to meet your complete satisfaction. The court reporters of CourtReporterNet.com are currently available in New York, California, Florida, Chicago and other areas throughout the United States.

The Origins of Court Reporting Shorthand

With our society at the most litigious time during any point in its history, court reporters are more in demand than ever. Court reporters provide a valuable service to the legal community, creating an official written record of everything that is spoken during trials, motions and depositions.

But where did the court reporting industry start? And more importantly, what are the origins of the equipment and shorthand systems used today around the world?

In order to track down the first official court reporter, one must go back to ancient time – 63 B.C. to be exact. It was in this year that a slave named Marcus Tullius Tiro, the property of the great Cicero became the world’s first shorthand reporter. Tiro first known transcription was of a speech by Cato. To help him copy every word of the speech accurately, Tiro used a series of shorthand notes and symbols. Tiro’s system was simple but groundbreaking. He used single symbols to represents full sentences, and did not record smaller, common words that he knew could be entered into the official record at a later time.

As a result of Tiro’s work, the art and science of stenography was born, and although most of the symbols he used are no longer with us, the ampersand (&) still exists and is a part of hundreds of languages around the world.

The John of Tilbury, a monk, developed the first English shorthand sometime around the year 1180. His system remained the standard in England until the 16th century when a doctor named Timothie Bright created a 500 character shorthand symbol system that would replace it.

Dr. Bright’s system was accepted throughout England until the year 1772 when it was replaced by a new shorthand system developed Thomas Gurney. Gurney worked for the government and his new, easy-to-use system of transcription and note-taking became the official shorthand of Parliament. The final switch in England’s shorthand system came in 1837 when Isaac Pittman developed a phonetics-based shorthand system that is still in use by many British court reporters today.

Across the pond, Gregg’s system was used in the courts of the United States until the invention of the shorthand machine later in the century. In 1879, a man by the name of Miles Bartholomew, who was part of what was already a growing number of professional court reports working in the American legal system, received a patent for what would become the modern typewriter. It had a single keystroke for each letter and would become a major tool of business in the decades that followed.

But for the purposes of modern court reporting, things needed to work more quickly. During the post-war era of the 1950’s the United States Military and IBM developed groundbreaking machines and software that would translate foreign languages directly into English. After this project was complete, the same team of engineers used this technology to create shorthand translation machines.

It was out of this technology that the modern shorthand machine, used today by tens of thousands of court reporters was born.

How to Hire a Court Reporter for your Next Deposition

In the course of a busy day, it is easy to forget that you need a court reporter for your upcoming deposition. With that in mind, we offer the following helpful tips for making sure that you get an accurate written record of everything that transpires during the proceedings.

1. Confirm the dates of your deposition. If the actual date of your deposition is still up in the air, then you are not quite ready to hire a court reporter. In order to avoid cancellation fees, or inconvenience the reporter herself, it is best to get the time and date set in stone before placing a call.

2. Reserve your conference room. Inside many law firms the biggest fight isn’t over who will be made partner, but rather over valuable conference room space. Make sure that you’ve got one reserved for the specific date and time of the scheduled deposition.

3. Ask for recommendations. If you are unsure about who to call to get a court reporter to work your deposition, ask other attorneys for a recommendation.

4. Determine if your deposition will take place over more than one day. In order to insure that a qualified court reporter is available for the entire deposition, be sure to determine beforehand whether or not the deposition will conclude in the span of a single day.

5. Ask about bi-lingual court reporters. If there will be languages other than English spoken at the deposition, ask the court reporter (or their service) about the availability of bi-lingual court reporters. If a bilingual reporter is not available for the deposition, you can also hire a translator after the fact to convert the record into another language.

6. Contact a court reporting service. The beauty of a court reporting service is that it takes all the guesswork out of hiring someone to transcribe your deposition. The process couldn’t be easier. Simply contact the service online or over the phone and let them know the details of your upcoming deposition. They will let you know who is available, what their experience level is and what you fee will be.

7. Be mindful of the court reporter’s time. Try not to keep the court reporter waiting around for long stretches of time before or after the deposition. Just like you, their time is valuable and always needs to be accounted for.
With these tips in mind, the scheduling and execution of your next deposition should go smoothly. Remember that although most court reporting services can send someone to you on short notice, it is always better to book ahead whenever possible.

For court reporters for your next deposition, plus a WHOLE lot more, visit http://www.courtreporternet.com/. CourtReporterNet.com is the one-stop source for all your Court Reporting, videography and Transcription needs. Powered by innovative technologies, and a professional customer support staff, CourtReporterNet.com is sure to meet your complete satisfaction. The court reporters of CourtReporterNet.com are currently available in New York, California, Florida, Chicago and other areas throughout the United States.

How Smaller Law Firms Should Use Court Reporting Services

It’s one thing for big, hundred-attorney law firms to keep a court reporting firm on their speed dial and give them a ring any time they need a reporter to handle a deposition or court case. But smaller firms need to be a bit more judicious about how they spend their money – especially in this troubled economy.



The following represents some helpful tips on how smaller law firms can best utilize court reporting services and help their businesses run more smoothly as a result:

Document indexing.
Sorting and indexing documents can significantly tax your resources. Using a court reporting service to not only transcribe depositions but also index and organize them by key terms and phrases can really be a time/money saver.

Video and Audio Transcriptions.
Having a paralegal perform video and audio transcriptions can take them away from client projects where they can be billed out at a much higher rate. Use a court reporting service to supply people to turn the spoken word into written documentation.

Translation Services. It would be nice to expand your target client demographic by offering more bilingual services, but chances are you don’t have the resources to hire someone full time who speaks multiple languages. Why not bring in expert translators and interpreters on an as-needed basis to perform these duties? You will generate more revenue while not raising your overhead too significantly.

Overall, court reporting services offer smaller firm a chance to offer more services without having to hire full time employees. Like general temp services, court reporters are an efficient way to get just the jobs you need done – without staff sitting around and “eating money” for the rest of the year.

For court reporters, plus a WHOLE lot more, visit www.CourtReporterNet.com. CourtReporterNet.com is the one-stop source for all your Court Reporting, videography and Transcription needs. Powered by innovative technologies, and a professional customer support staff, CourtReporterNet.com is sure to meet your complete satisfaction. The court reporters of CourtReporterNet.com are currently available in New York, California, Florida, Chicago and other areas throughout the United States.

New Jersey Court Reporters use Digital Recordings for Backup

When a New Jersey Court Reporter sits down to perform a live transcription of a court proceeding, theres a lot of pressure. They have to get every word spot on and be ready to read back the dialogue they have transcribed on the spot if requested by the judge or counsel.
Luckily, court reporters need not be the last line of defense in terms of preserving everything that is spoken in court.

Many New Jersey court reporters now use FTR or For the Reporter, a CD-based system that allows them to create a digital master of the entire trial or hearing. Generally, these recordings are sealed and stored away in case of an appeal in the trial but they still form a nice back-up for those occasions when a judge or attorney wants to hear an immediate playback of what transpired in court after the fact and doesnt have time to read through a full transcript.

Court recordings of this nature are especially vital around the holidays, because many attorneys appeal their cases right before the end of the year. With a huge volume of cases coming up for appeal, the system helps court reporters and other transcription services avoid overload.
The recordings are an important part of the technology, but just another example of why there always needs to be a human court reporter present in order to guarantee proper transcription.

With outstanding New Jersey court reporters in greater demand, it is more important ever to work with a top court reporting service. Services like the ones found at www.courtreporternet.com can help you locate an outstanding reporter even on short notice.

Why being a New York Court Reporter is better than being a New York Attorney

Sure, it sounds like a joke, but just following our reasoning below and you’ll be reaching for the nearest transcription machine and getting your speed up to 240 words per minute.

Why it’s better to be a New York Court Reporter

Court Reporters have lower student loans. The cost of becoming a licensed and accredited New York Court Reporter is considerably lower than law school. The salary is good, and court reporter won’t spend half their lives giving half of it back to Sallie Mae!


There’s no stressful partnership track. In the dog-eat-dog Manhattan legal community, an attorney can get lost in the competition to make partner. Not so with the court reporting business. Men and women who excel at their craft are given great opportunities to grow their careers without billing 100 hours a week.

Better job security. Every year, the schools of America continue to graduate thousands of young attorneys. And when the economy gets bad, many will struggle to find a position that meets their financial needs. Currently, the opposite is true for New York court reporters. In fact, there aren’t nearly enough of them to go around, meaning that this is a career where demand far outstrips supply.

When was the last time you heard a “How many court reporters…” joke? Well, we haven’t heard one anyway. Enough said.

With outstanding New York court reports in greater demand, it is more important than ever to work with a top court reporting service. Services like the ones found at www.courtreporternet.com can help you locate an outstanding reporter – even on short notice.

How to get the most out of your court reporting agency

So you’ve got an upcoming court case or deposition and need a certified, top-flight court reporter to transcribe the event. Contacting a court reporting agency is the fastest, easiest way to get the professional help you need to handle the job.

The following are some helpful tips to help you get the most out of the court reporting agency you choose.



* Explain the specifics of the job. The easiest way to insure that you get the right person for the job from your court reporting agency is to explain, in detail, everything the job entails. This way, the court reporting agency can search all their available employees for the right reporter with the ideal background. Remember, the more specific you can be the better!

* Call in advance. While most court reporting agencies can send you someone on short notice, there may be a premium on the last-minute service, and the selection of court reporters will always be better the longer the lead time you give the agency.

* Ask for references. If you feel unsure about working with a court reporting agency for the first time, ask the company for professional references. Reputable agencies will have no problem providing you with this information.

* Provide accurate information. Make sure that the court reporting agency knows the exact address of where the meeting or hearing will take place, and the specific time it will begin. This will help the court reporter get there on time, and greatly reduce the chance that the proceedings will be held up because of a tardy reporter.

Your business needs top court reporters. To work with a top court reporting service in your area, visit www.courtreporternet.com today!