subject: The Value Of Realtime Court Reporting For Depositions [print this page] In todays technology-based world, the technology tools used by realtime court reporters offer all types of legal professionals an easy and efficient way to obtain spontaneous and complete transcripts of depositions at the end of the proceedings. Youve heard the old story: the earliest stenographers used to chisel words into rocks, paint murals of happenings in caves, handwrite legal transcripts on the earliest forms of papyrus. In later years, Gregg shorthand appeared on the scene, and court reporters used a tablet on which to scribble indecipherable handwritten symbols onto paper. Later, the manual stenographic court reporting machine came into play, and court reporters could write at speeds of upwards of 225 words per minute on a small trail of paper that is disgorged from the machine as the day goes along. Today, realtime court reporting has burst upon the scene. What does that mean to the legal professional? As an attorney with a laptop, a mere plug-in to your court reporters equipment can offer you a running computerized transcript that can be annotated at the scene, and be of immediate use to attorneys, their experts, and paralegals during and directly after a deposition.
What Exactly is Realtime Court Reporting?
Realtime court reporting is when court reporters immediately convert their electronic notes into clear and accurate transcripts in real time through a computer program. Digital transcripts can be provided as the realtime court reporter is writing down the proceedings, providing a transcript within a very short time period after the completion of the deposition. What is the best way an attorney can speed the process along? Send the caption, appearances and words specific to your deposition prior to the job so that the court reporter can define them in steno before the proceedings actually begin.
What Makes Realtime Court Reporters Valuable at a Deposition?
It allows legal professionals the option of having a continuously updated transcript of the deposition on their computer as it happens, giving them the chance to make quick notes as well as ask additional questions pertaining to information mentioned previously in the deposition. Text streaming court reporters can provide a searchable transcript so that legal professionals can look up specific words, phrases, root words or more complicated searches while the legal proceedings take place. Plus, you can always rest assured that you are getting the most valuable court reporters in the business, as a realtime court reporter takes a national-level exam that certifies them as realtime capable. Except for our national speed contest, it is the highest level of proficiency a court reporter can obtain.
