Are you in the market for a court reporting agency to work with on a case or looking to become a court reporter yourself? Well, we have good news for you!

Court reporting is a rewarding career that has been steadily growing in demand and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. As a result, people are increasingly gravitating towards it as a profession of choice. 

Generally, court reporters are responsible for transcribing what happens and what is said during court proceedings. This ensures an accurate record of events that transpire during court trials. That said, court reporting agencies typically employ most court reporters. These organizations are staffed by qualified, competent, and experienced court reporters who provide services for different clients. 

So, if you are thinking of hiring a court reporting agency, here are some steps you can take to ensure you get the right one.

Read Reviews Online

When vetting a court reporting agency, you want to ascertain that it has a good reputation and can deliver what you desire. For this reason, paying attention to the reviews and testimonials that other clients provide about the agency is critical. If the agency has predominantly positive reviews, this is indicative of its good reputation and reliability. 

Assess Their Service 

You can deduce a lot of information about a court reporting agency purely from gauging the quality of their service. For instance, how good is their customer service? Do they respond to queries in a timely and satisfactory manner? The only way to find out is by checking their website and contacting them. 

Research The Agency

Before hiring a court reporting agency, you need to do your due diligence to find the perfect fit. As such, make sure you research different agencies and identify what you like or dislike about each. Make a shortlist of candidates you prefer and cross off the ones that don’t meet your expectations. 

Find Out Whether They Travel

Hiring a court reporter that travels can be very convenient and ultimately more affordable than one that doesn’t. So, before choosing a court reporting agency to work with, be sure to inquire whether they travel or not. You may also want to find out what equipment they provide and the fees they charge. 

Check For Certification

Court reporters require certification to dispense their mandate. So if you are looking to hire an agency, check for this. 

Competence

When hiring a court reporting agency, you want to ensure they can produce accurate transcripts promptly. After all, this is the reason why you want to hire them in the first place. 

By following these guidelines, you will likely find an excellent court reporting agency that can deliver the results you are looking for. Get in touch with us if you need assistance.

As a paralegal or legal assistant, it is important to be able to utilize your time efficiently. This means being able to delegate certain tasks to other professionals so that you can focus on the more important aspects of your job.

The court reporting firm that you work with should be more than happy to assist you by taking on some of the responsibilities that can free up your time.

The following is a list of five tasks and why they make good delegation candidates:

Booking conference rooms

This task falls under the administrative portion of your daily responsibilities.

When you book a conference room for an attorney or client, you must ensure that all logistical details (e.g., location and entry codes) are confirmed in advance. You also need to record this information in your scheduling software and provide confirmation to both parties confirming the meeting.

By delegating this task to your court reporting firm, you will have the ability to avoid double-booking a room and wasting valuable time trying to rearrange schedules.

Preparing for depositions and hearings

As the paralegal or assistant, you are typically responsible for preparing the attorneys for depositions and hearings.

This includes collecting documents from the attorney and assembling them in a binder or folder in preparation for the event. It also requires that you review any important court decisions in advance, schedule a conference room, and ensure that there is sufficient space to accommodate everyone attending. Finally, it’s up to you to organize the documents according to relevance and sequence.

Preparing for a deposition or hearing can be a daunting task. Delegating this responsibility to your court reporting firm will take some of the pressure off of you and ensure that everything is handled in a timely and professional manner.

Handling any exhibits before the depositions or hearings

You must ensure that all exhibits are made ready in advance of the deposition or hearing. This includes making copies of the documents, removing staples and paperclips, inserting them in presentation covers (if needed), and labeling each one with exhibit stickers. There is also a need to make sure that you have enough copies of the exhibits.

Handle your legal video needs

Imagine you need video depositions and the only time your attorney can fit it in is on a weeknight. It’s up to you to either handle this request yourself or outsource the task to your court reporting firm. Most firms prefer that their clients provide them with as much notice as possible, but if you need something expedited, that’s where they step in and take care of everything for you.

The court reporting firm will make sure your videoconferencing, video depositions, and any other legal video needs are handled in a professional and timely manner.

Finding and scheduling all needed interpreters

Depending on the nature of your law practice, you may need to schedule interpreters for meetings or depositions involving foreign nationals who cannot speak English as their first language. You must then ensure that all logistical details (e.g., fees and availability) are confirmed in advance and documented so they can be provided to both parties prior to the meeting.

This task can be very time-consuming and difficult to manage, especially if you’re working on a tight deadline.

By delegating this responsibility to your court reporting firm, you can ensure that all required interpreters are scheduled and available for the date and time of your meeting.

Have you given any of the above tasks to your court reporting firm? If so, how has it affected your law practice?

There are many reasons behind delegating certain responsibilities. However, one must understand that not everything can be handed over to a third party and there is always the risk of losing control over certain aspects of your case. With this in mind, it is important to analyze your specific situation and determine which tasks can be delegated without putting your case at risk.