It’s no secret that the litigation industry is currently experiencing a shortage of court reporters. This shortage was caused by many factors: Increased litigation and new fast-growing areas of law, the dwindling court reporter graduation rates due to the trend of steering students over the last few decades to four-year college degrees, the threat of artificial intelligence, and an uptick of reporter retirements due to an aging workforce. Years later, these and other factors have impacted the reporting profession.
The court reporter shortage poses a real challenge to many, but none more so than litigators and corporate counsel. This is the time for attorneys to be proactive to ensure that their court reporting needs will be met with quality reporters and accurate record keeping. Here are 3 steps that attorneys can take to avoid issues caused by the reporter shortage:
1. Schedule your court reporters as soon as possible after notice.
Attorneys who schedule depositions immediately will have more success securing a quality reporter for their depositions. Last-minute scheduling can result in no reporter being available. The chances that you can secure a court reporter with specialized knowledge or vocabulary, especially when litigating complex issues, is significantly increased when scheduling early. A reporter who is familiar with highly technical terms and phrases can ensure a deposition flows efficiently. An experienced and savvy reporter guarantees the level of accuracy that your attorneys expect and deserve.
2. Team with a reporting firm that works with top tier court reporters.
Working with an experienced reporting firm will prevent unforeseen scheduling headaches and ensures that your reporters will be accurate, timely, and, most importantly, reliable. You can count on the reporter being punctual and ready to work at the scheduled time. Reporting firms provide professional, experienced certified reporters that take their duty as an officer of the court very seriously. They have the confidence to speak up and ask questions if the question, answer, or a certain term is unclear so that the record is as exact as possible. This is an added element of accuracy, accountability, and follow-up that you can only get with a live reporter. Furthermore, the reporter will be timely in regards to turnaround time with the transcripts.
A reputable reporting firm and their reporters have a great amount of respect for the attorney and client’s time.
3. Confirm the reporting firm has the resources necessary to provide the most efficient deposition experience possible.
Court reporting firms that understand and embrace today’s reporting technologies bring custom-designed solutions to the most complex situations, such as:
- Remote mobile videoconferencing and traditional videoconferencing capabilities which allow attorneys to save significant time and expense by connecting key witnesses or experts directly via TV’s, PC’s, Macs, Tablets, and Smartphones.
- The ability to stream testimony during the proceedings allowing attorneys to review the transcribed text in real time.
- A full-service support team devoted to delivering court reporters AND attorneys with the technological resources to handle each aspect of your deposition.
- A video department which can provide picture-in-picture and high definition capability that may catch aspects of the deposition that a written record may not. They also have the ability to add digital exhibits to video and live testimony.
- A secure web-based repository to host transcripts and exhibits with 24/7 accessibility.
The good news is that you can count on court reporting firms like KusarGlobal Litigation Services to be hard at work in an effort to mitigate the effects the shortage has on you and provide you with accurate court reporting that you can rely on.
For more information on scheduling a court reporter, mobile or video conference deposition, or securing a conference room contact KusarGlobal Litigation Services at 877.465-2822 or calendar@kusarglobal.com.
