Court reporting firms are relied upon by various types of
clients such as law firms, educational institutions, Fortune 500 companies, and
governmental agencies to provide top-notch court reporters who are highly
skilled in complex litigation, hearings, arbitrations, and all types of
meetings and public hearings. Most firms focused on providing a full range of
services that include realtime court reporting, centralized scheduling, billing
and archiving, world class transcripts, on time delivery, scheduling of
complimentary conference rooms, videography, videoconferencing and
teleconferencing.
There are some points to be considered when choosing a court
reporting firm in order to ensure that you get the highest level of
reliability, quality and experience.
Expertise of Court Reporters
Aside from the minimum qualification of a CCR license, there
are other essential qualities that a court reporter should have:
Excellent vocabulary and strong grasp of grammar rules to be
able to recognize, process, and spell tricky terms that are commonly used in a court
room, business meeting or government hearing.
Basic knowledge of the court system to be able to perform
official acts such as swearing in witnesses and marking exhibits.
Above-average computer skills to be able to operate digital
recording and audio equipment, and also proficiency in computer programs and
technical skills to be able to quickly troubleshoot problems on location.
Quality Transcripts
Make sure that court reporting firms provide high quality
transcripts that comply with the minimum transcript format standards set forth
in state or local rules of court or following the guidelines set by the state
licensure board. Most important of all, they
must guarantee the accuracy of information and that the record is free of
errors, gaffes, and omissions.
Good Reputation
Check out their body of work and referrals and if they are
associated with reputable law firms, legal professionals and industry leaders
in the country. Court reporting firms that have a number of years of experience
usually have a long list of highly regarded clientele that use their services
again and again.
Professional Support
The best court reporting firms are known to provide
excellent customer service. Support service is set up with friendly,
professional and real, live people that are on-call to chat or speak with you,
particularly for last-minute scheduling needs. They provide direct personalized
service to ensure that each client’s needs are met and their expectations are
exceeded while maintaining the highest degree of integrity. Also make sure that
procedures are in place to easily contact them and they provide confirmation or
touch base with you immediately after you schedule for any service.
Flexibility
You’d also want to take into consideration that the firm is
able to provide services in the areas that you need. Many court reporting firms
advertise that they cover state-wide or nationwide depositions, but are they
able to do so even if they do not have
actual physical locations in those towns? Many agencies offer offsite court
reporters who can travel and can meet requirements for remote depositions in
several locations.
In order to be successful and to ensure repeat business that
will bring in a steady income, many court reporters today choose to become
affiliated with one or more court reporting firms, either as an independent
contractor or as an employee of one firm. This strategic partnership enables an individual independent court reporter to have access to resources that
otherwise he cannot afford and position him to provide clients with more and
better services.