Court Reporters

June 27, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

O’Brien and Bails Court Reporting Offers Online Transcript Ordering

At O’Brien and Bails, your Michigan court reporters, we are always looking for ways to bring more value to our clients. Anticipating your needs is one of our highest customer service priorities. We know there are times when you would like to order a deposition without calling our office. Whether it’s after hours or when it is not convenient to call, you may wish to have another way to order. We have been working on a project that will make it easier for you to order transcripts from us quickly and easily at any time of the day or night.

We are ready to unveil the O’Brien and Bails’ Online Transcript Order Form. When you’re ready to order a transcript, you can now do so online here at our website. Click the button entitled “Transcript Order Form”, and you will be taken to an ordering page. The following are some of the items you should know when ordering your transcript online. Not all are required, but it is helpful if you have as much information as you can when placing an order.

Attorney’s name
Email address
Phone number
Name of person submitting order
Date of deposition
Deponent’s name
Case caption
Date transcript is needed

Once you press the “Submit” button, we will receive your order. Our production staff will make sure your transcription is under way and delivered to you on time.

If this new way of ordering transcripts isn’t a fit for you, we are still very happy to speak with you on the phone and take your order for transcripts.

We appreciate you as a customer and want to offer you the ease and convenience of ordering your transcripts online.

If you would like to order your transcript online, you can do so here.

June 13, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

Does Contracting Compromise the Impartiality of a Court Reporter?

Within the last 20 years, a controversial practice has cropped up in the court reporting profession. Some court reporters have begun contracting exclusively with companies and organizations for large amounts of services. Many court reporters are against such contracting for ethical reasons.

The trend is found with consumers in need of large volumes of court reporting services, such as insurance companies, hospitals, and large corporations. These entities sometimes contract with specific court reporters directly.

Traditionally, court reporters are hired by attorneys representing clients involved in a lawsuit. With contracting, the practice has been that these large corporations and organizations are contracting directly with court reporting firms. The reporting firm who holds the contract will then deliver all the court reporting services needed by the company or organization.

This practice raises ethical questions that are frequently debated in the court reporting industry. Concerns involve the influence a contract-holder may have over the unbiased officer of the court, the court reporter. While this type of bulk buying of services is common in other industries, for court reporters, it may affect, or have the appearance of affecting, the specific duties and requirements of an officer of the court.

Court Reporter Impartiality

MCL 600.1491(1)(a) provides that a court reporter may not “enter into or arrange for any financial relationship that compromises the impartiality of court reporters… or that may result in the appearance that the impartiality of a court reporter…has been compromised.”

One of the highest responsibilities court reporters hold, as officers of the court, is to maintain impartiality.

An officer of the court is a person employed in specific positions in the legal system. Many people think only judges and attorneys are officers of the court. However, there are many other types of individuals who can be considered officers of the court, such as translators, investigators, bailiffs, court clerks and court reporters.

As an officer of the court, a court reporter makes an official record in the presence of a judge, or outside of a judge’s presence. Officers of the court have a duty to be impartial parties. Court reporters are charged with the responsibility of creating an unbiased, true and accurate record of proceedings.

With the practice of offering contracts to insurance companies and companies needing large amounts of services, that impartiality comes into question. Can a court reporter who is engaged in a special-rates contract with one party be considered as impartial? Contracting runs the risk of placing a court reporter in some potentially difficult positions.

For instance, if an attorney feels a portion of the record has not been transcribed accurately and requests changes be made to the transcript, traditionally a court reporter would check the transcript, compare it to the steno notes, and make a determination if an error has been made. If the reporter feels no error has been made, the reporter stands by the transcript as the official record.

With court reporters who contract large amounts of services to one company or organization, this situation may put the court reporter in an extremely difficult position. The court reporter may feel a certain level of obligation to the contracting attorney to make changes to the record. The reporter might fear jeopardizing the contract, which is likely worth thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars to his or her court reporting firm. Might there be undue pressure placed on the court reporter in this type of circumstance that places bias on the court reporter? Is even just the appearance of undue influence a problem for the court reporting industry?

The debate continues over this controversial issue in the court reporting industry. O’Brien and Bails does not participate in contracting for bulk services specifically because of these ethical concerns.

If this article interests you, you might also be interested in “9 Ethics Guidelines For Court Reporting Firm Owners“.

For a more comprehensive view on court reporting ethics from our perspective, download this free report: “Thoughts on Court Reporter Ethics: From a Court Reporting Firm Owner”.

May 24, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

9 Ethics Guidelines for Court Reporting Firm Owners

It has been said that it is easier to know how to do the right thing if you have a code of ethics to follow. In court reporting, there is a code of ethics for court reporters but not necessarily a written code for court reporting firm owners. Owners of court reporting firms have an entirely different set of ethical situations that are likely to arise. We’ve thought of nine ethical codes that could be applied by court reporting firm owners.

Ethics of Court Reporting Firm Owners

A court reporting firm and its owners shall:

Protect the record. Court reporters are officers of the court. Court reporters and firm owners must ensure that the firm and the firm’s court reporters are independent, impartial keepers of the record.
Disallow any appearance of impropriety. Disclose any contracts with any party to the case on the record at each deposition, including special rates charged to the party to the contract. This is required in the State of Michigan pursuant to MCL 600.1490-1493.
Charge each party in the litigation fairly and according to the laws of the state for transcripts and other court reporting fees.Reporters in the State of Michigan must follow the 2/3rds rule for transcripts as set out in MCL 600.1491 (2)(b), i.e., you cannot be charged more than 2/3rds the cost of the original for a copy.
Do not sell the reporter’s transcript, unbeknownst to the reporter, for the financial benefit of the firm owner at the expense of the court reporter. As keeper of the record, the reporter is an officer of the court and should be fairly compensated.
Require a court reporter to transcribe back-ordered transcripts.Only proceed with transcribing the reporter’s notes if the reporter is unavailable due to death, disability, or if the reporter cannot be reached after due diligence. If the firm has to have another reporter transcribe the proceedings, indicate on the certificate page who the transcribing reporter is to sustain the integrity of the record. Never indicate the original reporter transcribed the deposition if they have not done so.
Regularly reinforce the practice of ethical behavior with reporters and provide ethics training. It is important for a firm’s reporters to know their firm owner is 100% behind the ethical behavior of their firm.
Avoid the appearance of impropriety by excessive gift giving. Gift giving should not exceed $25 per incidence and $100 aggregate for the year for each client per IRS guidelines, and some clients’ firms discourage gift giving of any kind. Court reporting firms should be cognizant of the risk they put their clients in when they exceed this ethical amount. Gifts should never be given on a quid pro quo for work given. Repeat customer incentive programs are examples of “pay for work given” and should not be offered.
Educate clients regarding the consequences of excessive gift giving and the potential tax implications to their client of such gift giving. The gift may be considered as property of the attorney’s client, not property of the attorney or staff. There may also be tax implications to an attorney’s firm if an attorney and/or legal assistant for the firm is accepting gifts and not reporting such on their tax returns.
Refuse to assist in deposition or trial strategy for either party to a lawsuit while simultaneously providing the court reporting services for the case. There should be a complete separation of the trial technology business and the court reporting services business so there is no appearance of the court reporting firm appearing to be working for one side to the detriment of the other in a case.

For more on court reporting ethics from our perspective, download this free report: “Thoughts on Court Reporter Ethics: From a Court Reporting Firm Owner”.

May 22, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

Court Reporter Ethics and Judgment Calls: What Should You Do?

Over the course of your court reporting career, there will be times when you will be faced with situations that require you to make a judgment call. When choosing the right action to take, it helps to be familiar with a code of ethics. By reviewing a code of ethics, you will be able to more easily make the right decision. Here are a few situations you may face sometime in your career. Many of these types of situations are addressed in the National Court Reporters Association Code of Ethics.

Can You Deliver?

You are a new court reporter and are assigned to a deposition. When you get to the deposition, the attorneys inform you the witness is a doctor and the case is a medical malpractice case. You have never taken a malpractice deposition and are worried it might be above your skill level. What should you do?

Solution: When you are in a situation where you feel your skill level does not match the assignment, you should call your court reporting firm and explain the situation. A good court reporting firm will find a court reporter who is able to successfully complete the deposition. First and foremost, it is your responsibility to ensure the testimony is recorded accurately and that the record is protected.

Too Sick to Work

You wake up feeling very sick and unable to leave your home. You have a deposition scheduled at 10:00 a.m. and know you can’t make it. What should you do?

Solution: If you work for a court reporting firm, call your firm and ask that another court reporter be assigned. Most court reporting firms will have someone always available to take such emergency calls and schedule another reporter to take the deposition.

Independent reporters may not have the luxury of this type of backup. In that case, you should find another court reporter who is available and can take the deposition for you. If the deposition is of a technical nature, be sure to schedule a reporter that you know has the skill to complete the assignment. Your highest responsibility is to always ensure that the deposition testimony is being recorded accurately by a qualified court reporter.

When to Let Go

Once you transcribe a deposition, you keep the steno notes and a copy of the transcript for your records in case there is ever a back order. But you work from a small home office, and your closet is running out of room. You would like to free up some space by getting rid of some of those old notes and transcripts. What should you do?

Solution: Many states have different retention policies for shorthand notes. Various state and federal courts will also have retention policies. It is good to become familiar with these various retention policies for jurisdiction in which you do business.

The National Court Reporters Association’s Code of Professional Ethics states:

“Preserve the shorthand notes in accordance with statute or court order, or otherwise for a period of no less than five (5) years through storage of the original paper notes or an electronic copy of either the shorthand notes or the English transcript of the notes on computer disks, cassettes, backup tape systems, or optical or laser disk systems.”

Many good reporting firms are also able to provide storage capabilities. It is a good idea to have backups in several locations so in case of a hardware failure, you will be able to access your notes and dictionary.

Timely Service

You have had an unusually busy month, taking depositions every day. A few transcripts are due in 10 days. The rest of the transcripts have no specific due date. You usually have all transcripts finished within 10 business days, but there are so many transcripts right now that there is no way you will be able to finish all of them in 10 business days. What should you do?

Solution: Even though you haven’t been given a specific date by which the attorney will need the transcript, you should plan on delivering all transcripts to clients no later than two weeks. If you have enough backlog that you will start missing this reasonable time, you should ask your firm to stop scheduling you until you can catch up. If you are an independent court reporter, you should begin to call your network of court reporters and make arrangements for another reporter to take future depositions until you can catch up on transcription.

Stay Relevant

You have been building a very successful career in court reporting for several years now. You know there is new technology and new writing techniques out there but you haven’t had time to dig into any of these new areas. What should you do?

Solution: To stay relevant in the field of court reporting, you need to continually learn new things and improve your skills. You should stay up-to-date on new technologies. if you do not, you are in serious danger of becoming a dinosaur. Technology changes quickly, and you will be outdated faster than you think. It is a good habit to continue to add to your body of knowledge on all areas of court reporting, such as punctuation and grammar skills, the business of court reporting, new realtime and shorthand techniques and technology.

Michigan’s state association, Michigan Association of Professional Court Reporters, is a great source for reporters to gain knowledge in the court reporting industry, and they regularly put on seminars related directly to court reporters’ software, which is a very cost-effective way to learn about the updates in your software programs, allowing you to become more efficient in producing your transcripts.

Involvement Required

You have been reporting for a few years now and are very busy. You know there are court reporting associations at state and national levels. You find most of the reporters you know are in one or more associations or court reporting groups. You just don’t know if they are usefull to you personally. What should you do?

Solution: It’s time to join organizations and attend some events and meetings. You will find many resources that will be of direct benefit to you. Professional organizations are a place where the future of an industry and integrity of an industry is discussed. Activities and initiatives are often in existence that protect the profession and further advance the industry in many ways. These are all of benefit to you as a court reporter working in the industry.

Everyday Ethics

Your ethics govern your thought process so that when a problem arises or you need to try and work your way through a situation, your solution is based on your ethics. Having a standard of ethics that governs us each day of our lives means we always know how we are to act no matter what. It is important as court reporters to remind ourselves of what it is we stand for.

For more on court reporting ethics from our perspective, download this free report: “Thoughts on Court Reporter Ethics: From a Court Reporting Firm Owner”.

May 20, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

11 Questions a Court Reporter Should Ask Before Working for a Firm

How should a court reporter decide which court reporting firm to work for?

In today’s world, every industry has companies that are well-managed and mismanaged, as well as companies that operate with good ethics and those that do not. The legal and court reporting industry is no different.

When you decide to work for a company, it is important to know what to expect from the job. It is equally as important to realize that the stability of your job and your reputation could be at risk due to the business practices and ethics of the company.

In the hiring process, we typically think of the interviewee as the person who has to answer the most questions and justify why the firm should offer them the job. Of course, it is ultimately the court reporting firm who decides if they would like to offer a position to the court reporter.

However, from personal experience, I’ve learned that it is a good idea for a court reporter to take some time upfront to know more about the firm before they accept the job (whether they are going to be an employee of the firm or an independent who takes deposition work when it is available).

With over 30 years of personal experience in this industry, I am passionate about this topic.

I have personally been a court reporter since 1983. During the first 23 years, I was a court reporter and worked for 3 different court reporting firms. Since 2006, I have been the owner of O’Brien & Bails and have still been an active court reporter working with clients.

Not only have I been both a court reporter and a firm owner, but I’ve also observed how others approach their job and business. I have interacted with hundreds of court reporting firm owners and court reporters across our nation. I have networked with them and even done business with many of them. Since O’Brien & Bails provides nationwide court reporting scheduling services, I regularly outsource work to court reporting firms around the nation to cover our clients’ out-of-state depositions. Many of these firms have outsourced work to us.

This experience has given me the opportunity to observe the many differences in how court reporting firm owners run their business, along with the positive and negative impacts of those differences. Many firms have thrived and done well. Others have suffered and gone out of business.

Court reporting firms can have many differences. Some of the possible differences include:

Services provided
Methods to provide the services
How the court reporters are paid
What the court reporters’ responsibilities include
Ethics or lack thereof
Internal operations
Marketing strategy

To make a good decision, it is important that a court reporter be fully aware of how the firm operates before choosing to work for that firm.

Here are 11 Questions a Court Reporter Should Ask Before Deciding to Work for a Court Reporting Firm:

How will I be paid? If it is a percentage, define whether the percentage is figured on the whole invoice or is a percentage of the appearance and page rates. It does make a difference in the rate the court reporter is paid on how this is structured.
Will you pay me on just the initial transcript order or on all back orders and/or future orders? Define whether the firm considers the transcript the court reporter’s work product and will be paying on all back orders and future orders of that transcript.
Do you reimburse your court reporters for mileage? If so, what is your policy? Many firms do not charge mileage on a standard basis but may pay mileage to the reporter if they ask the reporter to go an unusually long distance.
What extra charges may be included in the invoice total that is considered the office’s charges, such as exhibits, scheduling fees, postage and handling fees, etc.? Knowing this detail upfront will avoid any miscommunication in the future.
When will I be paid on my work? There are many different structures on this issue, such as being paid on a two-week delay, one-month delay, or being paid when the client pays the firm. Being aware of how you will be paid will avoid any discontent down the road.
What are your accounts receivables procedures? How long does it typically take for your firm to be paid by your clients? These questions should be asked if you are being paid when the client pays the firm. This will give you confidence whether the firm has the correct procedures in place to ensure you will get paid as promptly as possible.
How are jobs distributed between the reporters? There are many factors that go into assigning a particular reporter on a job. Knowing what to expect upfront can alleviate any concerns the reporter may have.
What is your stance on contracting? In the State of Michigan, if a court reporting firm has a blanket contract with an insurance company, law firm, corporation, or hospital, the individual court reporter certified in the State of Michigan is required to disclose, on the record, at each deposition, the existence of any contract that exists for any party to the case, and they are also required to disclose the page rate being charged to the contracting party.
What are your gift-giving policies? If the gift-giving is excessive, it may be against the NCRA Code of Professional Ethics and could be against the law in some states. This could put the individual reporter in a compromised position.
What is your marketing strategy? If the firm has a proactive and consistent marketing strategy that is enabling them to retain their clients and attract new business, they are more likely to have consistent work for their reporters.
Would you give me the names and phone numbers of 2-3 court reporters to ask them about their experience working for your firm? This may be the most important question of the 11. Of course, with the internet and your network, you could easily find reporters that work for the firm and ask if what you are being told lines up with what they have experienced. But it’s good to ask your interviewer to see how they will respond. If they do not want you to speak with some of their reporters, it could be a sign that they are not telling you the truth and may not run their business with high ethics.

We hope these questions will help you think of what to ask when you are considering working for a court reporting firm.

What do you think? Do you agree? Have anything to add about these 11 questions? What other questions do you think would be good?

For more on court reporting ethics from our perspective, download this free report: “Thoughts on Court Reporter Ethics: From a Court Reporting Firm Owner”.