Court Reporting – Page 10

January 5, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

Every Day in Court Reporting Is Different

O’Brien & Bails isn’t just another court reporting firm. We are made up of individual people who happen to be Michigan court reporters. We thought we would take some time to let you get to know our court reporters.

Yvonne Lantz has been a court reporter since 1972. She has been with O’Brien and Bails since 1992, and is based out of our Lansing, Michigan office.

How long have you been a court reporter?

Since 1972.

How long have you been with O’Brien and Bails?

Since September 1992.

Have you ever worked in other jobs or fields besides court reporting?

Only the usual high school and college jobs, such as at a drive-in, in the high school office, at a local radio station, and worked for a pharmacy professor while in college.

Where did you grow up?

My first 11 years were in Belleville, Michigan, then we moved to Niles, Michigan

What changes have you seen in the industry since you became a court reporter?

Transcripts were produced by either dictating or typing it yourself. We had to use carbon sets, up to four or five pages at a time, and then manually try to put corrections in the typed document. Computer-aided transcription and realtime have been wonderful advances.

What is the best part of being a court reporter?

Every day is different, especially as a freelancer. I like going to different places, working with different people, and learning something new almost every day.

What is the most challenging part of being a court reporter?

Trying to keep up with people talking at the same time, especially when attorneys are arguing.

As a court reporter, what is your biggest fear?

That I will show up at a job and have my equipment malfunction.

What has been your most challenging deposition?

There have been quite a few, from veterinarians at MSU, physicians in all kinds of specialties, even a young five-year-old boy who wanted to crawl around under the table when being asked questions.

Have you ever had funny things happen to you in a deposition?

There have been quite a few over the years, but I can’t remember them all. One time I was in a burned home with an attorney who was inventorying what was left.

On one case, the attorneys were all very friendly with each other and would joke around a lot. I remember a younger attorney commenting to an older attorney that he looked great, and that he hoped he would look as good when he was the same age. Another attorney piped up, “No, that’s impossible.” When the younger attorney responded, “Why?”, the reply was, “You don’t look that good now!”

Do you have any tips about work/life balance?

Just try to keep the right priorities, but it can be difficult when the office is really busy.

If you would like to schedule a deposition with Yvonne Lantz or one of O’Brien and Bails’ professional court reporters, you can do so by going to our Online Deposition Scheduler.

December 12, 2012 By Dawn Houghton

Time Management Tips for Court Reporters

Most court reporters spend a large part of their time working independently with the ability to flex some of their schedule. While this lends flexibility that most court reporters enjoy, it also means we are responsible for our own time management with many deadlines to meet. Sometimes meeting all of those deadlines can seem daunting and overwhelming.

To help tackle the overwhelm, here are some time management tips that will help you keep yourself organized and moving forward, accomplishing more work in less time.

Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day.

Don’t start your day until you’ve completed your plan for how you will spend your time. For instance, are you going to work on editing your latest transcript first, then switch to proofreading later in the morning? Will you edit until the entire transcript is finished before switching tasks? Making decisions at the beginning of your day will allow you to easily move from one task to the next without hesitation.

Take five minutes before every task to decide what result you want to attain.

This will help you know what success looks like before you start. Take five minutes after each task to determine whether your desired result was achieved. If not, what was missing? What do you need to bring the task to completion?

Put up a “Do not disturb” sign when you absolutely have to get work done.

When I’m working in my home office and close my door, my family knows they are to let me work without disruption. Whether your office is in a traditional setting or a home office, it’s amazing how much you can get done when you are not being interrupted.

Resist answering the phone every time it rings.

Don’t answer email as soon as it shows up. Disconnect instant messaging. Don’t instantly give people your attention unless it’s absolutely crucial. Instead, schedule a time to answer email and return phone calls. Eliminating these constant interruptions can do wonders for boosting your productivity.

Break large, time-consuming tasks into smaller tasks.

Work on large tasks a few minutes at a time until you get them done. This works for large tasks as well as tasks you find yourself procrastinating over. For instance, when it’s time to organize my tax receipts, I know I would dread sitting down and going through all of them at once. So I have set up a plan, after consulting with my accountant, to spend a few minutes every week entering data. Spending a few minutes each week makes it easier to accomplish, and that way, I stay up-to-date.

Know when you work best.

Are you a morning person? Then plan your priority tasks for the morning. Not sure when you work your best? Discover your best time by monitoring your productivity over a period of time. Once you find your best time, set your schedule to keep your best time free for your most important work. I know that I need to do proofreading in the morning, because I am often not as fresh in the afternoon and find it difficult to stay on task. But in the morning, I can get through many pages easily and know I didn’t miss anything.

Know how you work best.

I like to alternate between standing and sitting when I do my proofing. I have a stand-up desk to make it easier for me to stay fresh and alert. If I get too comfortable as I’m proofing, I find I am not as engaged as I need to be. I sometimes set a timer so I don’t forget to change positions.

We all have our own time management skills that work for us. Adding a new skill from time to time will help you make the most of the time you do have and allow you to be more productive and less stressed.

December 7, 2012 By Dawn Houghton

What Does a Court Reporter Do?

When I tell someone I’m a court reporter, often I’m asked, “What is that?” It’s difficult to explain what I do in a short sentence. To help describe what I do, I often hold my hands in front of me, as though on a keyboard, and say, “You know, the person with the little machine who sits in front of the judge in court.” And the person I am speaking to often says, “Oh, yes”. But there’s much more I’d like to tell them about what a court reporter does. So if you have ever wondered what a court reporter does, here is my answer.

First, I can tell you what we are not. We are not the person who reports on news for TV stations. We are not that kind of court news reporter.

Maker of the Record

We are the person who sits in the court room or in a deposition who takes down every spoken word and detail during the proceedings. We prepare official transcripts of the sworn testimony for use by attorneys, judges and litigants. These transcripts are used as the official record of the events that took place during the hearing or trial. We are responsible for certifying that what has been entered is accurate and true to the best of our ability.

Skilled Professional

To become a court reporter, we have gone through college programs that teach us the skill of steno writing at a very high level of speed and accuracy. It can take 2 to 5 years to reach the level of skill that is required to receive certification to work as a court reporter. We have to demonstrate that we can write at a speed of 225 words per minute with 97 percent accuracy.

Court reporters need excellent communication, organizational and time management skills. We have the ability to work in a high-pressure environment. We know how to work under a deadline. The documents we prepare are the only account of the court proceedings and are vital to the credibility of the judicial system. We take this responsibility very seriously.

Attorneys and corporations hire freelance reporters when they have a need for an accurate and complete record of proceedings, such as depositions, board of director meetings, stockholder minutes or other legal proceedings.

Talented Technicians

Court reporters use a computer and stenotype machine to take down the spoken words they hear. The stenotype machine allows the reporter to use a form of shorthand by using sounds of words to record data. The computer uses software called computer-aided transcription to translate the information into English.

Court reporters are using more advanced technology to provide instant transcription in rough draft form on computer screens while the proceeding is in session. This is called realtime translation. This technology is also used to allow the deaf and hard-of-hearing community access to what is happening in a live classroom, meeting, church or theater. This skill is also used to caption live television shows, such as newscasts.

Our profession is a quiet one. We are always in the background, patiently taking down every word that is spoken, sometimes working in very difficult, emotional and trying circumstances, but we always protect the record. We know how important the role is that we play in the legal system, and we are proud to be the keepers of the record.

If you like this post, you might also be interested in this interview with Nicole Roe on her thoughts about being a court reporter.

November 15, 2012 By Dawn Houghton

Michigan Court Reporters on Facebook

You may have noticed O’Brien and Bails now has a Facebook page. Our goal is to reach out in new ways to serve our community. We want to open new channels of communication with you. To accomplish that goal, we are contributing to our blog regularly and working to provide good, useful information for you. We’re also stepping up our Facebook presence with the O’Brien and Bails Facebook Business Page.

Why Facebook? There are a couple good reasons we decided to jump into social media. One, we want to keep in touch with you. We know many of you are on Facebook and we want to meet you there. Our page will be a place to share what’s happening at O’Brien and Bails and what’s happening with our reporters, clients, friends and community.

We are also sharing our blog posts on our Facebook page. That same good information we are creating for you on our blog post, we will be putting on Facebook too. That way, you have immediate access if you “Like” our page. You may see some of our articles that interest you and will be able to click on them and go directly to the article. It’s one more way we can serve our clients and community.

Keeping in touch with you is very important to us. Stop on by and say hello! You can find us at http://facebook.com/obrienandbails. “Like” our page. Once you do, you will see our updates in your own Facebook news stream. That means, when you come to Facebook, from time to time you will see us in the mix with your friends and family updates.

Watch out for more changes at O’Brien and Bails as we continue to implement new ways to serve you, our community.

November 8, 2012 By Dawn Houghton

The Secret to Finding Michigan Court Reporters on the First Call

call Michigan court reporters How many times have you called to hire a court reporter for a deposition only to find out the court reporter you called was not available on the date you requested? Most likely your next step was to call another reporter, and another, and another until you found one that was available.

This chore of hunting for an available reporter can be time consuming and waste your precious resources that you could be using for more important tasks in running your law firm.

Wouldn’t it be better if you could make one phone call and always know you will be able to schedule a reporter for your deposition with that one call? You can! There is a way.

The secret to finding a court reporter on the first call is to call a court reporting firm that employs a large number of reporters and one that has a large network of independent reporters they work with. Find one of these firms and use them for all of your deposition needs. Here’s why this secret works.

Safety in Numbers

As the owner of a large court reporting firm, my goal is to have a reporter available every time a law firm calls to schedule a deposition. I can do this using two major strategies. One, I employ a large number of court reporters. Two, I have cultivated a network of independent reporters and other small court reporting firms.

Let’s start with the first strategy. O’Brien and Bails employs 15 court reporters. I have 15 chances of having someone available when you call to schedule a deposition. We can have 15 different depositions scheduled in one day and still cover all of them.

Strong Networks

Over the years, I have spent a lot of time cultivating friendships and working relationships with other court reporters. I have a network of independent court reporters from all over the state. I have even cultivated friendships and working relationships with reporters from other states. Having this network in place means that, should you call and need a reporter tomorrow, and all of my reporters are already scheduled, I and my staff have a large pool of independent reporters we can begin contacting until we find one that is available for your deposition.

Often a large firm offers this service because we know your time is valuable. We know it’s frustrating to have to place many calls to schedule a court reporter. We know we can quickly find you good qualified reporters, even if your deposition is out of town. It’s one of the many ways we can add value for our clients.

The next time you schedule a deposition, call a large court reporting agency. Their ability to say yes every time you call means you won’t waste precious time with this task when you could be using your time more efficiently. Calling a large court reporting agency saves you time and money.

To easily schedule a deposition with O’Brien and Bails, go to our online Deposition Scheduler. Our scheduler allows you to schedule a deposition at your convenience, 24/7.