court reporting career

February 16, 2021 By Dawn Houghton

O’Brien & Bails Court Reporters Talk Benefits of a Court Reporting Career Flexibility, Freedom, and Fun

Have you ever wondered what stenographers like best about their career decision? What are the challenges the job brings? What is fun about your job? We sat down to hear what our court reporters all around the nation had to say about their chosen career path and we were blown away with the responses.

What do you like about your court reporting career?

I like the freedom of being self-employed and the flexible hours. Earning potential is based on my willingness to work and ability to finish transcripts in a timely manner, so I like to work hard!
Meeting fascinating people and going to interesting places and hearing intriguing stories.
The flexibility of working when I want and not know what the next day holds.
Meeting so many interesting people over the years, learning about so many different subject matters. Constantly challenging myself to become a better writer.
Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility.

What is one of the biggest challenges you face in your career?

Finding stretches and strengthening to counter the repetitive movements over so many years.
Keeping up with all the latest technology.
At the present time, a challenge I face in my career is being able to hear every single spoken word during remote depositions and distracting background noise from non-muted participants.
Anxiety – it never diminishes!

What was the funniest thing you experienced during a deposition (maintaining confidentiality)?

One of the defendants represented himself and was questioning a former employee. He was asking “Perry Mason” type questions until the witness finally yelled, “Yes, it’s true!! It’s all true!” One of the other defense attorneys fell off of his chair because he was laughing so hard. I had tears running down my face from laughter.
When I lived in LA I took the depo of a famous musician. It was a class action suit, so before she testified, another woman testified first. The famous musician sat at the end of the really long conference table to wait her turn. The musician fell asleep and started snoring, and nobody wanted to say anything.
The witness running away from the lawyer before we even started, and she was running after him to try to get him to testify.
There’s been a few times when the answer (meant to be comical) cracks up everyone in the room and both sides get the giggles.

Interested in learning more about court reporting? We would love to hear from you. Learn more about our court reporting services HERE or contact us at 800.878.8750.

October 13, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

Court Reporting as a Career

Many court reporters working today will tell you that court reporting has been a very good field for them throughout the course of their career. If you’re thinking about becoming a court reporter, you may have questions about whether court reporting is a good career to pursue. We think it is, and want to tell you some of the reasons we think court reporting is a great profession.

Job Description

If you’ve ever seen a stenographer in court or on movies and television shows, you may have wondered what they really do. A court reporter is the person who sits in the courtroom or in a deposition who takes down every spoken word during the proceedings. They prepare official transcripts for use by attorneys, judges and litigants. These transcripts are used as the official record of the events that took place during the deposition, hearing or trial. Court reporters are responsible for certifying that the content of the transcript is accurate and true to the best of their ability.

Education

To become a court reporter, one must go through a college program that teaches the skill of steno writing at a very high level of speed and accuracy. It can take two to five years to reach the level of skill that is required to receive certification to work as a court reporter. Reporters have to demonstrate that they can write at a speed of 225 words per minute with 97 percent accuracy.

Required Skills

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

Making the Record

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.

Technology Advancements

Over the years, technology has changed the way in which reporters do their job. 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 or theater. This skill is also used to caption live television shows, such as newscasts. Court reporting technology now often involves videoconferencing, live internet streams and specialized print programs for transcript formatting, just to name a few.

Lifestyle

So is court reporting a good profession? To help answer this question, we want to give you some of the benefits of being a court reporter. Court reporters who love their job will list some or all of these benefits.

Scheduling flexibility
Salary
Rewarding work
Crucial role in the legal industry
Variety of jobs available

Scheduling Flexibility

Most court reporters work from home offices when producing legal transcripts. The reporting firm assigns the reporter on a deposition assignment. The deposition may last from one hour to eight hours. Once finished, the court reporter returns to his or her home office to create the verbatim transcript. The portions of the job performed at home create a flexibility of schedule that many reporters enjoy.

Salary

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics quotes the median income of a court reporter in the United States in 2010 as $47,700. Salary.com quotes the median figure as $52,000. These are median figures. Some reporters make more and some make less. The salary can be dependent on the geographic area you live in, the type of court reporting you do, and the amount of hours you want to work each week. As a freelance reporter, if you want to make more, you can make yourself available for more depositions and work more hours. If you want to work part time, you will bring home less income but will be able to make a good income for the part-time hours you work.

Rewarding Work

Court reporters are at the center of the activity in a courtroom and in discovery depositions. They hear witnesses testify about all sorts of topics. They listen to interesting court cases. Every day brings different subject matter to work on. For instance, one day you could hear the details of a personal injury case where a witness was injured in a car accident. The next day you may be involved in a criminal case with witnesses testifying about a robbery they witnessed. This type of variety is what many court reporters enjoy.

Throughout a long career, a court reporter has many ways to continue to be challenged and grow as a professional. In the beginning, the challenge is to pursue training and education in order to prepare for initial certification. Here are just a few challenges that can help a reporter learn and grow:

Pursuing higher skill certification
Learning realtime reporting
Becoming a broadcast captioner
Exploring CART work with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community
Continuing education
Participating in state and national associations

A court reporter can mold his or her career in many different directions. Having access to continuing challenges helps a reporter to develop as a professional, as well as grow his or her career.

Crucial Role in the Legal Industry

A court reporter is responsible for keeping the official record. As an officer of the court, a court reporter acts as a representative of the court even in a deposition setting outside of the courtroom. He or she is also the person charged with swearing witnesses and administering the oath.

Court reporters are shown much respect from the legal community, be it attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants or judges. Court reporters earn this respect by taking very seriously the responsibilities imparted to them. Many reporters enjoy this earned respect and find it a pleasant environment to work in.

Diverse Professional Paths

We talk about court reporting as one profession. Within this one profession, there are many capacities in which a court reporter can work. Some of these areas are:

Official court reporter
Freelance court reporter
State bureau court reporter
Mediation and arbitration reporter
Realtime reporter
CART provider for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community
Live television broadcast captioners

If you’re thinking of a career in court reporting, the best action to take is to talk to a court reporter and see what they have to say about the profession. It is even a good idea to talk to more than one reporter so that you gain a balanced view of what the work is really like.

If you found this article interesting, you might also like “The Top 10 Skills of the Best Legal Assistants.”

September 10, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

Freelance Court Reporting Versus Official Court Reporting

When people ask what I do for a living and I respond, “I am a court reporter”, it usually merits one of these two questions:

“Which court do you work in?”
“So, you work in courtrooms like those people on Law & Order that I see typing on machines, right?”

But little do they know that there are actually two main types of court reporters, freelance reporters and official reporters and there is a huge difference between the two.

Freelance Court Reporters

Freelance court reporters can be considered independent contractors, which means you are technically “self-employed”, or employees, depending how the court reporting firm is structured. Freelancers work for court reporting agencies which are hired by law firms, attorneys, corporations and other organizations. These agencies work with freelancers to cover depositions, examinations under oath, hearings and board meetings.

Freelance court reporters are typically on-call. Most agencies call a reporter one day in advance of an assignment. One perk of being a freelancer is that you usually travel to different locations. Some reporters enjoy this aspect and prefer not to work in the same location every day. Another benefit of freelancing is that you get to return home after the job is done to work on transcription, and you can work comfortably in your own home. However, a downside of the job is that freelancers usually don’t receive benefits such as health insurance.

Official Court Reporters

Official court reporters are employed by the courts and are sometimes assigned to a particular judge or courtroom. They can cover a variety of court cases, from lower court cases to high-profile cases, depending on which district or court they work in. Many jurisdictions require official reporters to pass certifications, such as the RPR (Registered Professional Reporter) and CRR (Certified Realtime Reporter), that test their written knowledge and skills before qualifying to work in the courts. But even upon passing the required certifications, being accepted for an officialship normally takes time. It is common for reporters to wait years before being considered since courts receive a high volume of applicants. Many reporters desire an officialship since it offers more stability as opposed to freelancing. Official reporters have set salaries, set hours, and benefits such as health insurance and pensions. There are also opportunities to earn additional money on top of your set salary, such as when attorneys order transcripts.

In May 2012, Forbes listed a court reporter/stenographer position as one of the best paying jobs that do not require a four-year degree. There are many pros and cons to both positions as a freelance court reporter and an official court reporter. Being an official court reporter provides the stability that many freelancers covet. On the other hand, reporters who value their flexibility tend to enjoy being freelance court reporters.