Is Court Reporting a Good Career Choice?

Transcription

1 Is Court Reporting a Good Career Choice? (from the view of a court reporting firm owner) by Susan Brown-Kay

2 About Susan Brown-Kay Upon graduating from Marquette University with her Master s in Business, a decision had to be made, work for a big corporate empire or continue to work in a field she loved. The choice was easy. Start a court reporting company and use all her unique talents to create a great company. Twenty-six years later, Susan continues to enjoy the court reporting profession, albeit ever-changing, with her partner, Jane Jones. Susan has served on the Wisconsin Court Reporters Association as editor for seven years, board member for six years, and is currently President. She continues to be very active on the national level for the National Court Reporters Association, attending Leadership and Legislative training programs. Her leadership skills extend outside of her field of reporting. Having been on the Board of the Oconomowoc Area School Board for the past 12 years, she currently serves as Vice President; and as of October of 2011, is the first woman to serve as Commodore of the Okauchee Lake Yacht Club. On the Brown & Jones Court Reporting blog and other court reporting and legal-related websites, Susan contributes problem solving articles for legal professionals. About Brown & Jones Reporting, Inc. Brown & Jones Reporting, established in 1987, provides certified court reporters and certified legal videographers for the State of Wisconsin. Clients rely on us for our commitment to excellence and the personal attention that distinguishes our court reporting services. The professionalism that distinguishes Brown & Jones extends to our complimentary conference facilities, which are available to clients at our downtown Milwaukee office. The light-filled spaces accommodate from 6 to 20 with state-of-the-art technology. Clients are welcome to reserve these rooms for meetings, depositions and videoconferences in conjunction with our court reporting services. Supported by our fullservice office and personalized hospitality, Brown & Jones' conference center is ready to be your Wisconsin Deposition Headquarters.

3 Is Court Reporting a Good Career Choice? 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. What does a court reporter do? If you've ever seen a court 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 court room 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 what they transcribed is accurate and true to the best of their ability. What preparation does a reporter go through to begin a career in court reporting? To become a court reporter, one must go through college programs that teach 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. What does it take to be a court reporter? Court reporters need excellent communication, along with organizational and time management skills. Reporters need to possess the ability to work in a high-pressure environment. They must be able 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.

4 Who hires a court reporter? Attorneys and corporations hire freelance reporters when they have a need for an accurate and complete record of proceedings, such as depositions, board of directors meetings, stockholder minutes or other legal proceedings. How do court reporters make 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. What technology do court reporters need to know? 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, specialized print programs for transcript formatting, just to name a few. The court reporting profession is a quiet one. Reporters are often in the background, patiently taking down every word that is spoken, sometimes working in very difficult, emotional and trying circumstances, but always protecting the record. They know how important the role is that they play in the legal system, and are proud to be the keepers of the record.

5 Benefits of being a court reporter 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. Flexibility and freedom of schedule Income level Interesting and challenging work Respected in the legal community Variety of jobs available Flexibility and Freedom of Schedule Most freelance 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 their home office to create the verbatim transcript. The portions of the job performed at home create a flexibility of schedule that many reporters enjoy. Income 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. Interesting and Challenging Work Throughout a long career, a court reporter has many ways to continue to be challenged and to grow as a professional. In the beginning, the challenge is to pursue training and education in order to prepare for initial certification.

6 Here are just a few challenges that can help a reporter learn and grow: Pursuing the various certifications available 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 can help a reporter to develop as a reporter, as well as grow his or her career. Respected 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. Variety of Career 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 Mediations and arbitrations reporter Realtime reporter CART provider for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community Live television broadcast captioners

7 Court Reporting Education So you've decided you want to be a court reporter. Now comes the task of finding a program that fits you and the goals you are trying to accomplish. But where do you start? How do you find programs that are reputable and will allow you to successfully learn the skills required to become a court reporter? The National Court Reporters Association works to provide guidelines and requirements for court reporting educational programs. Working with the U.S. Department of Education, NCRA's purpose is to ensure that good quality programs are available to potential students. They know that students need to have a way to find good programs and learn more about them so that they can choose one that's right for them. How does school program accreditation and certification work? NCRA Works with the U.S. Department of Education to establish a list of qualities a program must possess in order to receive accreditation. NCRA has established the Council on Approved Student Education (CASE), an organization which establishes the General Requirements and Minimum Standards (GRMS). This set of standards is the test each program is run through to receive their accreditation and become a school that is NCRA Certified. As you begin to investigate programs, ask your educational institution whether they are NCRA certified. If they are, you can rest assured that this program is credible and offers a valid program. Not only does NCRA help programs receive certification, they also have created a list of programs in the United States that are available for you to choose from. Go to to see all of the accredited and approved court reporting programs in the country. There are also a couple in Canada that are accredited and certified by NCRA. Court reporting can be a very good professional career choice. However, don't take it from us. Find court reporters in your area and ask them what they like about their profession. You will likely hear many of the items we have listed for you here. Many court reporters stay in the profession for decades and continue to enjoy the many benefits and challenges of a court reporting career.