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7 Tips for Choosing a Court Reporter

stenographer at work

An attorney has many choices when it comes to choosing a court reporter. Here are our tips for choosing the best court reporter for your case’s needs.

1. Choose a Certified Reporter

Court reporters go through extensive training before becoming certified. When choosing a court reporter, it’s important to consider the type of training the reporter underwent as well as whether they passed the three-part licensing exam. The most reputable court reporters attend a state-approved school, requiring three to four years of training, and hold memberships in professional organizations. 

2. Choose an Experienced Reporter 

What does a court reporter do? is not as simple a question as attorneys may think. Some court reporters handle only trials, while others only have experience at depositions. When choosing a court reporter, it’s important to confirm the type of services a court reporter provides. Ask the reporter if they have a preference and determine whether that works for your particular case. At Aptus Court Reporting, our Calendar and Client Services team brings over 35 years of commitment and attentiveness to your deposition calendar. We provide not only trial and deposition services, but dedicated case management, online scheduling, and location research. 

3. Choose a Reporter with Industry-Standard Fees

Some court reporters charge a rate per page, while others charge appearance fees. These costs vary depending on the region or state and on the types of services provided. Keep in mind that additional services may be included in the fee. For example, a freelance court reporter may charge the lowest rate per page, but you will not have the benefit of case management, online scheduling, or a complimentary space to prep a witness or hold your deposition. 

4. Choose a Reporter with Flexible Availability

Having a court reporter who can be available after business hours or provide expedited services is invaluable. It is reassuring to know the reporter will be available whenever you need them. Larger court reporter companies, like Aptus, have a plethora of reporters ready to serve their client’s needs and, consequently, provide unmatched availability. 

5. Choose a Reporter That Uses Technology Effectively

Electronic exhibits, remote depositions, streaming text, document sharing—technology is used in all aspects of court reporting. In this day and age, you must choose a firm that can keep up with changing times. At Aptus, we are at the forefront of litigation technology. We provide free and instant access to an online case portal and online management of calendar settings, transcripts, exhibits, and invoices—plus personal technical assistance. We use industry-standard software like Aptus Capture, vTestify, and LiveLitigation to provide the most up-to-date services.

6. Choose a Reporter That Goes Above and Beyond

With a complex case, your firm may need a wide array of deposition locations. Perhaps you need more than one conference room. Aptus provides complimentary mediation and trial conference rooms to cover your deposition or hearing. We also provide a Client Services Team that can help research locations if your case requires out of town depositions, leaving more time to focus on litigation. 

7. Choose Aptus Court Reporting

Many large and well-respected firms regularly use Aptus’ services for their court reporting needs. Recently, we were able to assist with the presentation of hundreds of pieces of evidence for a bench trial within a few hours time. If we can handle the complex cases, rest assured we can handle any case. Call Aptus today at 866-999-8310.

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Five Reasons to Consider Video Depositions Now

There is no doubt the world we live in today is video-driven. It exists everywhere there is human activity. The legal field is no exception. Most attorneys today rely on video depositions as an effective tool to make their work easier.

Video depositions play a significant role in pre-trial discovery and overall trial prep. Expect the following benefits as you consider video for all your depositions.

1.      Demonstrate a Witness’ Body Language

Video evidence is a powerful way to get a glimpse at body language, allowing attorneys to present a compelling case. If you only submit a deposition transcription in the record trial, you fail to show the jury the witness’s spontaneous reactions, body language, and emotional state.

You fail to show the pregnant pauses, angry glares, and nervous fidgeting. With a video deposition, you show your witness’s full demeanor when they testify. These are important to the jury or when you are preparing your team for trial.

2.      Video Depositions Are More Cost-Effective

Video depositions can save you costly expert witness fees and travel expenses. In most cases, you will require an expert opinion from a doctor or a highly qualified and respected witness. These services are expensive, especially if your witness must travel long distances to attend trial sessions that could last several days.

Using a video testimony allows you to present the words any time during proceedings and repeated sessions;- it will save you a lot of money in the long run.

3.      Preparing For Trial

Video depositions are valuable tools outside the courtroom too. You can use the video for reference when deciding who to use as witnesses at trial or when preparing a direct cross-examination of the witnesses. You can review the video beforehand and make accurate assessments during preparation and when you plan and fine-tune your trial presentation.

4.      Hold the Jury’s Attention

When presenting evidence, the last thing you want to see is jurors losing interest. In the modern age, people are conditioned to pay attention to video as they see it everywhere, from televisions at home to YouTube on their smartphones.

You can keep your jurors attentive to the video screen for long periods with video depositions. They are also likely to pay attention and understand the depositions better than listen to a transcript read from a record.

5.      Impeaching a Witness

Changing witness testimony is common in courtrooms. If you have video depositions, you can impeach them without hassle. Seeing the witness make an obvious different statement from what they did before will have a significant impact than simply reading from a written transcript testimony.

Is A Video Deposition Right For Your Case?

There is no question that the world has changed in the past few years. More than ever, most people rely on video for entertainment and education. These have found their way into jury boxes worldwide.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently reported that individuals who study video evidence find it more modest but meaningful and authentic than text. The same individuals also pay more attention to video evidence presented in a mix of textual and video evidence.

Now is a good time for litigators to reconsider the adage ‘seeing is believing’ that applies to court cases. A strategic video deposition will increase your presentation effectiveness and offer your client better results. With effective planning, you can use video depositions in your pre-trial prep to get the maximum benefit from this technology.

At Aptus Court Reporting, we want to help you succeed in your next deposition by scheduling it the way you want it designed. You can rely on our videography services, video streaming, and effective depositions technology to improve your presentations. Contact our video team to learn more about our videography & deposition recording services. 

A Trial Tech’s Bag of Tricks

As a trial tech, backups for everything are a must and should be standard operating procedure when going to trial. Cables, adapters, switchers, amps and most importantly, laptops, all need to be duplicated in the event something fails. Having your case backed up and updated is like car insurance – you have it but hopefully never need it. While car insurance is a legal requirement, backup devices are not, unfortunately. I’ve been doing trials since 2009 and I will admit, I only needed my backup laptop a handful of times. Still, I find myself overly cautious and bring the backup system every time I go to trial. I should add that when I say backup laptop, I’m not talking about an “off the shelf computer.” No, a backup laptop should virtually mirror your main laptop, so it can still function alike.

Most recently, I went to trial in Orange County and while transferring the case during lunch, my backup laptop failed. With the limited time I had, I couldn’t trouble shoot in time for the afternoon session. Rather than roll into the courtroom without a backup, I looked in my bag and saw my iPad. As the bells start dinging in my head, I turned it on, hooked it up to my computer and started loading the exhibits. I have TrialPad, a popular app for trial presentation on an iPad. It’s a simple interface that has some of the same features as Trial Director and OnCue. Luckily, there was no video involved in this trial (TrialPad has limited video editing features), so it was a quick transfer.

Watch the TrialPad demo below.

We resumed trial at 1:30 pm and concluded at 4 pm. Smooth sailing and no need for the iPad, of course. However, since then, I’ve been putting everything on my iPad in addition to my backup laptop. I’m sure I speak for most trial techs when I say that you can never have too many backups or plan B’s. Well, I’m sure I speak for all the GOOD trial techs in that regard. I will also add, at this particular trial, I did not have an Apple TV but only the adapters to plug the iPad into the projector. One of the features of using an iPad is that you don’t have to be tethered to cables (presenting wirelessly would present potentially another challenge). At the very least, I was prepared to still present digitally instead of the using the ELMO.

Every trial tech has their bag of gadgets and their own method for backing up cases. As I write this, I know a lot of techs that hate iPads and the TrialPad app. I certainly understand. Depending on an app-based product to present your entire case can be risky as apps are prone to crashes and failures. However, in a technology driven world where there is an abundance of options, it certainly couldn’t hurt to bring something as a third option before going back to butcher paper. In the end, the jury will appreciate not being subjected to the low-tech ELMO. More than likely, your clients will appreciate it as well.

About the Author: Mike Tisa is the Director of Litigation Technology for Aptus Court Reporting. He is a Certified Legal Video Specialist through the National Court Reporters Association. Mike has been in the legal field since 2007 and is continually researching advancements in the legal technology industry. For more on Mike’s background, visit him on LinkedIn.

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Are Court Reporters Now Technology Experts?

The Traditional Definition of Court Reporting

court-reporterCourt Reporter – noun

a stenographer employed to record and transcribe an official verbatim record of the legal proceedings of a court.

This is the definition of a court reporter (dictionary.com). Their job, as defined above, and understood by the courts is to capture everything that is being said in the room and then prepare a transcript. There is no official record without court reporters. While simply defined, the duties of a reporter in the modern day are expanding well beyond the “standard definition.”

Then vs. Now – A Court Reporter’s Arsenal of Technology

Let’s look at a few scenarios where technology is becoming more prevalent in depositions both in the actual room and remotely:

Real-time: This feature allows attorneys to instantly view the transcript in real-time, hence the name. This requires the reporter to set up the connection by setting up cloud-based streaming sessions and sometimes troubleshooting the connection to another attorney’s computer. Oh yeah, now you can stream to iPads and tablets as well, so make note of that.

eDepoze: Here’s a quick description of this product. It allows the attorneys to conduct a deposition with no paper exhibits. Using an iPad or laptop, eDepoze’s cloud-based server helps mark and store exhibits with the attorney marking everything. No need for the reporter to keep exhibit stickers. However, her role is still vital to the proceedings. The reporter must first go through a training session with an eDepoze rep. After that, they are a Certified eDepoze Reporter. Great, awesome, terrific. Now, the reporter will be responsible for helping all parties log in, including the witness. Should anything go wrong, since they are the Certified Reporter, are they responsible for troubleshooting as well?

Web-based Video Conferencing: This is a popular medium to conduct depositions. Often times, the reporter will be with the witness while counsel is remote. They may be asked to setup a laptop with a webcam. Sounds easy, right? Is it really, though? What happens if the connection fails? What happens if the webcam fails? What happens if the computer crashes?

When adding in all these technologies in addition to the normal duties of taking down what EVERYONE IN THE ROOM IS SAYING, court reporters end up going well beyond their “defined” role.

What do you think? Should the definition of a court reporter be expanded to include other duties?