For attorneys, hiring a qualified court reporter is essential to winning a court case. They provide you with an accurate transcript of the deposition and other court proceedings and allow you to focus on winning the case for your client. You have several factors to think about when you’re searching for a court reporter. There are freelance court reporters and there are also larger litigation support firms. A good court reporter can mean the difference between you losing clients and gaining clients.
Check Qualifications And Experience
You should first make sure that the court reporter you’re considering has been licensed by the state. Just as you wouldn’t expect your client to work with an attorney who hasn’t passed the bar exam, you don’t want to work with a court reporter who isn’t properly licensed. You should also make sure that the court reporter has a high level of experience. If it’s at all possible, contact past clients to see how satisfied they were with the court reporting firm’s services and if they would recommended them.
Communication And Support
A court reporter or court reporting firm that can’t communicate with you well and in a timely manner is one that you probably don’t want to do business with. Feel free to call up the firm before making a final decision to determine how articulate they are over the phone. The court reporting firm that you choose should have actual live support rather than automated voice services or online scheduling. Your court reporter should be just as available as you are. Think about how essential it is for your clients to be able to get in touch with you when they have a pressing question or need information.
Availability And Location
It’s also a good idea to find a court reporter that is local and available when you need them. You don’t want to have to wait on them before you’re able to start your deposition or court proceeding. Make sure that your schedules link up before hiring them. This is another reason that you want to make sure that they have live customer support, so that you can get in touch with them in case there’s a last minute change to your schedule.
Services Provided
Court reporting firms offer a variety of services that may be of interest to you. Such services include video depositions, electronic transcripts, online transcript repository, video conferencing and exhibit bundling. Court reporting firms can also act as interpreters and provide you with a conference site. Rather than shopping around for multiple services, see which local court reporting firms provide all of these services. If a firm has some of the best court reporters but doesn’t offer a portfolio of additional services, it may be a better choice than the firm that offers all of the services you’re looking for but doesn’t have very good court reporters. Think of it as an airline that has the best planes but not the best pilots to fly them.
One last thing to check with your court reporter about is when you’ll receive a copy of your transcript. Ensure that it meets state qualifications and can be bound and unbound so that you can share it with the rest of the office if necessary.
