There are few things more frustrating to a lawyer than knowing a witness said something, but not being able to find exactly when and where they said it. If a court reporter was present and the proceedings have been transcribed, the task of finding it will be quite simple. All you need to know is a common word or phrase mentioned in that portion of testimony and you can locate it. Huseby has a number of ways to find that nagging phrase through our litigation support services.
Word Index
The printed word index found at the back of every transcript is an old standby. If you know your witness said “head injury,” for example, you can simply pull the deposition transcript and look in the alphabetical word index at the end for either the word “head” or the word “injury.” The word index will show on which page and line number the word appears. If it shows up more than once, all citations will be listed in numerical order. The software can be programmed to create a multiple file index or to add specific phrases into the index.
E-Transcript
If you are using E-Transcript or E-Binder, that information is right at your fingertips. Open the transcript and click on the tab that allows the word index to display on the screen adjacent to the transcript. Start typing in the word you are searching. The word index list will jump to the appropriate place in the alphabet. Click on the word you are seeking and the transcript will jump to it and highlight the word. If there is more than one citation, you can click on the page numbers until you find the right reference. E-Binder allows a multi-transcript search.
VIP-21
Another option is to do a key word/phrase search in VIP-21. Once you have logged in, use a high powered search engine to find the word or words you are seeking. A number of transcripts can be searched simultaneously for the same information. The search results are almost immediate.
Other Software
Nearly any electronic format is searchable for words and phrases these days. We can provide ASCII, MS Word or .pdf files that can be searched for a word or phrase. When you order your transcript, just ask for the format or formats you prefer.
