Court reporting services have seen a boon in new technology over the past few years. It makes us more efficient as court reporters and helps our clients become more efficient, too. The vast majority of our clients are attorneys, but these features can help with conventions, panels and non-legal proceedings as well. Let’s take a look at some of these advancements and why they are important.
Real-time
While real-time has been around for quite some time now, it has just started to catch on as a mainstream litigation tool. This is no longer reserved for attorneys that are enthralled with technology who enjoy trying new gadgets. Real-time court reporting involves installing software, such as Livenote or Bridge, on the attorney’s laptop, which is connected to the reporter’s laptop, which is connected to the reporter’s steno machine. There is an automatic translation that occurs. The conversation comes up in English on the laptop as the stenographer strokes it on the steno machine. A live feed from the court reporter’s laptop to the attorney’s laptop gives a written version of questions, answers and conversations moments after they are spoken.
This takes a very high skill level and lots of practice for stenographers. Having a dictionary that translates from steno into English is crucial. This is an important piece of technology for attorneys that are observing the proceedings, rather than questioning. It is also helpful for those that are hard of hearing or may have a difficult time understanding the witness.
Paperless Writers
Where did that little paper tray go? For years, the classic stenotype machine had a tray full of paper attached to the back of the machine. It would record all of the court stenographer’s notes and print them on a skinny sheet of steno paper a few inches wide. A pack of paper is a few inches thick and sits in the tray. A duplicate entry would write to a computer disk inserted into the machine to be used for a computer translation later if needed.
During a proceeding, someone may ask the court reporter to read back the notes. After much shuffling and unraveling, this would be done from the paper. Thanks to modern technology, the days of the paper tray are numbered. The “in” device is now the paperless writer. While unnerving to some, the paperless writer eliminates the tray. The notes are electronically recorded directly into the machine. There is a double back-up on most models that relieves the fear that nothing is being recorded and the whole proceeding is lost. These are very efficient, and most feedback from reporters with paperless writers is, “I love it.”
Electronic Transcripts
What was once taboo in the world of court reporting has become standard. Providing an electronic transcript with a hardcopy has become more popular in light of time, money and environmental concerns. Products like Adobe Acrobat and E-Transcript have been around the block for quite some time. But now with recent advancements, there are features that help attorneys make the most out of the information provided in an electronic transcript.
Our “green package,” for example, includes a CD with a transcript that has linked exhibits. In the old days, the only way to “link” an exhibit to a transcript would be to hunt through the pile of documents, then thumb to the page in the transcript and shuffle through each page until the desired sheet was found. Now, it’s a click, click, click of the mouse.
Of course, those that prefer the hardcopy transcript can still print it out. Those that have gone paperless can continue to do so.
