Blog Category: Court Reporting

By Katherine Schilling

View from The Terrace at Trump. Image from Kathy DiLorenzo.

The restaurant, Terrace at Trump, in Chicago’s downtown affords some incredible views. To the left, Wrigley Clock tower’s gothic architecture is illuminated by dazzling green lights; to the right, party-goers atop glass skyscrapers raise a communal toast. There are always plenty of reasons to be celebrating in Chicago, but for court reporters from around the world, we’d gathered in the Windy City that August weekend to attend the annual NCRA Convention.

There were riveting seminars led by the industry’s best, the latest technology to ogle in the Exhibitors Hall, and, of course, lifelong connections to make. For me, however, the Planet Depos Friday night reception was the highlight of my weekend. Planet Depos court reporters came together for an exclusive dinner at Terrace at Trump to celebrate yet another successful year, share tips, and swap stories.

As a court reporter in her first year out in the field, I was eager to absorb as much as I could from these accomplished reporters and to connect with them for the first time as a colleague rather than simply a student. Everyone I spoke with was friendly, generous with their time, and, above all, wholeheartedly enthused about both their career and mine. Their positivity was so contagious that by the end of the evening, my cheeks were sore from smiling so much.

Above all, I was amazed by how many globe-trotting court reporters I met. Working abroad is my ultimate goal, and it felt like I had hit the jackpot when I quickly learned that nearly everyone at my table had taken jobs abroad or even temporarily resided in another country to work. They were only too happy to tell me about their adventures and how they had reached that point in their professional careers. Within just a few minutes of speaking with them, I had a few useful tips to take home and felt reinvigorated to pursue my own goal as never before.

Another memorable moment at the reception was meeting a fellow first-year reporter, Michael Hensley. Michael was just as driven and excited about his new career as I was, and I felt an instant connection with him. His enthusiasm for bettering ourselves as reporters even led to our wagering a game of friendly competition: Which of us could achieve the RMR certification first? You’re on, Michael! I was thrilled to get to know a new reporter with so much energy; he was the perfect example of how you’ll find only the cream of the crop at industry conventions, and I look forward to keeping in touch with him as we continue to grow.

PD Reception at The Terrace at Trump. Image from Kathy DiLorenzo.

My experience at the NCRA Convention and the Planet Depos reception could not have come at a better time. Work as a court reporter can be naturally isolating, and as I was juggling all the newness of the job, I found myself falling into the routine of only focusing on the day to day. Complacency was threatening to set in, and I needed to shake things up. I needed some new perspective to remind myself to always look further ahead than the now.

The convention weekend was just what the doctor ordered. My brain was filled to bursting with tips I learned at the seminars and from speaking with seasoned reporters, and I returned home with a renewed energy to tackle my writing problems and hone my skills in the interest of my career goals. Now I have another new year ahead of me, and I’m excited to make it the best yet.

By Suzanne Quinson

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. Image by Suzanne Quinson.

Hailing from South Philly as I do, Rocky Balboa has been a hero of mine since I was a little girl. In my tween years I became obsessed with Rocky, and boxing in general, reading up on Rocky’s own hero, Rocky Marciano (whose knock-out punch, a right uppercut, was nicknamed the Suzy-Q, thank you very much). It struck me recently that preparing for depositions, and legal matters in general, is not unlike Rocky preparing for the big fight with Apollo Creed back in 1976. Granted, I can tie Rocky into just about any topic, as many Philadelphians can, but read on and decide for yourself.

Setting the goal

Rocky is doubtful he can beat the champ, even when Mickey signs on board to train him. However, he decides he will at least go the distance, something no fighter has ever done against Apollo. This is his goal, and it spurs him on in his intense and unorthodox training (punching raw meat in a freezer?!), even when he is discouraged by the media’s portrayal of him as a loser. In the same way, paralegals and attorneys set a goal with each case, coordinate the details with their client, and work doggedly to win. The filing of notices, motions, preparations for depositions, etc., all lead up to “the fight.”

Assemble a team

Rocky has Mickey, Paulie and, of course, his beloved Adrian, to train and support him as he gears up for his big day. Similarly, attorneys have their paralegals and their court reporting team. It’s critical that the team works together, each providing his or her expertise. The reporter provides realtime, instant rough drafts, and the final transcript, while maintaining confidentiality and providing redacted files as needed. The videographer provides the high-definition video of the proceedings, with excellent audio quality, which can even be synced to the final transcript if requested. The videographer can assist with video clips to be used as exhibits in a deposition as well. Additionally, the team can assist with additional tasks such as printing (and shredding!) of exhibits. Interpretation may be required, and the trusted court reporting agency is an obvious choice to provide the best available interpreter with subject matter expertise and relevant experience. This agency can also assist with trial presentations at the appropriate time. See an example here.

It’s all about hard work

Training for a fight against the world heavy-weight champion is no joke, and neither is winning your case. It takes committed professionals putting in the time and effort. Reporters use any prep materials provided by paralegals to put together word lists, familiarize themselves with the terminology, etc., as do interpreters. The court reporting professionals strategize to ensure they are at the location early to allow ample time for set-up, guaranteeing no delays in the proceedings. They deliver on time to ensure the legal team delivers on time. When an expedited transcript and video are needed, this is no problem for the best-in-class court reporting agency.

For your own knock-out depositions, contact Planet Depos. You can schedule online, or email schedulenow@planetdepos.com or international@planetdepos.com to reserve coverage.

By Mary Lide

Take a look at your caption page. There’s more to it than meets the eye.

When formatting your filings—the caption page especially—it can never hurt to think about the aesthetics. While court rules are strict about typography, you can still make your filings stand out with a few simple design tips, courtesy of Matthew Butterick’s Typography for Lawyers.

1. Set the table. Using the table tool in Word will help your layout stay clean and neat.
2. Forget the rules. Butterick points out that vertical rules on a caption page should not be darker than the page itself. Moreover, they are often unnecessary, and make the text area seem cramped.
3. Thin it out. Take a look at Butterick’s “Before” and “After” caption pages. He makes the vertical rule in the caption a little thinner, and moves it farther from the text. This brings the caption to the foreground.
4. Focus on font. Do not, we repeat, do not use Times New Roman. As Jay Shepard notes in his article “Small Firms, Big Lawyers: The Perfect Font…to Show You Don’t Care,” Times New Roman has been the universal default font for years. Not changing it signals that you don’t care how your filings look. For courts that do not have specific font requirements, Shepard suggests another font in the serif family, like Adobe Garamond. Note: For Supreme Court filings, you are required to use a 12pt font in the Century Family.

First impressions are important—keep the design in mind, and your caption will command attention.

Have you ever had one of those days when you just knew that things wouldn’t go as planned? You just knew when you woke up that morning that the universe wasn’t properly aligned?

It was Tuesday, June 28^th.  Nothing special about the day for Mike Miller, a court reporter in Houston, Texas, other than he and his videographer ended up taking an unexpected road trip! It seems that during the very early morning hours (around 1:00 a.m.), a Planet Depos client realized that the deposition they had scheduled for 9:00 a.m. in Houston, was actually taking place in Dallas – more than four hours driving time!

We received the client’s e-mail notifying us of the mixup at 5:00 a.m. EST, and they were fully prepared to accept a different reporter/videographer team given the situation. Our team jumped into action to alert everyone involved, knowing that our hands were tied for a few more hours until people started to wake up and face their day in Texas. We e-mailed our contacts in Dallas to see if we had any other options. But with only a few short hours to work with, things were looking grim.

The videographer originally scheduled for the deposition tried to make contact with his colleagues in Dallas, but didn’t want to leave our client in a lurch, so he decided that he would start driving to Dallas figuring that the job would get covered and he’d soon be turning around to head back home for the day.

In the meantime, our assigned reporter in Houston was beginning to stir for the day and saw the e-mail alerting to the fact that the location had changed. Boy, had it changed! The client agreed to extend the start time to 10:00 a.m. in the hopes that it would increase the odds of going forward at all. Mike’s wife, Susan, also a court reporter, figured that flying would be the best way to solve the issue, so she began looking for flights. She found one that arrived right at 10:00 a.m., but with security issues in airports, and the like, on-time arrival was certainly no guarantee.

Mike contacted the videographer, and they decided they would drive to Dallas together since they were just 15 minutes from each other, and off they went! But the story doesn’t end there.

Being the great techy guru that he is, Mike thought it would be helpful for everyone concerned if they could coordinate their progress on the road. So he used a mobile app that allowed the client and the PD team to track their arrival time. To say that the client was extremely impressed is an understatement. Mike and the videographer arrived safely in Dallas and went on the record at 10:17 a.m.!

Talk about “Making it Happen”!! Nice work, Mike Miller and videographer! Going the extra mile just took on a whole new meaning!

By Julia Alicandri

Business Insider recently posted a fascinating map that shows the most disproportionately popular job in every state. In New York, it’s fashion designers. Texas’ most disproportionately popular occupation is petroleum engineers. In Maryland, that job is court reporting. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 2,490 court reporters working in Maryland. They account for 9.6 out of every 10,000 jobs in Maryland. To put that in perspective, there are 17,670 court reporters nationally out of 137,896,660 employed people. This means 1.3 out of every 10,000 jobs in the US are court reporters.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the ratio of the above rates (9.6 and 1.3) to find the location quotient for a job in a specific area. The location quotient for court reporters is 7.3. This means there are about seven times as many court reporters in Maryland per 10,000 jobs than there are court reporters in the USA as a whole. As you can see, there is a significant difference in the amount of court reporters in Maryland versus the country as a whole.

It’s no wonder then that Planet Depos has four offices available for depositions and any other legal proceeding in Maryland, as well as numerous court reporters, videographers, and interpreters throughout the state. With over 60 offices worldwide, contact us at schedulenow@planetdepos.com to schedule a deposition anywhere across the globe.