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Steno Writers in 2014

by | Jan 9, 2014 | 0 Comments

As steno machine manufacturers modify their writers, making them more ergonomic, lightweight, paperless, and generally sleeker, it appears that there are two reporter factions: those who immediately upgrade, and those who wouldn’t consider trading in their “baby/writer” for anything.

So how does one go about determining the “right fit,” considering how complex the writers have become? For reporters who have had any sort of physical strain, they’ll want to be sure to check out the Gemini writer line, with its split, ergonomically designed steno keyboard, as well as Stenovations’ LightSpeed. Both writers, according to LightSpeed Addicts Anonymous and Infinity Writers, appear to be easier on the arms, wrists, back and neck than the traditional steno writer. On the other hand, old-timers stand by their traditional writers, and wouldn’t consider changing to anything remotely similar to the LightSpeed or Gemini.

Many officials are still required to archive their steno notes, which eliminates many of the newer, lightweight, paperless writers, making writer selection simpler.  However, many are moving toward writers that have a lighter stroke/depth, writers that are wireless, and those portable enough to move seamlessly from their seat to the judge’s bench and back again.

Captioners who need to be mobile while streaming text seek lightweight machines with long battery lives that wirelessly transmit to tablets that are Friend Locked utilizing a body harness for their writer.

For working reporters who can’t decide which writer in which to invest, attending NCRA’s annual convention in San Francisco in August and trying out each writer may be your best bet. For students strapped for money, trying out different writers as 3-month rentals may be the ticket.

Whichever writer you do decide to purchase or rent, be sure to familiarize yourself thoroughly with all of its nuances, from the number-bar and key stroke settings to the laptop/tablet feeds. Though obviously, it’s not the writer that secures your career — it’s your skills, knowledge of technology and professionalism.

Hand, Wrist & Arm Health for Court Reporters

by | Jan 7, 2014 | 0 Comments

Because court reporters use their hands all day every day, they’re susceptible to Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI), such as carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel,tendonitis, epicondylitis, and tenosynovitis. Avoiding RSI isn’t easy because the first thing any doctor or therapist will tell you is to begin by utilizing “ergonomically correct” seating and taking frequent breaks.  That’s virtually impossible for court reporters.  So, what are we to do?

The first step is to consider your occupation a sport, and gently warm up your body before each and every assignment, just as every athlete does before they hit the pavement, floor or ring.  “Gently” warming up is key here, as evidence suggests vigorous stretching may be detrimental.

Now that you’ve gently warmed up your muscles, you’ll want to be sure to sit at your machine with your arms at a 90-degree angle, with your feet flat on the floor, and your back against the chair at a 180-degree angle to the floor

The third thing you’ll want to do, if you don’t already, is implementing a good hydration regimen. Our bodies, like any piece of machinery, have to stay well lubricated or they’ll begin to wear themselves down. That doesn’t necessarily mean just drinking water. It includes both drinking enough water and eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables that help keep your ligaments and tendons flexible and well-nourished.

Fourth — and this is the most unpopular practice that reporters don’t even like to talk about — and that is avoiding caffeine and nicotine.  Coffee should be avoided because it dehydrates us, thus removing our body’s nutrients and leaving our tendons and ligaments subject to injury.  Nicotine, on the other hand, has the sad but true side effect of back and muscle pain, and thus may be sidelining reporters without their knowledge.

Fifth — and this isn’t always possible — but if you have the opportunity, get up and take regular breaks. It’s called “repetitive stress” because you keep doing it, so if you can see your way clear to doing something else for a little while, take five minutes and come back. Your arms, wrists, shoulders, and back will thank you.

Lastly, getting enough sleep and exercising your body, in general, goes a long way to helping you stay in the game. Don’t ignore aches and pains as they arise. See your physician, and take his advice. Court reporting is a physically grueling profession, and it can take a big toll on you if you’re not mindful.

Court Reporter Winter Preparedness

by | Dec 12, 2013 | 0 Comments

Freelance reporters and officials alike have one thing in common: daily transcript deadlines. When winter storms strike and the lights go out, getting those jobs in on time can be challenging. To help you prepare, here are some tips to keep you productive, even when the lights go out.

First, back up every job you take as you take it before heading home.  This is your failsafe, so that if worse comes to worst, and you find yourself sitting on the highway for the next 8 hours, you can call a scopist or your employer and give them access to the job.

Reporters who like to get their work out themselves, even when stuck in their car, will want to keep a good power inverter in the glove compartment, a reliable Jump Starter in the trunk, and a solar wrap on the dashboard for laptop and cell phone power.

For reporters who rely on public transportation to get around, two must-haves are: (a) a tiny hand-crank Smartphone charger and (b) a fully charged backup laptop battery, so that if the bus or subway train stalls, you’ll be able to call your family, office and/or scopist, provide them with a status report, and even use the down time to edit your work.

For condominium/apartment dwellers who’ve lost power, you’ll want either a solar or pedal generator/inverter system.  Either of these backups works wonderfully for powering your laptop and cell for long periods, but won’t help you with your appliances.

For homeowners, there are solar-powered generators available to power not only your laptop and cell phone, but your refrigerator and space heater as well. While you will not need gasoline, you will need yard, balcony or deck space for the solar panels, and will need to plan your extension cords accordingly.

To ensure Internet connectivity during blackouts, you can: (a) use your Smartphone as a hotspot and tether your laptop to it, (b) purchase a USB stick with Mobile Internet connectivity, (c) purchase a Mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, or (d) purchase a laptop with a built-in hotspot. Whatever route you take, you’ll want to check with your data carrier regarding overage fees.

In addition to providing for your power needs, you’ll want to be sure you have every component recommended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in its emergency kit and basic disaster supplies.  Because transcripts are time-sensitive, it is important that reporters prepare for whatever natural disaster their region typically faces, whether it’s blackouts, wildfires, floods, or drought. No area of the world is immune to Mother Nature’s thunder, and as a reporter, you owe it to yourself and your clients to be prepared.

On-Line Resources for Court Reporters

by | Nov 26, 2013 | 0 Comments

Planet Depos asked its reporters to share the on-line resources they utilize that help minimize their transcription time, and increase their “me” time.  Here is what they suggested:

Checking on legal terminology is easier than ever at Nolo.com or Depo.com.  Looking up all other sorts of terminology is simple, thanks to these on-line dictionaries and glossaries:  All dictionaries, All Glossaries, anatomy, Black’s Law Dictionary, construction, diseases and conditions, English dictionary, firearm terms, forensic science, Maryland Reporters Manual, medical dictionary, medical equipment, medical prefixes & suffixes, prescription drug dictionary, slang, technology dictionary.  Looking up information on almost any other subject is still possible at the Library of Congress.

Punctuating transcripts is less tricky at GrammarBook.com and GrammarBase.com; and figuring out when to italicize and when to use quotation marks is simplified at GrammarTips.

Checking codes cited in oral argument is possible via Cornell’s Legal Information Institute; and knowing how to format a case cite is made more understandable at Access-toLaw.com.

Attorney names and spellings are now accessible on-line at Martindale.com, and getting to an assignment without an app or GPS is still possible at: RandMcNally, GoogleMaps, and Mapquest.  Figuring out how much cash to carry on an assignment anywhere in the world is easy at OnLineConversion.com.

For help with computer hardware and software, there is: Microsoft, Apple, and Google; and for realtime and court reporting software support, there is:  CaseViewNet, Concordance, Eclipse Advantage, LiveNote Stream, Bridge, Summation, and Stenograph, who all still provide expert technical support.

Getting in touch telephonically is still possible thanks to the White Pages, Yellow Pages, and Martindale.com, and knowing when to call is easier at WorldTimeZone.com.

Planet Depos would like to thank its reporters and scopists who shared these suggestions, and we hope that you, too, find these resources helpful.

10 Tips to Meet Deposition Deadlines

by | Nov 21, 2013 | 0 Comments

Court reporters have transcript deadlines to meet each and every day, and meeting those deadlines gets trickier and trickier the more work we take on.  So, we asked our veteran reporters to share with us how they manage to get it all done, and here’s what they recommended:

  1. Feed your brain a balanced diet.  It will not only help you remain optimally productive for those long work days, but you’ll write better, cleaner notes for longer periods of time.
  2. Back up your notes and realtime file to the Cloud at every break, so that you never have to worry about your laptop and/or writer getting lost, stolen or damaged in a power outage or surge.
  3. Input all deadlines into your “To-Do List” (Android, iPhone), and work backwards from there, inputting every step needed to meet that deadline: (a) when to be edited, (b) when to be proofed, (c) when to be delivered.
  4. When inputting the steps (in 3 above) into your calendar, consider building in a cushion, so that if you don’t feel well one day, you have the flexibility to carry that step over to the next day.
  5. Add to your calendar only that which you are confident you can complete. Overshooting only adds pressure and can be harmful to your health.
  6. Sit down in a quiet place to work. Do not attempt to edit an assignment while listening to your children or spouse tell you about their day.  It’ll take you twice as long, and there may be mistakes that get past you when attempting to “multi-task.”
  7. Factor breaks into your transcription time, so that every time you sit down, you are at your best.
  8. If you’ve been working really hard on a case and feel like you may be burning out, take a vacation.  Burn-out decreases cognition.
  9. Establish a routine for archiving your completed assignments, as well as those assignments that went unrequested.
  10. Let someone you trust at home and at work know where your jobs are stored and how to retrieve them, so that should something catastrophic happen to you, your work product will always be accessible.

A reporter’s work is never done, so while these tips are meant as an aid to help you meet your deadlines more easily, remember to give yourself a break when you need it – after all, life is about so much more than just pages.

Apps that Simplify Life for a Court Reporter

by | Nov 7, 2013 | 0 Comments

Here are lists of apps that Planet Depos has compiled (as a result of reporter feedback) that can help simplify your workday.

Calendar apps are helping reporters track the status of their work and meet deadlines more easily.  Court reporters suggested Pocket Informant, Business Calendar, and CalenGoo for Android users; and Sunrise Calendar 2.0, Fantastical 2, and Calendars 5 for iOS users.

Managing files that have been completed, those that are still in the works, and those waiting to be worked on is easier to do with file management programs such as ES File Manager, ASTRO file manager with Clouds, and Total Commander for Android users; and File Manager Pro, Air Sharing, and Folder Plus for iOS users.

Getting to assignments by car is easier with trusted driving apps like Waze, Google Maps, and Locus Map Pro for Android; and Waze, Google Maps, and MotionX GPS Drive for iOS users.

Using public transportation is much, much easier for Android users who have downloaded Transit App; and for iOS users who have downloaded Transit App, AcrossAir, StopanGo, and Transit App.

Getting home after a long day is much easier with these taxi and black car service apps.  Android users like Uber, Hailo, and Gett – Taxi & Black Car Service, and iOS users like the very same apps:  Uber, Hailo, and Gett – Taxi, Limo & Black Car Service.

Storing and sharing transcripts is really easy with these Android apps:Dropbox and Bitcasa — and these iOS apps: Boxie (Prettify Your Dropbox), Bitcasa, and Cubby

If you’re a long way from home and are too tired to drive or fly home, finding a hotel room at 50 to 70 percent below the listed price at the last minute is now really easy with these Android apps: Hotels.com, Priceline, and Hotel Tonight — and these iOS apps: Hotels.com, Priceline Hotels, Flights & Cars, and Hotel Tonight.

And if you find yourself far away from home with a deadline looming, you can now easily access your home computer using these Android apps: JumpDesktop, PocketCloud Remote Desktop Pro, and LogMeIn Ignition — or these iOS apps: JumpDesktop, PocketCloud Remote Desktop Pro RDP/VNC, and LogMeIn Ignition.

With the right apps, court reporters remain productive wherever they are, sending work to their scopists and proofreaders remotely, backing up testimony as it’s taken, and managing their workload all from the convenience of their Android and iOS devices.

Court Reporters & the Veterans History Project

by | Oct 15, 2013 | 0 Comments

It was Tawni Kind, a court reporter, and also the wife of Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), who first envisioned a partnership between the National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF), the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA),  and the Veterans History Project (VHP).

10 years and almost 3,000 oral histories later, this partnership remains strong and continues to expand, thanks in large measure to Beth Kilker, the Oral Histories Project Coordinator at NCRF, as well as America’s court reporting schools, court reporting firms and courts, such as the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, Illinois, shown here.

Because of NCRA’s and NCRF’s partnership with the VHP and Library of Congress, history is being recorded and preserved for future generations to examine.  Never before have our children had an opportunity to comprehend the devastation wrought by war as recounted through so many soldiers’ first-hand experiences. This is a first in the making of history.

As court reporters, we are gifted with the ability to give back to society in so many ways – from providing real-time captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing, to shadowing students in school utilizing CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation), to giving late-deafened adults the ability to participate in town hall meetings and training sessions.

We owe our freedom to our Veterans. This gift of their memories as recorded and transcribed by us is something that future generations now have available to them as a learning tool. Thank you, court reporting community, for the time you’ve taken to give this gift of history, knowledge, and insight to the world.

Perfection & the Court Reporter

by | Oct 8, 2013 | 0 Comments

Court reporters work very hard to write each and every word spoken during a proceeding. As noted by PETAP, court reporters tend to be ESFJ (Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging) and ISFJ (Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging) personality types.  As Nancy Varallo noted in her keynote address to the United States Court Reporters Association, they also tend to be perfectionists.

Seth Godin wrote, “when we try to be perfect in everything we do, we lose what we are seeking, which tends to be ourselves.”  So, what is a court reporter to do, whose very job demands perfectionism?  Perhaps in finding a balance of excellence (almost perfection) and self, reporters can avoid burn-out.

Corporations are just now beginning to realize that working employees to burn-out is actually a losing proposition for everyone. Sheila Blackford wrote a wonderful blog about ways to “Knock Out Burnout,” and two of her recommendations include “taking it easy on yourself” and learning to “set boundaries.”

Perfectionists have trouble setting those boundaries and taking it easy on themselves.  Susan Smith Blakely wrote in her blog post “Women Lawyers Do Not Need to be Perfect,” that “letting go of the little things” in order to focus on “what is really important” is key, and that is something court reporters can learn from as well.  For instance, if a reporter has been the exclusive reporter in a long, ongoing case for an extended period of time, he or she may want to consider bringing on board another reporter to share the workload, and “letting go” of the reins a little.  Sharing the work with another reporter of similar standards of excellence will relieve some of the pressure and allow the reporter to feel comfortable in sharing the load from the get-go the next time around.

By asking for and accepting help, court reporters come to realize that there is more to life than just work.  They find more time to spend with friends and family, working on a hobby, or even treating themselves to some “me” time.  One thing is clear – when the perfectionist in us learns to “take it easy” and “set boundaries,” life suddenly becomes so much more fun!

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs for Court Reporters

by | Sep 24, 2013 | 0 Comments

College graduates are having a difficult time finding work, and are returning to grad school and community college in large numbers. Those who are talented musicians or video gamers may want to consider court reporting — one of 2013’s “Top Jobs.”  The court reporting profession offers a secure income stream and provides a service to the hard-of-hearing and legal community that imparts a sense of personal fulfillment that very few professions can claim.

If you are passionate about words, can process information quickly, are nimble on the keyboard, have an excellent ear for sound, are prepared to work as long as it takes to get the job done, and willing to drive or fly wherever your client is taking testimony, whether it be in America, Canada, Europe or mainland China, then you may make an awesome court reporter.

Mark Kislingbury, the world’s fastest court reporter, stroking upwards of 360 words per minute, was a die-hard video gamer before he entered the reporting profession.  He advocates a steno theory that utilizes a lot of “short forms,” which enable the reporter to “write” entire words, phrases and sentences in just one stroke.

But don’t think that the road to becoming a professional court reporter is easy.  To the contrary, according to the National Court Reporters Association ’06 report, just 5% of those who enroll in court reporting programs nationwide graduate.  That explains why there are so many court reporting positions worldwide, and why court reporters are so desperately needed.  Look at what it really takes to be successful before you invest, and after careful deliberation, if you think you have what it takes, the hard-of-hearing and legal communities will be grateful to you for the incredible service you provide.

Cameras in Court Expanding the Public’s Interest in the Court Reporting Profession

by | Sep 17, 2013 | 0 Comments

Trials have appealed to the public as a means of entertainment for centuries.  With the introduction of cameras and newsreels in courtrooms as early as the 1920s, their entertainment value expanded well beyond the courtroom’s four walls, and into the general public’s newsstands and living rooms – and now, Smartphones, tablets and desktops. But the presence of cameras and the press has not always assured defendants of a fair trial.  In fact, in the mid-1930s, the American Bar Association led a drive to remove cameras from the courts subsequent to the murder/kidnapping trial of Richard Bruno Hauptmann, who was tried for the murder/kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, found guilty, and executed, all while he and his wife insisted upon his innocence, and amid the chaos and focus of over 700 journalists. Judicial Canon 35 was a byproduct of that effort, and essentially prohibited photography in courts in all but two states. In 1952, Canon 35 was amended to include disallowance of television cameras, and then in 1962, after Billy Sol Estes went on trial for embezzlement, his conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court because the Court found that the defendant had been denied a fair trial due to pre-trial media coverage.

Twenty years later, in 1982, the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates voted to support “unobtrusive” television coverage in court, and usage continues to expand. Surprisingly, what television coverage has managed to do for the court reporting profession, with the ever-increasing broadcast and web-streaming of high-profile cases, is provide the public with a clear view of the court reporter.  In fact, as viewers begin to realize that court reporters are the unsung heroes of the judicial system — writing each and every word spoken, remaining focused every single second, and accurately reading back testimony — the public is taking note. More and more people want to know about the court reporting profession.  If you happen to be one of them, you’ll want to check out Rebecca Forman’s “Ask the Reporter,” article, and the Planet Depos’ blog, “Appreciating a Court Reporter’s Skill Sets.”

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