Hiring A Court Reporter
You may need to hire a court reporter for a deposition or other proceedings. It may be a critical stage in your case and important to your customer or you. There may be differences in fees and their services. We have a list of questions you must ask when contacting a court reporting company, to help you navigate your path throughout the myriad of selections of court reporters.
Are your court reporters trained and certified?
Some states require a state certification test to be passed by court reporters before working in the field. The National Court Reporters Association offers comparable certification.
How much time do you need to plan a court reporter?
There could be circumstances where you might want to be certain that your court reporting agency is able to schedule last minute proceedings if needed.
Can I schedule a court reporter utilizing your website?
Many court reporting companies now offer on-line scheduling. This implies that you could arrange for a court reporter when it is after the reporting companies office operating hours and/or the office is closed for the day. This advantage can provide time saving scheduling benefits.
How much will scheduling a court reporter and ordering the finalized transcript cost?
A court reporting company that is good will have the ability to quote you a page rate for the various services which they provide, in addition to the transcript, and appearance fee. Before scheduling a court reporter, do not be afraid to ask for details of rates and fees which you'll be charged. Some things to consider when attempting to have an idea of court reporting cost are:
When will I get my transcript?
Most court reporting companies may tell you the normal turn around time they provide for transcripts. Make sure to inquire about expedited services on transcripts if you are faced with time sensitivities turnaround schedule and require a quick turn-a-round from your court reporter. Each firm can differ on what they consider to be an expedited or rush transcript.
Some may have varying prices depending upon the time length they're given to produce the transcript. Ask the court reporting agency if they're able of providing transcripts on a rush or expedited basis if needed.
Do you provide realtime reporting services?
If you want to hookup to a court reporter's computer and see the testimony on the screen as it's recorded, you may wish to request a realtime reporter. Ask if the company offers rough draft transcripts. A rough draft transcript is an unpublished transcription which you receive upon completion of the deposition or soon after. These rough drafts may assist you continue preparing your case even prior to the official transcript being completed and delivered. Note that rough transcripts are rough, they are not checked for grammar, or sentence structure, etc. Therefore, they should never cited or referred to as an official transcript or referenced in any official capacity.
Could you schedule out-of town depositions?
It's an excellent advantage to you if your court reporting company of choice is able to schedule out-of town litigation support services for you.
To hire an Accelerated court reporter contact us at sales@acceleratedcourtreporting.com
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