It is said that the average person makes 35,000 decisions in a day. That is an incredibly staggering number when you think of all the other things that the average person is doing besides making decisions on any given day. No wonder that by evening most people are exhausted.
A lot of the decisions we make have no real consequences: brushing your teeth for slightly less time than you should, wearing one shirt over another, staying home for dinner or going out. But what if a decision you make could have some very serious consequences?
Selecting a Court Reporter
When selecting a court reporter for your litigation needs, it is very important that you take the time to select the right court reporter. Preparing for a deposition or a trial can take days, months or even years. When a proceeding is over, you have the transcript and your memory of how things went. Without question both are important, but only the transcript is going to give you an accurate record of exactly what was said.
So knowing the importance of the record, how much thought do you put into making the decision as to the court reporter who is creating the record of the proceedings? How much do you know about whether the court reporter who is sitting behind the steno machine has the right skill set?
Whether you need realtime for a technical witness, a rough draft that is useable at the end of the day to prepare for the next day’s testimony, or expedited turnaround of the final transcript, the court reporter who is creating the record should have the right skill set for the job. But how do you know which court reporter is the “right” court reporter?
National Court Reporters Association
Qualified court reporters will most certainly have a certification by the National Court Reporters Association. The RDR is the highest level of certification a court reporter can attain. In order to attain the RDR designation, the court reporter must have the RMR designation and have passed a written knowledge test, which demonstrates an elevated understanding of technology, business practices and ethics of being a court reporter. The RMR designation signifies that the court reporter has passed accelerated speed tests and a detailed written exam. The RPR designation is the foundational certification for court reporters and is regarded as the first step towards becoming a successful court reporter. The CRR certification signifies that the court reporter has demonstrated the ability to provide highly accurate realtime output. The CSR designation is a state certification, which means that the court reporter has passed the speed tests required by the state.
The certification of a court reporter is the tangible means to determining if he or she is the right court reporter for your needs when it comes to having a certain skill set. There are other very important things to consider: Did he or she arrive early, behave in a polite, professional and courteous manner? Was the court reporter able to adapt to the changing needs for transcript turnaround? Did the court reporter provide a timely, clean rough draft? I would highly encourage anybody looking to hire a court reporter to give the decision on who to hire more than just a passing thought. It could end up being the most important of the 35,000 decisions you make one day.