Evaluating Court Reporter Costs: 3 Tips To Keep Costs Reasonable & Vendors Honest

Is the best court reporting company one that keeps costs low? Yes – and no. Comparing companies isn’t always as straightforward as it seems. Attorneys looking for the most bang for their buck should be aware of these 3 simple tips to keep costs reasonable and vendors honest. Always remember, there is a big difference between “perceived value” of the page rates that court reporting companies post and the “actual value” of the same page rate.

It’s important to know that some states regulate the court reporting industry and identify certain formatting requirements; California, for example, requires that transcripts contain 56 characters per line and 25 lines per page. In other jurisdictions, transcripts may contain 22 characters per line. But in states without regulations, unscrupulous vendors can set the margins as wide as they want. A wider margin means fewer characters per line, which in turn means more pages – and more cost for you and your client.

Even in states with strict standards, some court reporting companies may try to pad their pricing. Be sure to scrutinize witness introductions, exhibit marking, and other blurbs or parentheticals. Most court reporting companies have their own style, but some add an unnecessary amount of words to increase their page count. Other places ripe for padding are the title and appearance pages of transcripts where double spacing can increase the page count quickly!

Many court reporter agencies also claim to offer “free” services, but actually make up the charges in other ways. Conference rooms, expedited transcripts, and a host of other “freebies” can actually end up costing you – and your client – a lot more than you might think.

Trying to find the best court reporting company can be tough, especially when you have to compare costs that are not often easily identified. Keep these 3 tips in mind when considering a court reporting company:

1) Determine the number of characters per line and lines per page. The District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and Chicago are among the areas that don’t regulate transcript formatting, so it’s especially important to be thorough when you’re looking for the best court reporting company. If a vendor is not transparent about its characters per line and lines per page, be wary.

2) Be mindful of format padding. Speaker changes, exhibit marking, and indentations are all ways that vendors with high perceived value can lead you astray. Make sure to examine title and appearance pages for extra spacing or unnecessary speakers being listed.

3) Understand and evaluate the services provided. Service plays an important role in trying to find the best court reporting company, but keep an eye out for misleading charges. And remember, late court reporters, late transcripts, and poor quality transcripts are a waste of time and resources.

Attorneys should evaluate vendor charges as part of providing the best possible service to their clients. Finding the best court reporting services for your client may seem daunting at times, but just remember that the work you put in now will save you and your client time and money down the road.

Have you visited our Virtual Goodie Box?

https://capitalreport.wpengine.com/services/virtual-goodie-box.html?site_id=0

Capital Reporting Company’s green initiative is one more way that we stand out from the crowd! The deposition business involves a lot of paper, but at Capital Reporting Company the emphasis is on the environment.  Environmentally friendly practices benefit our clients and the planet. Capital Reporting Company offers clients a $10.00 credit when they order only electronic copies of their transcripts. Electronic transcripts save clients money, cut down on paper waste, and reduce harmful emissions from the trucks that drive our transcripts across the area and the nation. To further reduce our carbon footprint, we have eliminated mini-CDs from the paper transcripts that we send out.  At Capital Reporting Company, we make sure our services are as convenient as ever! Capital Reporting Company’s Lit-Connect service is as easy as it is green. Clients can book depositions online, access their transcripts, and check out invoices, all from a computer or smart phone. Visit www.capitalreportingcompany.com/services/lit-connect.html to learn more!

Depositions and transcripts are not as prominent on crime & justice television shows as people in the court reporting business might hope. But at Capital Reporting Company, we know we provide an important service! The production of a transcript is a complex process, which starts with our clients across the nation. When clients book with Capital, we use our network of thousands of court reporters to pair attorneys with the best court reporter for the job. A deposition is much like testimony given in Court—it is given under oath, and the written record is often used as testimony during litigation. However, depositions can take place anywhere, from law offices to one of Capital’s conference rooms. Depositions can even be taken over the phone or via video conference. At the deposition, the court reporter will use a specialized typewriter to record the proceedings in shorthand, typing 225 words per minute or more with incredible accuracy. After the deposition, the court reporter uses the shorthand account to create a rough ASCII file, which is sent to one of our production teams at Capital Reporting Company’s offices nationwide. In production, the rough draft of the transcript is edited by a production coordinator and becomes a certified record of the deposition. Through our Lit-Connect program, clients can also access their transcripts anywhere simply by logging on to our website. The final step in the creation of the transcript is the binding process. Each transcript is bound individually with one of our Capital Reporting Company binders and sent to our clients nationwide and abroad. Check out capitalreportingcompany.com to learn more about our services!

The Capital Minute: What is a Court Reporter?

Here’s a short video on how a court reporter creates a transcript. Shari Broussard, the court reporter in the video, is a vice president of Capital Reporting Company. She is based out of the Washington DC office of Capital Reporting Company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR7EGB89vFc