When it’s time to schedule a deposition, you turn to the internet, type in the name of the city followed by “court reporter” or “court reporters.” Once the list comes up, then you have to decide who to call. Here’s a checklist you can use to find a court reporter that will live up to your expectations.
Are your court reporters certified? National certification assures you that the court reporter has met accuracy and speed requirements. The RPR designation is granted to reporters who type 225 words per minute in the question-and-answer format with 95% accuracy. Many states have certification programs also, some voluntary and some mandatory. To maintain that certification, reporters are required to complete ten hours of continuing education each year.
How much experience do your reporters have? As in any profession, reporters with experience tend to do a better job than someone who is taking her first deposition. If you are working on a complex patent case, ask for a court reporter with experience with patent cases. The same goes for medical malpractice or class action suits.
What is your standard turn-around? Everyone wants delivery of the transcript as quickly as possible — but you don’t necessarily want to pay for it! Find out what expedited delivery means. Some agencies guarantee delivery within eight business days. If you want it in five, find out what that will cost. If you have a deadline looming, let the agency know ahead of time so they can assign a reporter to the job who doesn’t have a crushing backlog of transcripts.
What are your rates? In Oregon, court reporters charge an hourly appearance fee. If the transcript is ordered, the page rate applies. In some states, there is no hourly appearance fee, but all transcripts are automatically ordered. It’s important to know what the local norms are. In addition, ask if you will be charged for a condensed version of the transcript or if you will be charged for word index pages.
Each deposition has its own set of questions: Can you provide videography? Can you provide a location? Can you provide a laptop for a realtime feed?
KEEP IT SIMPLE: CC Reporting networks with court reporters and court reporting agencies all across the country. Let us arrange your next out-of-town deposition. We’ll make sure you have a qualified reporter, and we’ll keep you informed ahead of time about any differences in the way services are billed or expectations about delivery. We can find a court reporter and a location anywhere you need to go.
In order to avoid last-minute deposition scheduling problems, download our Deposition Scheduling Report and Checklist.