Court Reporting Professionals Branch Out Beyond the Courtroom

by Paul D. Rosevear

Considering a career in court reporting? According to professionals, the job has plenty of perks: exceptional pay and benefits, opportunities for supplemental income, limited training required, interesting subject matter, and potential job increases with continuing education and experience. So what does court reporting training involve?

"For court reporting training, applicants needed a high school diploma or equivalent," says Kathleen Dabrowski, a retired court reporter for the state of New Jersey. "Years ago, relevant business courses that included typing were helpful, as well as a keen knowledge of grammar and spelling, but with advances in today's computer technology and the prevalence of their use, these skills are less important." They still, however, allow for greater speed on the job.

Career outlook once you've acquired court reporting training is promising, according to Dubrowski. Despite common misconceptions, court reporters are not only needed in the judicial system. There are opportunities for freelance work at town or with depositions in legal offices, as well as an exciting new area -- real-time and broadcast captioning.

"For the traditionalists -- there are opportunities to work for the state or federal judicial system in a lucrative nine-to-five position within the court system, moving to various courtrooms and experiencing all types of cases," says Dubrowksi. "Reporters who take this career path also enjoy the benefits of vacation, holiday and a generous pension plan."

Another compelling application for court reporting training is assisting students with disabilities. "Some reporters attend school with hearing impaired students, to record the lesson," she says. "Reporting for the hearing impaired is not as lucrative, but very rewarding."

The day-to-day challenges of a court reporting career revolve around accuracy, speed, and communication skills. "One must transcribe court proceedings rapidly and accurately, stopping when necessary should it become too fast or not understandable," says Dubrowski. "The next step is to produce a transcript, which includes editing, checking for typos, as well as delivery, mailing, billing and keeping records."

Much of court reporting involves a schedule that is constantly changing. Transcripts are ordered by attorneys, and that open-ended factor dictates much of the court reporter's income. Usually if a person is found innocent, no transcript is ordered, however most people found guilty tend to appeal, in which case a transcript will be demanded.

Generally speaking, a court reporter is required to supply transcript in 30 days. "A typical scenario would be one court reporter works on a trial for five days then is replaced with another court reporter," says Dubrowski. "Preparing a transcript of a five-day trial in 30 days would not be overwhelming, however if you get three orders in one day, or 15 days of trial to transcribe it becomes an increasing burden on a reporter's off hours, as court reporting transcripts are edited on your own time."

A lucrative and rewarding career awaits -- explore a court reporting training program today.