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Posts Tagged ‘court reporter shortage’

What the Court Stenographer Shortage Means for You

Posted on: March 7th, 2022 by Harrison Bryan No Comments

There has been a serious court reporter shortage since the early months of the pandemic of COVID-19. That shortage has yet to be corrected as many litigators are still struggling to find qualified court reporters, stenographers, and videographers to fill the demand. Here’s what the ongoing court reporter shortage means for you. 

 

What the Court Reporter Shortage Means for Litigators

One of the most tangible effects of the current shortage of court reporters that litigators have noticed is how much longer it takes to arrange a deposition. In the past, you could get a hold of a court reporter the day before a deposition, but it’s not that easy these days. 

At this point, most litigators have started issuing requests to court reporters in advance which means depositions need to be scheduled much earlier. Another problem is the fact that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for litigators to find court reporters that are reliable. With many of the best people in the profession already booked solid and fewer people coming out of stenography schools successfully, litigators are feeling the strain.  

What’s Causing the Shortage?

Several things are causing the shortage of court reporters that litigators are currently experiencing. For one thing, there simply aren’t enough of them, and to make matters worse, it takes four years of education to become a court reporter.

Worse yet, the success rate for people going into stenography school is extremely low which slows down the trickle of new court reporters entering the workforce

Team Up with CourtScribes Before the Shortage Gets Any Worse

Today, litigators across the nation are feeling a sense of urgency as they scramble to find dependable court reporters. Fortunately, CourtScribes has an entire team of highly experienced court reporters at the ready. We can provide stenography and videography services at an affordable price while ensuring exceptional accuracy. 

Need court reporters that you can depend on? Get in touch with CourtScribes today!

Court Reporter Shortage: High Demand!

Posted on: May 25th, 2020 by Santino No Comments

 

Legal and court reporting industries are on the verge of a serious court reporter shortage. As we start this new decade, we are looking at the lowest rates of court reporters ever recorded. The median age of all court reporters is right around 51 years old. This number is an omen for some very serious trouble for the industry in the future. With generations of court reporters nearing retirement, this industry is one of the most profitable careers paths available right now.

 

Why is there a Shortage of Court Reporters?

 

With the progression of technology, many people assumed that court reporting would eventually be a technological takeover. The court reporter would be replaced by the machine they used. However, it is quite the opposite. Legal industries will always be a prevalent pathway for a career. All legal activity has seen a large increase as the years progress. Due to this factor, the demand for these court reporters is becoming greater and greater. However, due to the lower rate of school enrollment and education, the knowledge of this position has begun to fade from the awareness of legal students. Also, with the average age of the average court reporter ranging around 51, many of these officials will be retiring within the next decade. This is going to leave a huge gap in the industry’s employment efficiency.

 

Benefits of Becoming a Court Reporter

 

If people even slightly considered the benefits of becoming a court reporter, then they would notice that this position is a goldmine for the freelance and entrepreneurial era we are in. First of all, court reporters bring in a good amount of income. However, with the demand on the rise for more, the earning potential of a court reporter has never been higher. Secondly, the education requirements for becoming a court reporter aren’t as difficult as you’d think. Many people believe an education in law will require many studious years. On the contrary, a court reporter is usually in a scholastic environment for only two years or until they receive their certificate. Lastly, there are so many different industries that require precision court reporting. This opens up so many viable ways of contorting your court reporting career to your freelancing niche. This job has never been as valuable or had as much potential as now!

Another State Acknowledges Its Shortage Of Court Reporters

Posted on: November 26th, 2018 by Dependable Website Management No Comments

Court reporter shortages are reported across the country, and court reporting technology like the services provided by Court Scribes in Florida and other states may be a solution in some situations.

South Dakota is one of the states that’s feeling the effects of the court reporter shortage, according to KELO of Keloland Media Group in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Court reporting is one of several skilled trades that’s facing a shortage in South Dakota, along with plumbers and electricians, KELO reported.

“We know we’re going to have positions open, and we need bodies to fill them,” Official Court Reporter Carla Dedula of South Dakota’s Unified Judicial System said. Dedula is one of just 50 court reporters in the system. Of the 50, almost half will be eligible to retire in the next 10 years, and there are not necessarily younger people coming up behind them to fill the empty positions.

“Nationally there were 5,500 open positions last year,” Freelance Court Reporter Pat Beck told the TV station.

He pointed out that in some states, courts are having to reschedule court cases because there aren’t enough reporters to make a record of what’s going on in the courtroom.

There aren’t any brick and mortar programs in South Dakota any more where people can learn the skill of court reporting, meaning if people in the state are interested in pursuing the field, they have to get a degree online, which usually takes a couple of years.

CourtScribes uses professional-level recording systems to bring the most sophisticated digital technology into the private marketplace and provide the highest quality transcripts.

Advanced technology helps make trials easier in many ways. There are many benefits of court technology, the most important being that people who can’t attend the trial can view the transcript in real-time if they have an internet connection.

Technical College Plans To Add Court Reporting Curriculum

Posted on: September 24th, 2018 by Dependable Website Management No Comments

There’s a nationwide shortage of court reporters, and while technology like the systems provided by CourtScribes help, skilled people are still needed to help with courtroom communications.

Horry Georgetown Technical College is one school that wants to start offering a court reporter program to help ease the shortage, which is especially severe in South Carolina, TV station WPDE ABC15 reported.

Horry Georgetown Technical College is a two-year technical college with three campuses, one in Georgetown, South Carolina, one in Conway, and one in Myrtle Beach. It is a part of the South Carolina Technical College System and is the fourth-largest technical college in the state, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs.

Miami court reporters

The Miami court reporters of CourtScribes incorporate technology into their work.

The president of the college, Dr. Marilyn Fore, said the first step to setting up a program at the school is to figure out what credentials are needed for the job and to determine whether the program should be a degree program or certificate program.

Next, the college will build a curriculum then find qualified instructors to teach the classes.

“I think there are private contractors that teach court reporting but they would like for a college to do this, so they’re also volunteering to teach. I’m going to seek those folks out and see how they can help us to structure the program,” she said.

Fore said she hopes to have a plan in place by January.

A recent National Court Reporters Association found there will be 5,500 job openings available in the court reporting field across the country in the next five years.

Part of the reason for the strong demand is that many court reporters are retiring, so jobs are opening up, but there aren’t enough studying court reporting so there aren’t enough people to fill the jobs.

Also, a lack of awareness about the profession means people don’t often think of it as a career choice, something that court reporting programs are working locally and nationally to change.

Court Reporters And Captioners Are In Demand

Posted on: September 4th, 2018 by Dependable Website Management No Comments

Becoming a court reporter is a sure-fire path to a good job, experts say.

A recent National Court Reporters Association survey that looked at the trends affecting job opportunities in the profession found there will be 5,500 job openings available in the field across the country in the next five years, Smart Business Cleveland reported.

Miami court reporters

The high tech solutions adopted by CourtScribes Miami court reporters could help solve personnel shortages.

“We have a 100 percent employment rate for graduates,” Kelly Moranz, program manager and adjunct faculty in the Captioning and Court Reporting program at Cuyahoga Community College, told Smart Business. “I’m always getting calls about job openings. Court reporters and captionists are being hired locally and all over the country.”

She said part of the reason for the strong demand is that many court reporters are retiring, so jobs are opening up but there aren’t enough people to fill them.

Also, a lack of awareness about the profession means people don’t often think of it as a career choice, something that court reporting programs are working locally and nationally change.

Moranz said flexibility is one attractive feature about the job. Captioners and court reporters often can work from home with significant earning potential. She said it’s not uncommon for experienced reporters to earn more than $100,000 a year.

She said new reporters might start out doing freelance work like deposition hearings, arbitrations or CART captioning for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community In court

There are also video captioning opportunities, including post-production jobs for companies like Nextflix and Hulu.

Training programs typically teach students the skills they need to earn their National Court Reporters Association or National Verbatim Reporters Association certification. There is also an associate degree option, which typically takes two years to complete.

The emphasis in court reporting is on accuracy and performance,  so students need to practice regularly to be successful.

Moranz noted that captioning and court reporting is an in-demand field offering excellent pay and great flexibility for those willing to put in the work.

Houston Man Holds Guinness World Record As Fastest Court Reporter

Posted on: August 13th, 2018 by Dependable Website Management No Comments

Who’s the fastest court reporter in the world? According to Guinness World Records, it’s

Mark Kislingbury, who can type 360 words per minute on his stenomachine.

Kislingbury set the record in 2004, securing his place in the Guinness World Record book as well as his place in history.

But Houston, Texas native Kislingbury is not happy to just sit back and relax now that he holds the world record, he told WGNO TV while he was attending the National Court Reporters Association convention in New Orleans recently.

court reporters

There’s still a place for courtroom stenography in the technological revolution by court reporting agency CourtScribes.

“I’m going to keep practicing in hopes of breaking my own record.  Hopefully in the next few years I can break it by typing 370 or 380 words per minute,” he said.

“It is wonderful to hold the record because only a small amount of people have a World Record, and I have one,”  he said.

Kislingbury, who said he has been a court reporter for 35 years, uses a stenomachine. While he was at the recent convention in New Orleans, he competed in a “real-time” competition in which he had 99 percent accuracy.

“Using this machine is using shorthand.  I make so many shortcuts, it allows me to go faster than most people,”  Kislingbury said.

He encouraged more people to learn his profession, which is seeing shortages across the United States.

“There’s a big demand.  There are jobs everywhere,” he said.  “The money is good.  The job satisfaction is good.  The job is challenging, so not everyone can do it, but that’s why we get paid so well.”

Guinness World Records says its mission is to make the amazing official. They seek to inspire people — individuals, families, schools, teams, groups, companies and communities – of any age, in any city or country, to be inspired by reading, watching, listening to and participating in record-breaking.

To become the ultimate global authority on record breaking, Guiness World Records

researches, measures, documents and authorizes the world’s superlatives, then creates products that entertain, inform and inspire people through our unique window on the world.

Court Reporter Shortage Hits Broward

Posted on: June 11th, 2018 by Dependable Website Management No Comments
Court reporters

Miami court reporters Courtscribes bring technology to the table.

The national court reporter shortage has reared its head in Florida, as Broward County wrestles with fallout from too-few qualified people.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that administrators in Broward County are being urged to boost the attractiveness of the profession before the shortage affects felony cases. According to the newspaper:

Court reporters in Broward are paid $100 for a morning of work and $100 for an afternoon in the felony division. On the civil side, they are not mandatory. When they are hired, they are not paid with taxpayer money.

Private lawyers are charged — $250 each for the morning and afternoon session.

Broward is just one of many places that finds itself facing a shortage of qualified court reporters, as we noted here.

According to Ducker Worldwide: “Increased legal activity and new opportunities will drive demand despite the steady transition of some courts to digital recording. Decreased enrollment and graduation rates for court reporters, combined with significant retirement rates, will create by 2018 a critical shortfall projected to represent nearly 5,500 court reporting positions.”

Ducker Worldwide predicts there will still be a strong market for courtroom stenography in the years to come.

CourtScribes is a pioneer in using technology to help enhance court reporting.

Entrepreneur and professor Barry Unger, in a white paper, writes that the court reporting agency is leading a wave of change to disrupt the centuries-old profession.

Unger writes: “CourtScribes is changing the court reporting industry by using Internet age technology to create the official record of court proceedings, using remote transcriptionists and charging attorneys up to 50% less than what they now pay, and as … a disruptive technology will not only improve the quality of services, but also ultimately extend and even democratize the use of services that are today often restricted only to high profile or high dollar value cases.”