Tag Archive for "national court reporters association" - CourtScribes, Inc.

Sonja L. Reeves Receives Prestigious NCRA Award

Posted on: November 15th, 2021 by Sfl Media No Comments

CourtScribes likes to spread the love. So we are happy to announce that The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), which is the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters and captioners, has announced that Sonja L. Reeves has earned the nationally recognized Registered Diplomate Reporter (RDR) certification.

This is the highest credential available to stenographic court reporters handed out. Reporters with this credential are recognized as highly experienced and seasoned members of the profession’s elite. NCRA currently has about 350 members who hold this highly prestigious certification.

Reeves is a federal official court reporter for the U. S. District Court in the District of Alaska. She is also a member of NCRA and has worked as a court reporter for 32 years. She also holds the professional certifications of Registered Professional Reporter (RPR), Registered Merit Reporter (RMR), and Certified Realtime Reporter, (CRR).

To be recognized as an RDR, candidates must hold the RMR certification and have five current and continuous years of membership in the NCRA, as well as pass a written knowledge test that focuses on the areas of technology, reporting practices and professional practices.

If you need court reporting services like Sonja provides, then CourtScribes.com which supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

Although the majority of cities that offer CourtScribes’ services are in Florida, the company home base, other cities all across these United States that CourtScribes offers services in, are the following: Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Coral, Coral Springs, Clearwater, Palm Bay, Fort Myers, Weston, Sarasota, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Hialeah, Stuart, Hollywood, Naples, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Jupiter, Key West, Coral Gables, Maryland, Manhattan, Buffalo, Washington DC, Baltimore, Bowie, Virginia, Frederick, Albany, New York, Brooklyn, Westchester, Gaithersberg, and Rockville.

What are the Different Stenographic Certifications

Posted on: July 12th, 2021 by Sfl Media No Comments

Like any career, there are some that are more accredited than others. This is true for those in stenography as well. Here is an introduction to the levels that stenographers can achieve according to the NCRA aka National Court Reporters Association.

Stenographic certifications include (from entry-level to highest order):

Registered Skilled Reporter (RSR)
Registered Professional Reporter (RPR)
Registered Merit Reporter (RMR)
Registered Diplomate Reporter (RDR)

The entry-level registered skilled reporter requires the slowest Q&A dictation speed at 200 words per minute. The dictation speed and written knowledge content increase in difficulty through the certification progression. The registered diplomate reporter is the highest level of certification available to stenographic court reporters and requires passing a Q&A dictation speed of 260 words per minute. The RDR designation also has a years-of-experience component. The RDR distinguishes high-level, seasoned reporters as members of the profession’s elite.

The National Verbatim Reporters Association aka NVRA voice writer certifications include:

Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR)
Certificate of Merit (CM)
Military Verbatim Reporter (MVR)

Skills tests for both NCRA and NVRA certifications are administered at speeds ranging from 200 to 260 words per minute for five minutes of dictation at 95% to 96% accuracy, including all speaker designations, punctuation, and procedural events that take place during the proceeding.

A Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) is a designation granted by multiple states across the country. The testing speeds and written exam requirements vary.

If you’re seeking a stenographic reporter who is highly skilled at providing an instantaneous delivery of the spoken word to text, you will want to seek a Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR).

A voice writer with similar skills has achieved one of the following certifications: Realtime Verbatim Reporter (RVR) or Realtime Verbatim Reporter – Master (RVR-M).

Accessibility to justice requires accommodations for people with hearing loss. A Certified Realtime Captioner (CRC) should be engaged for this service if you’re using a stenographic reporter. Registered CART Provider – Master (RCP-M) is the designation for a voice reporter.

A Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS), administered by the National Court Reporters Association, holds a high level of skill and understanding of all aspects of video deposition recording, court proceedings, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and deposition best practices.

If you need court reporting services, please contact CourtScribes.com, which supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world, and are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

CourtScribes Providing 24/7 Online Access to Your Private Online Repository

Posted on: March 1st, 2021 by Sfl Media No Comments

CourtScribes is the website and court service for all of your court reporter, remote court access, and online database needs. One of the top features offered is that CourtScribes offers 24/7 access to a private online repository that will hold all of your transcripts, exhibits, and videos regardless of where you might be located. By using either a computer, tablet, or smartphone, one can access all files on-demand. If you need the help of some of the most skilled court reporters in the business, then you must contact CourtScribes today!

What Type of Services does a Court Reporting Agency Provide?

CourtScribes takes pride in providing the most high-value skills many court reporting agencies don’t even possess. Here are some services that CourtScribes provides:

Live & On-Demand Video Streaming – Many court reporting agencies haven’t embraced the high levels of value that videography offers. Professional videography has boosted the court reporting profession into the future.
Video-to-Text Synchronization – Due to our ability to perform professional legal videography, we also offer a video-to-text option. This allows you to watch the video of the court proceeding while having a text page to follow along. These are equipped with timestamps and other information regarding the proceeding.
Certified Transcripts – You will be provided transcripts that are certified by professional court reporters. These can be stored in our (your) private online repository.
Interpreters – CourtScribes has interpreters available for any of your language needs.
Daily/Expedited Delivery – We offer two different types of delivery. Both have quick results.

CourtScribes covers trials, arbitrations, depositions, mediations and hearings.

If you need court reporting services that handle digital recording then CourtScribes.com which supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

2021 National Court Reporting & Captioning Week Announced for February

Posted on: December 28th, 2020 by Sfl Media No Comments

CourtScribes is proud to announce that The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), which is the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters, captioners, and legal videographers, has designated February 6th-13th as the 2021 National Court Reporting & Captioning Week.

The weeklong event themed ‘All you need is love and steno.’ brings court reporters, captioners, court reporting firms, schools, and others in the legal industry together in showing the many aspects that make court reporting and captioning a viable profession.

Aspects include a quicker entrance into the workforce since no four-year degree is required, well-paying salaries, job and hours flexibility, and an increasing demand for more reporters and captioners to meet the growing number of employment opportunities available in the field.

The 2021 event marks the ninth year NCRA has hosted the celebration.

“Court Reporting & Captioning Week is our time to shine the light on what we do, why we do it, and what makes us, human court reporters and captioners, so vital,” said NCRA President Christine Phipps, RPR.

“Whether we are preserving records of proceedings, gathering the stories of our war veterans, or ensuring that the spoken word is made available through captions to members of the deaf or hard of hearing community, the skills we employ as professionals are dynamic and unique and cannot ever be replaced by artificial intelligence or electronic recordings,” Phipps added.

Court reporting and captioning professions offer serious career choices and plenty of employment opportunities nationwide and abroad. Court reporters and captioners rely on the latest in technology to use stenographic machines to capture the spoken word and translate it into written text in real-time. This work can take place both in and out of the courtroom. These tasks include recording legal cases & depositions, providing live captioning of events, and assisting members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities with gaining access to information, entertainment, educational opportunities, and more.

The NCRA made available a robust catalog of resources ranging from press release templates to media messages to help spread the word about the benefits of a career in court reporting or captioning. Additional marketing materials are available on NCRA’s DiscoverSteno.org site. There is also information available at the site about NCRA’s A to Z® Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand, a free, six-week program that offers attendees the opportunity to learn to write the alphabet on a steno machine to discover if a career in court reporting or captioning is suited for them.

Texas Website Connects Legal Professionals with Court Reporters

Posted on: December 21st, 2020 by Sfl Media No Comments

Recently, the Texas Court Reporters Association (TCRA) announced the launch of MyTexasCSR.com. It is a new website that is dedicated to connecting legal professionals with court reporters. CourtScribes thinks this is quite an interesting concept. This might be an idea that takes off all around the country.

The site was developed after much debate on solving an ongoing challenge in the legal community. According to an independent industry outlook report, the retirement rate of court reporters has now surpassed the rate of new Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) certifications. This has resulted in a national court reporter shortage with Texas owning the second-biggest shortage in the country. There are currently over 2,200 CSRs in Texas.

Mellony Ariail, the President of TCRA, said, “TCRA developed a multi-pronged and comprehensive plan to address the shortage of court reporters, including the creation of MyTexasCSR.com. Our mission was to develop a tool that ensured that 100% of Texas court reporter jobs were filled.”

MyTexasCSR.com is a first of its kind website that Ariail describes as an “Uber for Court Reporters.” Attorneys, judges and their administrators and assistants can use MyTexasCSR.com to notify Texas court reporters of their need for a CSR for court proceedings, hearings, depositions, conferences, meetings or other events that require verbatim reporting and transcribing.

Attorneys have expressed frustration with the difficulty in hiring a court reporter when needed and may feel the need to resort to using non-human alternatives. Some companies are promoting digital recording and voice recognition as a way to fill the gap but the National Court Reporters Association describes those methods as “a loss in accuracy, timeliness and value.”

All court reporters in Texas are invited to register for free on the website to receive immediate alerts for jobs that need to be filled. After an attorney registers on the site and posts a request for a reporter to cover a job, the poster will get an email notification each time a reporter replies to the request. The email notification includes a link to the applicant’s profile as well as their email address and phone number for direct communication.

MyTexasCSR.com was launched in September 2020 and has already connected dozens of Texas CSRs with attorneys, judges and court administrators in need of court reporters.

If you need court reporting services that handle digital recording then CourtScribes.com which supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

Although the majority of cities that offer CourtScribes’ services are in Florida, the company home base, other cities all across these United States that CourtScribes offers services in, are the following: Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Coral, Coral Springs, Clearwater, Palm Bay, Fort Myers, Weston, Sarasota, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Hialeah, Stuart, Hollywood, Naples, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Jupiter, Key West, Coral Gables, Maryland, Manhattan, Buffalo, Washington DC, Baltimore, Bowie, Virginia, Frederick, Albany, New York, Brooklyn, Westchester, Gaithersberg, and Rockville.

NCRA’s Celebrate Certification Month

Posted on: May 18th, 2020 by Sfl Media No Comments

The Members of the National Court Reporter’s Association are once again coming to participate in the annual Celebrate Certification Month. This May will be the third year of celebrating not only Court Reporter certifications, but certifications of all kind. Throughout the month, members of the NCRA are being encouraged to share with clients and other workforce about their success with being a certified court reporter. Also, they are trying to connect with clients about how important receiving a national certification is, and how important it is to choose people who possess such qualities.

Importance of Having a National Certification

National certifications are a key element to showing dedication to your profession. A national certified court reporter has a big commitment to their profession and does their best to keep all of their skills polished. Those with professional certifications provide the highest quality service available in the career. Also, numerous court reporters that truly do possess their professional certifications show to have a higher pay then others. Court Reporters are currently in short supply. All over the country, these positions need to be filled. What better time to strive for a certification in professional court reporting than now?

Court Reporter Platform

Court reporters all over the country are striving for greatness in their profession. There are tons of specialized court reporting certifications. Many of these professions only require designated training and certifications. This is contrary to other professions that require well over 4 years of learning in a scholastic environment. Being a court reporter is in increasing demand. These jobs include venues all over the world, flexible schedules and great salaries! May, 2020 is another year of celebrating certifications of all kinds throughout the country. If you haven’t taken the time to achieve a professional certification for your job, then now is the time! It is never too late to be recognized as one that strives and perseveres in their profession!

Arkansas Station KARK to Highlight Court Reporter Shortages

Posted on: February 10th, 2020 by Sfl Media No Comments

As we have detailed over and over again, courtrooms across the nation are dealing with a shortage of court reporters. The National Court Reporter Association estimates a shortage of 5,000 court reporters throughout the United States again this year.

A lack of court reporters can prompt some courts to delay legal proceedings and ask other reporters to work extra shifts. This is becoming a problem in the state of Arkansas as well now.

In Arkansas, the salary for a court reporter is about $45,000-$50,000. Some earn more than $100,000, depending on their experience. The bottom line is that the pay is very competitive, but there is just not enough interest being generated.

NBC affiliate in Arkansas KARK will have reporter ReChelle Turner in the courtroom to speak to two different court reporters about their careers and the future of the profession.

On the KARK News at 10, Turner explains the different methods you can learn to be a court reporter, the skills you need, and why there is a shortage of court reporters in the natural state and the country.

This can only help the shortages. Let’s hope that in some way it does just that.

If you need court reporting services from the best court reporting service, CourtScribes.com which supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world, and we are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

National Court Reporters Association Pushes Back Against Digital Reporting

Posted on: January 27th, 2020 by Sfl Media No Comments

It was only a matter of time, but a fight is brewing in the court reporting industry over the acceptance and accuracy of digital court reporters. Now to be sure, nobody disagrees that there’s a critical shortage of court reporters in the United States. A recent report sponsored by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) stressed that the dwindling supply of court reporters would lead to a nearly 5,500 shortfall in those positions by 2018.

It is now 2020, and that shortfall hasn’t improved, but NCRA president Roy “Max” Curry Jr. said digital reporters aren’t the solution.

The association noted the integrity and accuracy of a digital court reporter’s transcript “completely depends on the audio quality,” and that the audio files used are “outsourced” for transcription, which jeopardizes sensitive information. What’s more, the NCRA alleged there’s no standard or certification for digital reporters.

Despite the hesitancy toward digital court reporting, the NCRA isn’t against leveraging technology to deploy the limited amount of court reporters to more court and deposition proceedings.

What Did Curry Say

In fact, Curry said the NCRA supports leveraging video conferencing technology for court reporters to transcribe various proceedings remotely in one location. Curry said the NCRA agrees with remote transcribing with video conferencing because, unlike digital court reporting, it doesn’t solely rely on a court reporter transcribing prerecorded audio.

“It’s just too risky to go down the road of this [electronic recording] stuff in regard to record integrity,” Curry said. He added, “When digital media is altered it would take a digital expert to confirm it.”

However, many advocates for digital court reporters say the NCRA’s claims are faulty and misguided.

What Did Others Have to Say

Janet Harris, co-founder and president of the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT) co-wrote a response letter to the NCRA’s flyer taking issue with the NCRA’s claims that digital court reporters lack certification and standards.

She pointed to AAERT’s electronic court reporter and electronic transcriber programs, and the association’s best practices guide, as examples of the certification and ongoing guidance it provides digital court reporters.

Digital legal record-keeping advocate Speech-to-Text Institute, which was also a co-writer of the NCRA response letter, also took issue with some of NCRA’s accusations.

“They have no basis to say that digital reporting with an actual digital reporter monitoring the system that ensures accuracy can deliver anything a stenographer can’t do, except for perhaps real-time translation to see texts of proceedings,” said Jim Cudahy, executive director of Speech-to-Text Institute and the former executive director of NCRA.

Harris also noted the AAERT’s best practices guide includes making multiple copies of audio and storing archives with the court, as a safeguard. She said the NCRA’s flyer might signify a fear of the technological unknown.

Finding a resolution to the growing court reporter shortage has grabbed the legal and tech industry’s attention as it is well known to be a serious issue.

For its part, Curry said the NCRA isn’t against court reporters leveraging advanced technology. In fact, he predicts as AI’s accuracy improves it will play a larger part in court reporters’ work for the better.

CourtScribes.com supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world, and we too are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

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