5 Things Your Court Reporter Needs To Prepare a Complete Transcript

Whether you’re taking your first or 50^th deposition, there are a few items your court reporter needs in order to prepare a complete transcript and make sure you get exactly what you need to assist you with your litigation preparation.

While you may be very focused on your outline for the deposition, please remember your court reporter is gathering this information because she is thorough and good at her job, which is probably one of the reasons you’ve hired her in the first place.

1. Case Caption.  The court reporter needs this information for the title page of the transcript.  If you or your assistant can send this to the court reporter or her firm in advance of the deposition, it’s one less thing she’ll need to ask you for at the deposition.
2. Appearances.  The name and contact information for all of the parties in the room at the deposition will also go on the title pages.  The court reporter will need the names of any nonlawyers that may be in attendance.  If you bring business cards to the deposition, that can save some time.
3. Spellings.  Your court reporter may ask you or the witness for unusual spellings throughout the day, on breaks, or at the end of the deposition.  Please remember that you and the other parties may be very familiar with the medical or technical terminology involved in the case, or the proper names, but this may be the first time your court reporter is hearing some of them.  Be patient while she gets proper names and terms checked.
4. E-mail addresses.  In order to ensure proper delivery of your transcript and for ease of communication, your court reporter will need your e-mail address.  Also, it may be very helpful if you provide her with your assistant’s e-mail so she can be copied on any correspondence.
5. Transcript order.  At the end of the deposition, your court reporter will ask you about purchasing a transcript.  Please be patient as she asks about the format you’d like, exhibit copies, and delivery methods.  We understand you all want to get out as quickly as possible to get back to the office or on to another commitment, but she is gathering this information to ensure you receive the transcript in the most useful format for you and to reduce the need for repeated contact down the road to ask these questions.

As you can see, many of these items can be provided to the court reporter or her firm prior to the deposition.  That will allow you to spend more time preparing for the deposition and will reduce the number of questions from the court reporter, thus making both your jobs easier!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angie Starbuck is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and the owner of PRI Court Reporting, LLC. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Google+.