Tag: court reporters

Last Minute Holiday Tips

Last Minute Holiday Tips

(Let me just clarify, I know this photo has nothing to do with a healthyChristmas palm trees
lifestyle, but it’s got a holiday feeling and they’re palm trees –
what’s more relaxing than seeing those in your inbox?!?)

There are some “holiday tips” that can be used year round.  The challenge is trying to remember them on a regular basis!  This blog post features some tips we gained at a luncheon seminar put on by the Women Lawyers of Franklin County which featured a presentation by two Columbus attorneys, Stephanie Hanna (OSBA) and Simi Botic (health coach).

Stephanie and Simi offered simple tips to start a practice of self-care in three areas of our lives that can wreak havoc on our health, our diet, and our sanity!  Here are just a few of their great tips:

Relationships

Career

Health

With the holidays on top of us, everyone’s life gets a little more hectic, so don’t try to make a lot of changes all at once.  Pick one or two of these to focus on at a time and then gradually add another.  Thinking you need to change many habits all at once will set you up for failure.  One of my favorite messages is, “Forgive yourself for your inability to be perfect.”  Perfection cannot be achieved, but, rather, setting a goal to make yourself better than you were the day before is manageable.

You can find many more inspirational posts on Simi’s blog.

My wish for you is that you enjoy the holidays, enjoy the people in your life, and take the time to nourish your spirit!

Angie sigt 2.jpg

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+.

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An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Andrea Crago

An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Andrea Crago

PRI Court Reporting is lucky enough to have a very talented and experienced team of employees.  Andrea Crago is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio and she has been with PRI for 23 years.  While Andrea has concentrated her work in the CART setting for many years, she also has deposition experience as well.  Andrea is very professional, knowledgeable, and talented.  You may have met her at a deposition or CART job, so here’s a chance to get to know her a little better.

How long have you been a court reporter?
I have been a reporter for over 35 years, but took six years off (consecutive) during that time to have two children and to get them started in preschool.

How long have you been working at PRI?
I was hired by PRI in July of ’92, following my six-year hiatus from work. By the time I came back, the court reporting business had gone completely CAT (computer-assisted transcription), so I had a lot of ramping up to do, especially since I wanted to specialize in CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation). After five months of homework to build my computerized dictionary and building up my writing speed again, I went out on my first job in November of ’92. And I have been with PRI now for over 23 years.

Did you have other court reporting experience prior to joining PRI?
Yes, I have six years’ full-time experience in deposition work, trial work, and conference/meetings work, over four different states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut (my husband was in computer sales, and his job took us to four states over five years), but I never had any trouble getting a job with a freelance firm wherever we lived.

What do you like most about working at PRI?
Two things, really. Since I specialize in CART, PRI is the number one freelance firm in the state of Ohio which offers the highest quality CART/captioning writing, so we get some very high profile work, which is interesting and personally challenging. The second reason is PRI’s willingness to be flexible with my work schedule. I really only work part-time, but my availability is all over the place. I have been able to raise three children (yes, we added one more) while still being an “at-home” mom when needed.

Where are you from or where did you grow up?
I was born in Phoenix, AZ, while my dad was in the Air Force. When his tour was over, my parents moved back to Youngstown, Ohio. I was only 2 years old.

Before working as a court reporter, did you have another career or job?  If so, what?
I actually was a secretary for two lawyers in a firm after I graduated high school with clerical training. I was the person who booked the court reporter to come in for depositions. I would talk with them and ask lots of questions, and I thought it was something I would like and could do. Luckily, Youngstown State University offered an Associate’s Degree in court reporting. (They don’t anymore, sadly.) So I went to school at night after work, and three years later, I graduated at the top of my class.

What is one thing you would like our clients to know about court reporting/depositions/CART?
Not to sound flip, but to remember that even though we work with machinery and technology, that we are human – which ultimately makes for a better transcript (versus electronically recorded). But we do need periodic breaks, time for nourishment, and have busy lives outside of the courtroom/boardroom. And I wish we had super human hearing, but we don’t; so if you cannot hear a person talking, chances are we can’t, either.

What is the most unusual deposition/CART situation you’ve found yourself in?
Logistics-wise, having driven into the countryside for a deposition at someone’s home (a hostile witness) and not being able to get out of my car because of the attack dog that was at my window. Ultimately, the lawyer called me on my cell (from his car) and said that the depo was not going to take place.  Content-wise, while I was working in Connecticut, I reported the grand jury indictment proceedings, and there were always strange and unusual stories!

What’s on your iPod?
Oh, boy, I don’t own an iPod. I’m a big fan of listening to NPR on the radio.

What is one thing our clients don’t know about you?
I’m only half Italian.  (French is the other half)

What is your favorite restaurant in Columbus?
Mimi’s Cafe – best salmon.

What is your favorite app?
Google maps with audio directions. The best when driving at night and unfamiliar with the area. Second favorite: GasBuddy — finds the lowest gas prices in the area.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
Driving – picking up and dropping off kids.

What is your best tip for balancing work/life/family?
Trusting God, and looking ahead and planning for the next day or two. When the unexpected happens, put a positive spin on it and go with the flow.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about Andrea.  Look for more interviews with other PRI Court Reporting staff in the future.

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Are YOU Your Toughest Competitor?

Are YOU Your Toughest Competitor?

“The individual who only does enough to get by seldom gets much more than “by.” – Napoleon Hill

We’ve all heard the sayings, “You get out what you put in,” or “Garbage in, garbage out,” but this quote that I received in my daily e-mail from the Napoleon Hill Foundation freshened up this principle for me.

If you want to get more than “by,” how about applying these principles to your career, your faith, and your personal relationships in the coming year?  Not a New Year’s resolution, but a commitment to yourself to do your personal best every day.

The phrase that struck me the most in this particular daily e-mail was, “Your harshest critic and your toughest competitor should be you.”  We’re all probably really good at being our own harshest critic, but are we all our toughest competitor?

Do you strive to be/do/think/act better than you did the day before?  Do you seek higher achievements than you did last year?  Do you take the initiative at work to improve a process, make a job easier, save the company money?

Sometimes it’s easy to look at our competitors and try to compete with them when it’s really ourselves that we should be competing with.  If we do that, the achievements we seek will happen because we’re working hard to better ourselves.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angie Starbuck, RDR, CRR, CRC is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and the owner of PRI Court Reporting, LLC. Connect with her on LinkedIn.  You can also follow PRI Court Reporting on Twitter and Facebook.

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An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Amy L. Miller

An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Amy L. Miller

Amy Miller recently joined the team at PRI Court Reporting.  Amy is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio and she has been a court reporter for over 20 years. Amy is very friendly and cares a lot about her work and her family.  You’ll meet Amy at a deposition soon, but in the meantime, here’s a chance to get to know her a little better.

How long have you been a court reporter?
I started reporting 21 years ago this month!

How long have you been working at PRI Court Reporting?
I am thrilled to have started PRI Court Reporting in November of 2015

Did you have other court reporting experience prior to joining PRI?
I did.  I was with two other local firms before joining PRI

What do you like most about working at PRI?
So far, I am really enjoying the office staff, clientele, and software.  I love the atmosphere!

Where are you from or where did you grow up?
I was born at St. Ann’s Hospital.  While much of my family has decided to leave central Ohio, this is my home.

Before working as a court reporter, did you have another career or job? If so, what?
I heard a commercial for the “glamorous life of court reporting” on the radio when I was a senior in high school.  I decided right then and there that this was the path I was taking and I never looked back.

What is one thing you would like our clients to know about court reporting/depositions? 
Court reporters put their hearts into your transcripts.  It is really helpful to state your goals for them (i.e., expedited due dates, unusual spellings that are case-specific) as these things arise so we can keep up with your needs!

What is the most unusual deposition situation you’ve found yourself in?
Once I was in a situation where emotions ran so high, the police were called and me and my machine were knocked over all while still on the record!  Who says court reporting isn’t interesting?

What’s on your iPod?
Oh, I love music!  My iTunes library has over 3,000 songs in so many genres, I couldn’t even begin to list what’s on it!

What is one thing our clients don’t know about you?
I am a hard-core couponer.  Like following websites for the best “deals” of the week and looking forward to the Sunday paper.  I find this fun.  I started doing it way before they made a silly TV show about people that coupon.

What is your favorite restaurant in Columbus?
That’s a tough question. For a special evening, The Refectory.  For a nice evening, Polaris Grill.  To carry home, Golden Valley.

What is your favorite app?
Without a doubt, my favorite app is Spotify.  There is so much music to choose from, and the ability to download and listen and make your own playlists is just awesome.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I love to cook and do prepare meals most days of the week; spend time with my son; hang out with my friends and family.  I have two dogs and a cat and I am crazy about them as well. My favorite times involve all of these cool people and furry animals all landing in the same place!

What is your best tip for balancing work/life/family?
Sometimes our jobs can be a real balancing act when it comes to work life/family life and it doesn’t always work out.  Expedited transcripts happen and we don’t always know they are going to.  The people that love us are aware that is a possibility and are good about working around that.  However, for the most part, the way I have found that works best is to have a dedicated room in my home for an office that has a door that can be shut during off hours.  So when I am done for the day, the door gets shut and then work is over and my home becomes my home again.  Balance.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about Amy.  Look for more interviews with other PRI Court Reporting staff in the future.

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An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Rhonda Lawrence

An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Rhonda Lawrence

PRI Court Reporting is lucky enough to have a very talented and experienced team of employees.  Rhonda Lawrence is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio and she has been with PRI for a total of 17 years. Rhonda is a very skilled realtime writer and very upbeat and friendly.  You have probably met Rhonda at a deposition, so here’s a chance to get to know her a little better.

How long have you been a court reporter?
I have been a court reporter since March of 1988.  I can’t believe it’s been 26 years.  I hope I still have 20 years left in me.

How long have you been with PRI?
I came back to PRI in August of 2002.  Previously, I worked for PRI from 1989 to 1995.

What do you like most about working at PRI?
If I had to pick only one thing that I like most about working at PRI, it would be the people; not only the court reporters and PRI staff, but the attorneys that we work for.

Where are you from or where did you grow up?
I grew up in Waldo, Ohio (home of the famous G&R bologna sandwich), but I’ve been in Columbus for so long that it’s the only place that gives me that “home” feeling.

Before working as a court reporter, did you have another career or job?
While I was going to court reporting school, I also worked full-time as a legal secretary in Marion through the week and at Chi-Chi’s Restaurant on the weekends.

What is one thing you would like our clients to know about court reporting, either depositions or CART?
I have found over the years that clients like to use the same court reporter for all of their depositions in a case.  That way attorneys/witnesses do not have to keep repeating vocabulary and spellings.

What is the most unusual deposition setting you’ve found yourself in?
I would not call it “unusual,” but by far my best assignment I’ve been on was a 6-week trial in Florida.  I’m sure I do not need to elaborate any further than “Florida.”

What is on your iPod?
My favorite vocal artist to this day remains Jon Bon Jovi.

What is one thing our clients don’t know about you?
I have a side business/hobby in photography/video production.  While I’ve recently begun taking portraits, my specialty is photographing high school sports teams in action and producing the team banquet video.

What is your favorite Columbus restaurant?
My favorite restaurant in Columbus is The Melting Pot.  It’s the only place that I never pass on dessert.

What is your favorite app?
My favorite app is Facebook.  I love to be connected with my family and friends so easily.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
When I am not working on transcripts, I am usually taking/editing photographs and making photograph videos.

What is your best tip for balancing work/life/family?
The best tip for balancing work and family is to have an understanding family when I have to put work first and an understanding boss when I have to put family first.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about Rhonda.  Look for more interviews with other PRI Court Reporting staff in the future.

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An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Julia Lamb

An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Julia Lamb

PRI Court Reporting is lucky enough to have a very talented and friendly team of employees.  Julia Lamb is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio.  She has been with PRI for eight  years, and we’re so happy to have someone with Julia’s skills on our team.  You have probably met Julia at a deposition, so here’s a chance to get to know her a little better.

How long have you been working at PRI?
I started with PRI in July of 2006.

How long have you been a court reporter?
I have been a court reporter for over 26 years.

What court reporting experience did you have prior to joining PRI?
I worked in Franklin County Domestic Court for five years, and I worked for another court reporting firm for 14 years before that.

What do you like most about working at PRI?
The people I work with are great.  Karen and Gary are always so helpful and all the court reporters have a good camaraderie.

Where are you from or where did you grow up?
I am from Canton, Ohio, where I lived since the age of 13.  Before that, we lived in Michigan.

Before working as a court reporter, did you have another career or job?
I was a secretary at night at the Canton Jewish Community Center while attending college, and I began babysitting when I was 11 years old.

What is one thing you would like our clients to know about court reporting?
We are humans and we make mistakes.

What’s the most unusual deposition situation you’ve found yourself in?
Alone in a locked room at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility with an inmate weighing well over 300 pounds, and not handcuffed, while the attorneys left the room to see if they had further questions.

What is on your iPod?
I haven’t been bit by the Apple bug yet, but I love the radio…lol.

What is one thing our clients don’t know about you?
I am a good cook – but don’t tell my husband because he does the cooking and I want to keep it that way!!

What is your favorite Columbus restaurant?
Who can pick one when there are so many?!?

What is your favorite app?
Gas Buddy.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
Spend time with my family.

What is your best tip for balancing work/life/family?
Don’t procrastinate.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about Julia.  Look for more interviews with other PRI Court Reporting staff in the future.

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An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Christine Woodruff

An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Christine Woodruff

PRI Court Reporting is lucky enough to have a very talented and friendly team of employees.  Christine Woodruff is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and she has been with PRI for over 13 years. Christine concentrates her work in the CART setting, but has deposition experience, also.  Christine is very professional, friendly, and talented.  You have probably met her at a deposition or CART job, so here’s a chance to get to know her a little better.

How long have you been a court reporter?
I have been a court reporter for 13 years.

How long have you been working at PRI Court Reporting?
I have worked for PRI all of my court reporting career.

Did you have other court reporting experience prior to joining PRI?
I did a short assignment as an intern at the Franklin County courthouse at the end of my schooling.

What do you like most about working at PRI?
I love the people I work with at PRI.  I also like the variety of work that is available at PRI because it never gets old or boring. I am constantly learning new things and meeting new people.

Where are you from or where did you grow up?
I grew up in Grove City, Ohio.  I went to a Catholic school through middle school, and then I graduated from Grove City High School.  My parents grew up in Grove City, as well.

Before working as a court reporter, did you have another career or job?  If so, what?
Before working for PRI, I had a few other jobs.  The job I had immediately before PRI was as a safety coordinator for a wood manufacturing plant.  I developed and taught safety trainings, helped develop and organize the plant’s safety program, and kept all the records for the plant that were required by OSHA.  I also briefly held my Realtor’s license.

What is one thing you would like our clients to know about court reporting/depositions/CART?
The biggest thing I would tell our clients about court reporting is that court reporters are not as familiar with the case or the subject matter as they are, so any information you can share ahead of time will make the court reporter’s job easier.  Specifically, things such as names of the parties involved and any technical or medical terms that will likely come up will be very helpful.

What is the most unusual deposition/CART situation you’ve found yourself in?
The most unusual place I have been in for my job is the conference room looking out at the “death house” at an Ohio correctional institution.  Some of the interesting subjects that I have encountered are landscape architecture, nursing, engineering, disability studies, deaf history, fine arts, organic chemistry, physics,  CAD, welding, Greek mythology, genetic engineering, physiology, child development, psychology, Asian philosophy, ASL, Six Sigma, ceramics, and many more.  I have met very interesting and unusual people, too.

What’s on your iPod?
My favorite thing to listen to is talk radio or podcasts; however, I am a fan of most types of music including country, classical, musicals, rock, alternative, gospel, and Christian music.

What is one thing our clients don’t know about you?
I was a den mom for Boy Scouts and a leader for Girl Scouts.

What is your favorite Columbus restaurant?
I love The Cheesecake Factory!

What is your favorite app?
My favorite apps are Kindle and YouVersion, but I use Waze the most often.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
When I am not at work, I am usually with my children or playing with my grandson.  I enjoy volunteering for anything that allows me to be involved in any way with my kids, which includes school events, sporting events, or even just being their personal taxi driver.  I also enjoy playing tennis, volleyball, and other sports.

What is your best tip for balancing work/life/family?
Set priorities and stick with them, and use your time wisely.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about Christine.  Look for more interviews with other PRI Court Reporting staff in the future.

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Steps a Court Reporter Takes to Prepare a Transcript for Production

Steps a Court Reporter Takes to Prepare a Transcript for Production

Do you ever wonder about how a court reporter gets such a great transcript to you after your deposition and the steps she takes to accomplish this?

Imagine this:  You’ve just completed an all-day deposition of the expert witness in your case and you’ve lightened the load in your briefcase by giving all your exhibits to the court reporter.  You’ve told her that you need the transcript expedited.  You’ve been watching the realtime screen all day, so you know how clean the transcript is.  It can’t be that difficult or take that long to get the transcript ready for delivery, right?

While your favorite court reporter is very good at her job – she must be, otherwise you wouldn’t hire her, right? —  producing a transcript isn’t as easy as hitting the print button on her computer.

Here are some of the steps a good court reporter will go through once the deposition is over in order to produce a clean, accurate transcript that will help you and your client:

Depending on the type of deposition and the complexity of the case or the witness, it could take up to two times the length of the deposition for the court reporter to complete the transcript.  So for a four-hour deposition, she could spend eight hours on editing and proofreading that transcript.

So remember, after your all-day deposition is over and you’ve expedited that transcript for overnight delivery, your favorite court reporter will be up for hours that night reading, editing, and proofreading in order to provide you with the great service and accurate transcript you’ve become accustomed to.

 

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+.

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PRI Court Reporting Administrative Spotlight: Production Manager Gary Burgard

PRI Court Reporting Administrative Spotlight: Production Manager Gary Burgard

PRI Court Reporting has a very experienced and knowledgeable team of internal office staff.  Gary Burgard is our production manager.  He is our longest tenured employee and he’s served many different roles over the years.  We’re lucky to have him!  You may have spoken with Gary on the phone when scheduling a deposition or ordering a transcript, so here’s a chance to get to know him a little better.

What are you responsible for at PRI Court Reporting?  
My primary responsibility is to get transcripts to clients, which includes files in various formats, exhibits, and a PRI Portfolio which is a searchable hyperlinked file in PDF format.  I also do filings, scheduling, issue and have subpoenas served for depositions.

How long have you been with PRI?
It will be 27 years on March 17, 2014.

Did you have other court reporting experience prior to joining PRI?
Yes.  I worked for Lord Reporting as a federal “court reporter” recording and transcribing hearings and trials for the government.

What is your favorite part about working at PRI?
The people are great to work with.

Where are you from or where did you grow up?
Born in Adrian, Michigan, grew up in Toledo, Ohio

What was the first job you ever had?
First real job was for a veterinarian, three years in high school and the first year of college when on break.

What is one thing you would like our clients to know about transcript production/scheduling? 
It’s easy to schedule a court reporter using PRI’s website.  Just go to www.priohio.com and click on the green Schedule Now button.  Follow the prompts, and once completed you will receive an e-mail confirmation.  Another e-mail confirmation will be sent the day before.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
Concerts, movies.

What’s on your iPod? 
Everything from Bach to Rammstein.

What is one thing our clients don’t know about you?
I was a working musician for 15 years.

What is your favorite restaurant in Columbus?
Rancho Alegre.

What is your favorite app?
I have no cell phone, no apps.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about Gary.  Look for more interviews with other PRI Court Reporting staff in the future.

Court Reporting Ethics: Incentive Gifts to Attorneys

Court Reporting Ethics: Incentive Gifts to Attorneys

Does your court reporting firm offer you, your assistant, or your paralegal, gifts of money, gift cards, or products in exchange for scheduling your depositions with them?  Over the years, some court reporting firms have participated in a disturbing practice of offering “rewards programs” for attorneys and their law firms whereby the scheduler of depositions earns points or gifts every time they schedule with that court reporting firm.

This can be a dangerous practice for court reporting firms as well as the attorneys and their clients.  As keepers of the record and officers of the court, court reporters should maintain impartiality and neutrality in order to protect the integrity of our profession.

The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) Code of Professional Ethics states that members shall, “Refrain from giving, directly or indirectly, any gift or anything of value to attorneys or their staff, other clients or their staff, or any other persons or entities associated with any litigation, which exceeds $150 in the aggregate per recipient each year.  Nothing offered in exchange for future work is permissible, regardless of its value.”  NCRA has further distinguished between “thank you” gifts (such as pens, coffee mugs, and other marketing materials), and “incentive” gifts, which are given in exchange for the promise of future work.

NCRA has formed Ethics First, which is a “voluntary…public awareness program that seeks to positively educate court reporters, colleagues, firms, and in particular, their clients and consumers,” about why the impartiality and neutrality of the court reporter is so important in maintaining our legal system.  If you would like to help maintain an unbiased legal system, please consider using a court reporting firm that is an Ethics First member, and one that doesn’t use gifting as a way to increase their business.

While the court reporter’s concern about impartiality is of utmost importance to them, attorneys and law firms should also be concerned about their participation in “rewards programs.”  Here are some things to think about:

So when scheduling your depositions, whether locally or nationally, don’t hesitate to ask the firm if they are an Ethics First participant.  Consider using a firm with qualified, experienced court reporters so you know you’ll receive the best services for your client, and don’t be fooled by the gifts!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angie Starbuck is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and the owner of PRI Court Reporting, LLC. Angie is an individual participant in NCRA Ethics First, and PRI Court Reporting is a proud Ethics First firm participant.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Google+.

Photo credit here.

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