Court Reporting Blog

July 15, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

Fair Pricing of Legal Transcripts by Court Reporters

Is it okay for me to get a free copy of a transcript from opposing counsel?

From time to time we hear of an attorney who has asked opposing counsel for a copy of a deposition transcript so that they don’t need to order one from the court reporter. To some, this may seem a simple and practical way of receiving a free transcript. As court reporters, there are some things we would like you to know about our pricing and why that practice undermines our standards in pricing.

The fact is that standard pricing practices for transcripts have always taken into consideration that a legal transcript is something that is usually required by both sides of a lawsuit in order for each side to do their job properly. If attorneys began passing around free copies of transcripts, court reporters would only be partially paid for the work they perform. We would need to change our pricing in order to be fully compensated. We would need to charge the full amount of transcription to the side who is ordering the original. This would almost double the cost of a transcript for the ordering party.

There could be undesirable ramifications to changing our pricing structure. For example, if the cost of an original was high, and the cost of a copy was free, it might reduce the number of witnesses you are willing to depose in a lawsuit and potentially change the way in which you conduct your case.

If there are multiple parties, is it okay to make free copies of transcripts for the other parties?

Again, the fact that there are sometimes multiple parties has also been figured into the pricing structure we use. Yes, sometimes we are able to sell extra copies of a transcript in the case of multiple parties. But there are also many times when only the original is ordered, and no one is ordering the copy. In those cases, we are making considerably less than we should on a transcript and the work that went into producing it. So the extra orders we receive occasionally from multiple parties help make up for those times when only one side orders a transcript.

If parties were to regularly only order one copy and share it, we would be forced to change our pricing structure. It would be necessary for us to charge the ordering attorney more to make up for the copy that the other party didn’t purchase. We prefer not to do that because it wouldn’t be fair to the ordering party to put all the weight on their shoulders.

As court reporters, our job is to be fair and impartial and we take that responsibility seriously. We are very careful how we structure our pricing to ensure that all parties in a lawsuit are treated fairly and equitably.

To learn more about court reporting pricing and costs, download our guide, “How Much Should I Expect to Pay for Court Reporting Services.”

July 10, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

Court Reporters Ethics and Gift-Giving

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of gift-giving or reward programs offered to attorneys and their staff for scheduling depositions with a particular court reporting agency. The gifts clearly are made in order to influence the selection of court reporting agencies when scheduling depositions. There is an ongoing debate among court reporters whether this practice is ethical and whether it begins to erode the industries’ reputation for operating with high integrity.

Taking a look at the question from the vantage point of a law firm and its staff, receiving these gifts and rebates presents several ethical questions. Let’s say a client brings a large case to your office. Your assistant is offered gifts, such as $25 gas cards, a $250 shopping spree, maybe even an iPad if your office books the depositions with a particular court reporting firm.

Who does the gift belong to?
Should your client be entitled to a reduction in fees to reflect the cost of the gift, or entitled to the gift itself?
How do you know that your client is not overpaying for the reporting fees that cover this marketing practice?
How do you know if your firm is overpaying for transcripts to cover the cost of these reporting rewards programs?

What does the ABA think is ethical?

Someone pays for those enticing gifts, kickbacks and rebates. And the consumer, including the lawyer, is unprotected from the loss without even knowing it. The American Bar Association, in its published Opinion 278, states that a lawyer should not accept a gratuity from anyone without the client’s consent and that the gratuity belongs to the client.

What does NCRA think is ethical?

The National Court Reporters Association has come out with an opinion on the ethics of such activities from the viewpoint of the court reporter in its “Ethics First” campaign. In 1993, NCRA adopted as part of its Code of Professional Ethics a policy that prohibits giving excessive gifts to attorneys, clients, witnesses, insurance companies, or other persons or entities associated with the litigation. The original policy set a limit of up to $25 in value per occurrence and $50 in aggregate per person per year. The limit later was set at $100 per recipient per year.

The policy was established because the NCRA Board of Directors believed that the practice of providing gifts, rewards, or incentives to attorneys, clients or their representatives or agents undermines and dilutes the integrity of the reporting profession and the status of the reporter as a neutral and impartial officer of the court. Giving excessive gifts and incentives can create, in the eye of the public, the appearance of partiality or favoritism on the part of the reporter towards the recipient.

The Board of Directors in 2008 asked the Committee on Professional Ethics to review the policy. As a result of that process, the association’s policy on gift giving was reaffirmed, and COPE Advisory Opinion No. 45 was issued to clarify the policy. In 2011, at COPE’s recommendation, the policy on gift giving has been revised to prohibit all gifts, regardless of their value, given as an incentive for future work.

What Constitutes a Gift?

To further define its position, NCRA recognizes that gifts of nominal value, such as pens, pencils, coffee mugs and other advertising paraphernalia or modest forms of meals and entertainment do not compromise the reporter or firm’s appearance of impartiality and are permissible. However, NCRA has now chosen to distinguish gifts that are for marketing purposes or to thank clients for past work versus gifts that are given in exchange for future work.

The amount of a gift is measured by its retail or fair market value, that is, what the recipient would reasonably expect to pay if they were to purchase the gift for themselves from generally accessible sources. The actual cost incurred by the firm or individual providing the gift is irrelevant.

What can be done about it?

NCRA also provides a complaint process for allegations of violations. The NCRA Committee on Professional Ethics may issue a written decision. It may issue a cautionary letter, warning or statement of advice, require remedial ethics training, order that the member be reprimanded, or determine that the member be suspended or expelled from the Association, depending upon the severity of the violation, prior history and other relevant circumstances. If a Member resigns from NCRA while a complaint is pending, COPE will still complete its determination of the matter.

The next time your firm or staff are offered an incentive in return for your repeat scheduling of depositions, stop and evaluate the practice. Is the value of the item too high? Would it need to be declared as income on your taxes? Should the gift be forwarded to your client, or simply refused by your firm? For attorneys and law firms, it would be a good idea to formulate a policy on such practices before they arise.

Most reporters understand their role in the legal system requires neutrality and impartiality. Offering incentives with high dollar values could begin to chip away at that reputation of ethical behavior that court reporters earn through fair practices. At O’Brien and Bails, we do not offer incentive gifts to capture more business.

For more on court reporting ethics from our perspective, download this free report: “Thoughts on Court Reporter Ethics: From a Court Reporting Firm Owner”.

June 27, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

O’Brien and Bails Court Reporting Offers Online Transcript Ordering

At O’Brien and Bails, your Michigan court reporters, we are always looking for ways to bring more value to our clients. Anticipating your needs is one of our highest customer service priorities. We know there are times when you would like to order a deposition without calling our office. Whether it’s after hours or when it is not convenient to call, you may wish to have another way to order. We have been working on a project that will make it easier for you to order transcripts from us quickly and easily at any time of the day or night.

We are ready to unveil the O’Brien and Bails’ Online Transcript Order Form. When you’re ready to order a transcript, you can now do so online here at our website. Click the button entitled “Transcript Order Form”, and you will be taken to an ordering page. The following are some of the items you should know when ordering your transcript online. Not all are required, but it is helpful if you have as much information as you can when placing an order.

Attorney’s name
Email address
Phone number
Name of person submitting order
Date of deposition
Deponent’s name
Case caption
Date transcript is needed

Once you press the “Submit” button, we will receive your order. Our production staff will make sure your transcription is under way and delivered to you on time.

If this new way of ordering transcripts isn’t a fit for you, we are still very happy to speak with you on the phone and take your order for transcripts.

We appreciate you as a customer and want to offer you the ease and convenience of ordering your transcripts online.

If you would like to order your transcript online, you can do so here.

June 13, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

Does Contracting Compromise the Impartiality of a Court Reporter?

Within the last 20 years, a controversial practice has cropped up in the court reporting profession. Some court reporters have begun contracting exclusively with companies and organizations for large amounts of services. Many court reporters are against such contracting for ethical reasons.

The trend is found with consumers in need of large volumes of court reporting services, such as insurance companies, hospitals, and large corporations. These entities sometimes contract with specific court reporters directly.

Traditionally, court reporters are hired by attorneys representing clients involved in a lawsuit. With contracting, the practice has been that these large corporations and organizations are contracting directly with court reporting firms. The reporting firm who holds the contract will then deliver all the court reporting services needed by the company or organization.

This practice raises ethical questions that are frequently debated in the court reporting industry. Concerns involve the influence a contract-holder may have over the unbiased officer of the court, the court reporter. While this type of bulk buying of services is common in other industries, for court reporters, it may affect, or have the appearance of affecting, the specific duties and requirements of an officer of the court.

Court Reporter Impartiality

MCL 600.1491(1)(a) provides that a court reporter may not “enter into or arrange for any financial relationship that compromises the impartiality of court reporters… or that may result in the appearance that the impartiality of a court reporter…has been compromised.”

One of the highest responsibilities court reporters hold, as officers of the court, is to maintain impartiality.

An officer of the court is a person employed in specific positions in the legal system. Many people think only judges and attorneys are officers of the court. However, there are many other types of individuals who can be considered officers of the court, such as translators, investigators, bailiffs, court clerks and court reporters.

As an officer of the court, a court reporter makes an official record in the presence of a judge, or outside of a judge’s presence. Officers of the court have a duty to be impartial parties. Court reporters are charged with the responsibility of creating an unbiased, true and accurate record of proceedings.

With the practice of offering contracts to insurance companies and companies needing large amounts of services, that impartiality comes into question. Can a court reporter who is engaged in a special-rates contract with one party be considered as impartial? Contracting runs the risk of placing a court reporter in some potentially difficult positions.

For instance, if an attorney feels a portion of the record has not been transcribed accurately and requests changes be made to the transcript, traditionally a court reporter would check the transcript, compare it to the steno notes, and make a determination if an error has been made. If the reporter feels no error has been made, the reporter stands by the transcript as the official record.

With court reporters who contract large amounts of services to one company or organization, this situation may put the court reporter in an extremely difficult position. The court reporter may feel a certain level of obligation to the contracting attorney to make changes to the record. The reporter might fear jeopardizing the contract, which is likely worth thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars to his or her court reporting firm. Might there be undue pressure placed on the court reporter in this type of circumstance that places bias on the court reporter? Is even just the appearance of undue influence a problem for the court reporting industry?

The debate continues over this controversial issue in the court reporting industry. O’Brien and Bails does not participate in contracting for bulk services specifically because of these ethical concerns.

If this article interests you, you might also be interested in “9 Ethics Guidelines For Court Reporting Firm Owners“.

For a more comprehensive view on court reporting ethics from our perspective, download this free report: “Thoughts on Court Reporter Ethics: From a Court Reporting Firm Owner”.

May 28, 2013 By Dawn Houghton

Are You Being Overcharged for Your Legal Deposition Transcript?

Have you ever had questions about the various charges that are included in a court reporting invoice? Or have you received an invoice with extra charges and been unsure what those charges were for?

We know sometimes there is confusion about how court reporters charge for services. We would like to help you understand charges from your court reporting service. If you are not able to understand the court reporters’ invoice, how will you know what you are paying for? Here are a variety of charges you might see on your invoice.

Charges you might see with your court reporting services:

Appearance Fees

The appearance fee is typically an hourly fee charged for the time the court reporter actually spends at the deposition. If neither party requests that the transcript be prepared after the deposition, then the fee will include only the hourly appearance to cover the court reporter’s time during the deposition.

Page Fees

The larger cost of hiring a court reporter is often the cost of the transcript. When one party orders the transcript, the court reporter will prepare a written record of the testimony and charge a fee per page of transcription.

There are differences in page pricing depending on whether you are ordering the original copy of the transcript or only a copy. Ask your reporter what their page rate is for the original transcript, and what is the rate for a copy. The charge for the copy should be less than the original transcript.

In Michigan, MCL 600.1491 states that a court reporter shall not charge more than two-thirds of the price of an original transcript for a copy of that transcript. In simple numbers, if the ordering counsel is being charged $3.30 per page for the original transcript, opposing counsel can only be charged two-thirds of that price, or $2.20 per page.

Copy Fees

Most court reporters will retain any exhibits marked during the deposition and make copies to attach to all transcripts. Copy charges can range from twenty five cents a page for black and white copies to a dollar per page or more for color copies or oversized copies.

Shipping and Handling

This is a charge that includes the cost of postage to send the transcript to you. It may also include a small fee to cover the time it takes to ready the transcript for mailing and supplies for mailing. Some reporters charge for handling and some do not. It is wise to ask how much you will pay for shipping and handling as it could vary widely between reporting firms. In larger cases where there are many exhibits, there may be an additional binding fee to cover the cost of the extra supplies needed.

Electronic Transcripts, Ascii Transcripts and Condensed Transcripts

Creating these various formats of transcript is easier than ever before. Many reporters do not charge extra if you request electronic transcripts, ascii transcripts or condensed transcripts. However, some firms may be charging for these services. Ask your court reporter what is the practice at their firm so you can compare with others.

There are some electronic formats the reporter has to pay a vendor to produce on each transcript. Usually the reporter will pass along this extra cost on those formats to the party that requested the special format.

Conference Rooms

If you need a location to take your deposition, most reporting firms will have a conference room for you to use. Some firms have several conference rooms available in several different cities around the country and many do not charge extra for this convenience. Ask your court reporter if there is a charge for use of their conference room at the time of scheduling.

Many court reporting firms also are able to secure conference room locations in cities where they do not have an office. The reporting firm should let their client know if there will be any extra cost for a conference room in that situation. We have found the cost varies depending on the location. It is a good idea to ask your court reporter what the charge will be for the room so you can decide whether you want to use that location or not.

Remote Internet Depositions and Videoteleconferencing

Sometimes it’s necessary to depose a witness in a remote location, or maybe attorneys do not want to spend a day of travel to and from a distant location to depose a witness to their case, so videoteleconferencing or remote viewing can be handled by the court reporting firm.

In that instance, there will be a charge for the videoteleconferencing room at both locations, or in a remote viewing internet deposition, a charge by the court reporting firm to set up, test, and monitor the remote internet deposition. This is a separate charge from the fees of the court reporter taking down the deposition and providing the transcript.

Cancellation Fees

There are certain circumstances where a cancellation fee is appropriate. If a deposition cancels within 24 hours of the scheduled time, then it is appropriate to receive a charge for cancellation. This is because the reporter has been scheduled on your deposition and therefore does not have the opportunity to be scheduled on a different deposition.

However, if you cancel your deposition before that 24-hour period, most reporting firms will not charge a fee. Often, they have not yet assigned a reporter and have time to adjust the scheduling as necessary. Ask your reporter what their cancellation policy and cancellation fee is when you schedule the deposition so you don’t have any surprises.

Transcript Index

If you order a transcript and ask for an index, you will receive a listing of words spoken in the transcript. This index can be used to find specific areas of the testimony you want to read. Some court reporting firms will charge for the index, some firms do not. Some firms will charge a flat fee for the index and some will charge a per page rate for the index pages. This may be different in different regions of the country. In Michigan, most court reporters do not charge a fee for an index of the transcript. It is good to ask upfront whether your court reporting firm will be charging for this service.

Deposition Summary

If you order a transcript, you should only be provided a deposition summary if you have requested one. This is not a necessary part of the official record and is something you can choose to order or not order, at your discretion. Sometimes a summary is automatically provided by a court reporting firm and can add hundreds of dollars to the cost of your invoice. Ask your court reporting firm whether or not this is their customary practice.

Mileage

The time or miles traveled to and from depositions may also be a charge that appears on your invoice. Some court reporting firms charge for travel, other firms do not charge a mileage fee.

Standards and Ethics

At O’Brien and Bails, we care about the high standard of ethics under which our industry has traditionally operated. We want you to be charged fairly for transcripts. We know you want to keep costs down for your clients and pay for only the services that are necessary.

It is a good idea when you schedule a deposition to ask for a breakdown of what your transcript invoice will consist of so you can be familiar with the services for which you are paying. By comparing invoices from time to time, you can ensure that you and your client are not paying unnecessary charges and fees for court reporting services.

To learn more about court reporting pricing and costs, download our guide, “How Much Should I Expect to Pay for Court Reporting Services.”