Court reporting college turns 100 years old
Court reporting has come a long way since the first person to record deposition proceedings or a trial with a pen and paper. In fact, MacCormack College in Chicago has seen the practice progress through all stages of technological advancement considering the fact the school turned 100 years old this July. MacCormack is the oldest court reporting college in the country.
According to WBEZ, a local Chicago radio station, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting a 14 percent growth for the industry over the next decade, due in part to the demand for caption services for visual mediums.
"Our goal is to showcase the strong demand for court reporters, the exciting advances in reporting technology and the variety of positions available within the field of reporting," said Marnelle Stephens, the college's president in a statement. "Ask the average person about court reporting, and he or she might envision secretaries typing on old time stenograph machines. Those days are long passed."
In her interview with WBEZ, MacCormack College program director Peg Sokalski-Dorchack explains that the machines used by court reporters allow them to type at 225 words per minute. This is accomplished because reporters use a specialized keyboard whose left-hand keys are all beginning consonant sounds and right-hand keys are all the final consonant sounds. The vowels are in the middle, accessed by thumb keys. This allows them to type left-to-right, beginning of the word to the end.
Lawyers in the Midwest who want to improve the accuracy and capabilities of their practice through quality deposition reporting should partner with Wisconsin court reporters who can also provide video deposition and transcription services.
