Supporting the evolution of the court reporting industry
This blog has reported on how far the court reporting industry has come. From quill and parchment to realtime court reporters printing transcripts and recalling testimonies at a moment's notice, these professionals have even crossed over into closed captioning for live television broadcasts and sporting events. But, despite their value and utility, there are fewer court reporters than ever before.
John Wenclawski, the president of Stenograph LLC, wrote a passionate letter to firm owners and other industry contacts across the United States. As reposted by Kramm Court Reporting, the letter is a passionate testament to the value and importance of court reporters and the industry and a call to action for professionals to maintain and encourage the longevity of this craft.
"I know it is a very demanding profession, but also quite rewarding. Many have experienced financial reward, but beyond the lucrative lifestyle, it has been a career that has made a difference in society," wrote Wenclawski. "The transparency a court reporter creates in the courtroom is a freedom we should not take for granted."
In order to ensure the posterity of the profession, Stenograph has created three Prince Institutions, which are court reporting schools. According to Wenclawski, the major challenge in running these institutions is the recruiting of new students. He goes on to explain that over the years the total number of court reporting students nationwide has dropped from 40,000 to roughly 35,000. Schools that used to graduate 1,000 students now only give diplomas to barely even 500.
Between court reporting in court systems and closed captioning opportunities, court reporting has become an increasingly important and technologically advanced market.
Lawyers in the Midwest can help further the success of the industry by partnering with Wisconsin court reporters as these professionals will provide high-quality deposition transcripts, as well as state-of-the-art videoconferencing systems that can help litigators depose clients from anywhere.
December 18th, 2012 at 9:08 am
Very informative post. I’ve also covered a similar topic on my blog about how the shortage of court reporters has lead to the expansion of digital court reporting and court recording systems in lieu of having a live, stenographic court reporter.
Has there been any study done on the rate at which court reporters are retiring? Are the graduates adequately filling the spots of the retirees? How many of the 500 end up in actual court reporting and not captioning?
Stenograph hit the nail on the head with the identification of the Achilles’ heel of the stenographic court reporting industry.