Brown & Jones Reporting is made up of individual people who happen to be court reporters in the Milwaukee area.  We wanted to let you get to know our court reporters more than you’d learn working with them at a deposition.

This article is an interview with Mary Ring, who has been a court reporter for over 26 years. She has been with Brown & Jones Reporting for over 25 years.

How long have you been a court reporter?  26 1/2 years

How long have you been with Brown & Jones Reporting?  25 1/2 years

What do you like most about working with Brown & Jones Reporting?

The family atmosphere, our dedication to professionalism, and our cutting-edge technologies.

Before becoming a court reporter, have you ever worked in other jobs or fields? If so, what did you do?

I was a hairdresser.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in the Netherlands, came to America at the age of 6 1/2, and grew up in Antioch, Illinois.

What changes have you seen in the industry since you became a court reporter?

Wow, so many. When I started, I used a manual machine that typed on paper tape. I would dictate my notes onto a cassette tape and deliver those tapes to a typist who lived 30 minutes away. As you can imagine, it could take several weeks before I received the typed transcript from the typist.

In those days we used carbon paper, so if the typist made a mistake, I would have to erase the mistake, line up the paper on my typewriter as close to the proper position as possible and hope it looked presentable. I had to do this for each error on each page times the number of transcripts ordered. I LOVE SPELL CHECK.

What is the best part of being a court reporter?

The people I work with. On the top of my list are all the people that make up the “team” of Brown & Jones. Not only are they consummate professionals, but each and every one of them is a good person, and they all have enriched my life.

I also have to add that I love the job I do. I meet so many great people every day, and what I do for them is very, very important. That is why every job gets my fullest attention.

What is the most challenging part of being a court reporter?

For me it is fast-talking, overlapping speakers. You really have to concentrate at times like that. I prefer to be like a fly on the wall during depositions, not interrupting the proceedings, but sometimes you have no choice. After all, we are the guardians of the record.

As a court reporter, what is your biggest fear?

If you had asked me that 26 years ago, I would probably have said not being able to read back a question and looking incompetent in front of a client. In this day and age, I have some reservations about sharing my realtime with others, even though I do it for myself every day.

What has been your most challenging deposition?

There have been several, from difficult medical/technical testimony of experts whose native language is not English, to a defendant who was under the influence of PCP attacking the court commissioner and sheriff’s deputy, and me trying to still take down every word that was screamed by all…….because, after all, we were still on the record.

Have you ever had funny things happen to you in a deposition?

Yes, too numerous to mention. But one that sticks out in my mind, several years ago an elderly gentleman was given the ground rules of how a deposition is conducted. When the attorney explained to him that two people cannot talk at the same time because the court reporter can’t take that down, he said, “Well, why don’t you get yourself a new girl?”

Do you have any tips about work/life balance?

Life is very stressful, and being a court reporter can at times be more stressful than other jobs. Take time for yourself. There is always someone who wants things yesterday, which is impossible, always someone you can’t please. Put it in perspective.

What else would you like us to know about you?

I am all about family. I have been married for 43 years to the most wonderful man I know. We have two wonderful children who have blessed us with three precious grandchildren (in the pictures below). Being a grandmother equals pure joy. It’s worth waiting for.

We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Mary Ring better. Look for future interview articles with other Brown & Jones court reporters. In the meantime, let us know in the comments if Mary’s answers brought up any memories or ideas in your mind about court reporting.

Tags: Court Reporter Interviews, court reporters, Mary Ring

This entry was posted on Friday, December 13th, 2013 at 8:18 am and is filed under Court Reporting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.