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 Anne Jacobs, who is starting her 7th year as a court reporter. She has been with Brown & Jones Reporting for over 2 years.

How long have you been a court reporter?  Starting my seventh year

How long have you been with Brown & Jones Reporting?  Just had my two-year anniversary!

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

I enjoy the help and support I get from fellow coworkers when you have a work-related problem or question.

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

I was at Menards for 12 years, starting as a cashier and working my way up into management.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in St. Cloud, MN until I moved to Eau Claire, WI in 2000.

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

I feel as though customer service, providing the attorneys what they need/request, is ever more important as the work isn’t always aplenty as it used to be sometimes in years past.  Don’t take any of it for granted.

What is the best part of being a court reporter?

Having a somewhat open schedule and providing a service to the legal system.  I love being able to work at home some days, and I love that what I’m doing makes a difference.

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

Deadlines sometimes when it’s untimely with events in your personal life, but it usually seems to work out okay.  And difficult witnesses…

As a court reporter, what is your biggest fear?

Finding myself in a deposition that is way over my head.

What has been your most challenging deposition?

Taking a witness via teleconference from Italy and trying to understand his deep accent regarding paint compounds, but the attorneys were very helpful sliding me notes of words when I gave them the “I didn’t understand that” look. 

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

I once found myself in a job where I had to work in a few cow trailers at different farms (case involved defective parts on the trailer resulting in an injury to someone) in the dead of winter, freezing cold, and the trailer was covered in blood and let’s just say undesirables from the animals.  Luckily I was told in advance, and we all showed up in old tennis shoes and jeans.

Do you have any tips about work/life balance?

Have a hobby(ies) you enjoy or an outlet, such as the gym/working out, and spend time with family and friends to offset the stress we as court reporters endure.  It seems to make work more enjoyable knowing I can do both.  I still love my job and enjoy and appreciate my time with friends and family more.

What else would you like us to know about you?

My husband and I just had our first child, a girl named Emily Grace Jacobs, and we couldn’t be happier to start our little family!

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

Tags: Anne Jacobs, Court Reporter Interviews, court reporters

This entry was posted on Friday, December 6th, 2013 at 9:26 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.