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Brown & Jones Court Reporting Blog

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What Retirement Means For A Wisconsin Court Reporter

Court Reporter Linda Saari and Neil Saari

Retirement! We all know that the time will come when we all look forward to our retirement, but suddenly as retirement approaches we have the opportunity to reflect on the career that we chose, the people we have met, and the challenges that we have had.  That became a reality for me in September 2013.

When I look back on a 40-year career in court reporting I think about the changes in our profession that were never imagined in 1972 when I graduated from Kenosha Technical Institute (KTI) – realtime, streaming, broadcast captioning, captioning for students at colleges and universities, and even church services – and how fast reporters had to embrace technology whether we wanted to or not.

Change was something that was discussed by my instructor, Mr. Stein, and that change was the new technology of electronic recording in courtrooms and that there would eventually be no need for court reporters.  As a 21-year old student I remember thinking why am I studying and paying tuition for a profession that will be obsolete as I am about to graduate.

During my 40-year career I have worked as a reporter for a federal law enforcement agency, as a per diem reporter at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, and in 1976 I became a freelance reporter, first with Bonk Reporting, and since May of 1988 with Brown & Jones Reporting.

A highlight of my 25-year career with Brown & Jones is that I  had the opportunity to travel to many cities throughout the United States for depositions, and a dream assignment – 12 days in Milan, Italy.

I have had enormous opportunities to report both in court, Grand Jury proceedings, arbitrations, municipal hearings, and in depositions, many interesting cases, and have had the opportunity through those cases to meet the best and brightest lawyers not only in the State of Wisconsin, but lawyers throughout the United States that came to Milwaukee for depositions, and also experts in many disciplines: medicine, engineering, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, business, that have authored textbooks or chapters of textbooks that are recognized throughout the country.

What I really loved about  freelance reporting was the fact that when you went to a law firm, doctor’s office, a business, every day was a different, unique set of circumstances from the witnesses that were deposed in personal injury cases, product liability cases, business deals that went bad, divorce, and the events that led up to their particular situation.  Sometimes I found it extremely uncomfortable to listen to such intimately personal details.

As I look back over the last 40 years I am just astonished as I think about the change in technology that I have experienced first-hand.  The advent of computers to prepare transcripts was a huge change, because no one knew anything about computers, and this was the first leap into technology – observing first-hand the evolution of computers and what they could do – from the large Stenograph Cimarron system, to Premier Power, to Case Catalyst, and especially the advent of the ability to synchronize the audio of proceedings to the text on the screen. 

The most dramatic change was to a reporter’s fundamental piece of equipment – the writer – first with the electric writer with a cassette inserted, to the Smart Writer, the Elan Mira writers, and currently the Diamante writer with built-in WiFi and AudioSync, and even Brief-It to provide suggested brief forms.

The Internet has had an enormous effect on the court reporting profession with the ability to offer to the legal community interactive realtime access to testimony through an Internet connection or a court reporter’s private network wirelessly to clients in the room and around the world, and an iPad app that provides attorneys and judges instant viewing of realtime deposition and trial transcripts on an iPad.”

Looking back on 40 years of reporting, back in 1972, Mr. Stein was correct.  The future of electronic recording has become a reality in many courtrooms, unfortunately, but I wish he were alive to see what change has produced in the court reporting profession that not even he could have imagined.

I am adjusting to retirement very well.  Time to spend with my elderly parents, spoiling my nephews Jimmy and Michael, and traveling with my husband Neil.  We hit the slopes in Utah in January, in March driving to Florida and making various stops along the way before beginning our Caribbean cruise; and on our return, driving along the east coast of the U.S., visiting Neil’s sisters in Lexington, Kentucky, before heading back to Wisconsin.

I will be thinking of my co-workers at Brown & Jones, as I enjoy my retirement!

Linda J. Saari

RPR/RMR

Brown & Jones Reporting, Inc. (Retired)

Tags: court reporters, Retirement for a Wisconsin Court Reporter

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 11th, 2014 at 9:45 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.

9 Responses to “What Retirement Means For A Wisconsin Court Reporter”

  1. Jane Jones Says:
    February 11th, 2014 at 9:48 am

    Linda, you had a very fullfilling career, and I hope you and Neil have a wonderful retirement. I know that Neil will keep you busy. Enjoy your travels!

  2. Melissa Stark Says:
    February 11th, 2014 at 10:11 am

    Thanks for sharing and reflecting back through your career, Linda. I am happy to have had the pleasure of working with you and wish you a very happy retirement!

  3. Breah Madson Says:
    February 11th, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    That was so fun to read. I miss you, Linda! Thanks for sharing!

  4. Susan Kay Says:
    February 11th, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    Very interesting comment about Mr. Stein and how he never imagined where technology has taken our profession. Who would have thought that driving to our typist after one dictated tape was not the norm – or carbon paper and trying to correct six copies! We have come a long way and you have been there experiencing it all. Now it’s time to experience a wonderful life of leisure for the next 40! I know you are enjoying life! I am so happy for you!

  5. Jennifer Schmaling Says:
    February 11th, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    Linda, you make me love our profession even more! Every day does bring new adventures and having professional, friendly co-workers makes it even better! You’ve been a guiding force and one to learn so much from over the years. I truly miss you around the office, but I’m so excited for you and Neil to enjoy this time in retirement together and love hearing about your new adventures in retirement! Thank you for your dedication to the court reporting profession, Linda!!!!

  6. Peggy Mitchell Says:
    February 11th, 2014 at 10:00 pm

    Great blog, Linda. Thanks for taking us down memory lane when it comes to changes in the profession. I remember them well. I’m glad to see you’re enjoying your retirement – hope to see you soon!

  7. Kathy Carter Says:
    February 12th, 2014 at 6:40 am

    Linda, your working career was certainly an adventure. As you say, it was full of changes. You met those changes successfully and without a hitch. Enjoy all your travels!!

  8. Linda Says:
    February 12th, 2014 at 10:22 am

    Thank you everyone. I miss you all. It wasn’t until I wrote the article that I realized that reporters like Jane, Kathy, and myself, had seen the reporting profession change transcript production with the advent of the computer – from typing transcripts with carbon sets to actually having to read and dictating your notes and driving over to your typist’s house on Sunday night to drop off tapes and driving back to the typist’s house hopefully 2 or 3 days later to get the final transcript. Computerized-aided transcript production with audio sync revolutionized our profession.

  9. Mary Ring Says:
    February 12th, 2014 at 12:54 pm

    Linda, I loved your article. You have certainly experienced the many challenges and the many rewards that a career in court reporting offers. You have always been a true professional, and working with you all these years has been one of my rewards. Best wishes to you and Neil in your retirement. You both deserve it!

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