Using a Wisconsin realtime court reporting service is convenient and beneficial. You can take advantage of the latest court reporting technology such as annotating text or searching through the testimony for a specific keyword. In order to have the best experience, it’s smart to know what to expect and prepare accordingly.

 Before the Testimony: What to Expect with Realtime Court Reporting

Wisconsin realtime court reporters use traditional steno machines hooked up to computers with special software to create “real time” transcripts. Your computer is then connected to the court reporter’s. Using a special type of software, the court reporter’s transcribed words appear as text on your computer screen as they are typed.

 If you want to view the court reporter’s realtime feed on your computer, contact the court reporting agency to find out what equipment, if any, you need to bring and if you need to install any software. You may also need a serial port, USB serial adapter, or virtual serial port to connect to the court reporter’s feed.

 During the Testimony: Working with Realtime Feeds

On the day of the proceeding, arrive 15 to 30 minutes early so that the court reporter has sufficient time to hook up your laptop, test the connection, and install any additional software or device drivers. Even if the court reporting agency supplies you with a laptop to use, the court reporter may need additional time to go over basic instructions on how to use the software or access the transcript afterward.

 During the proceeding, you’ll see realtime testimony on your computer screen and be able to take advantage of all of the benefits that realtime court reporting offers. You can annotate the text, copy and paste testimony into an email to your partner or secretary, and even search through earlier testimony for a given keyword.

 After the Testimony: Getting the Most out of Court Reporting

Wisconsin court reporters later edit the testimony to correct any spelling errors or typos and then send you an updated version of the transcript. You can import this into your software where all of your original annotations remain intact. You now have an electronic copy of the transcript that you can use to quickly find key discussions, copy and paste text into presentations, and share with your partners.   

COURT REPORTING – Tricks of the Trade

After 15 years of deposition reporting, I have learned a few things about making a day of typing a little more comfortable.  It can be tough sitting all day when you can’t grab a bite or have a sore back, but there are a few things you can do to make your day a little easier.

Many of us keep meal bars in our computer bags for when hunger strikes.  For some reason, mine are always smashed when I get to them.  After so many years of eating mangled bars, I have looked into an alternative.  Last year I started carrying chocolate protein powder or a meal replacement powder. 

Now, I know this will sound weird, but I take half a cup of coffee, half a glass of water and stir in a chocolate meal replacement with a creamer.  It’s thick, filling and gives me caffeine to get through the rest of the day.  The protein powder can also be used instead and also be just as filling.  You can always adjust to your style, but the food never gets smashed, it will never go bad and who doesn’t love chocolate in the afternoon?

Another trick is I always wear an outer jacket, and I never hang it up at a deposition unless I already know what kind of chair I will have.  Although you can carry a back support device in your steno case, I prefer to optimize what I already have.  Many times I roll up my jacket and use it to support my back or even sit on it, depending on what kind of chair I am in.  Also, sometimes you get placed under a vent.  So although you may have started nice and toasty, suddenly a vent will kick in and blow right on you.  When your jacket is with you, it is much easier to throw it over your shoulders.

We have all got our tricks of the trade from our experiences.  Please share what you have come up with.  All of us        court reporters can use a little help and inspiration!

Submitted by Jessica Waack, RDR, CRR

FREELANCE COURT REPORTER – What’s It Like Being Married To One?

Long before getting married, I met a humble woman for a first date and that same night, I asked her what she was doing for a living. She answered, “I’m in school right now, and I’m going to be a stenographer.” Being an appropriate answer at our age, I looked at her and thought distinctly of two things; the first was “you’re beautiful, I don’t care what you’re going to school for,” and the second was “what on earth is a stenographer?!!” Well, I must have talked to her more that night, because a few years later, this humble woman is now my wife (lucky for me!) and I now have the knowledge of not only what a stenographer is and does, but more so, what it’s like being married to one!

To be completely truthful, I love being married to a Stenographer, a.k.a. Judicial Reporter or Freelance Reporter (as I believe the position is also titled). I have married a woman with an honorable career. I have married a woman who holds a degree of value, true value, in that Judicial Reporting is a very niche market and there is demand for it. And finally, I have married a woman smart enough to earn that degree, a degree which I’ve learned doesn’t come easily, it doesn’t come by simply passing a class or test with minimum requirements or standards, but it comes by becoming truly skilled and proficient. You can’t graduate with a C average, it’s A+ or you’re staying in school longer!

Beyond this, there exists a bigger picture. For our relationship and household, not having to worry too much about my wife’s career stability is great. Yes, there are busy weeks when I don’t see her, and slow weeks when there’s just a job or two, but in the long haul, it seems there will be more and more need for the services of court reporters.  And even with the threat of new recording technology, (something she’s shared with me in industry news), my gut says that there will never be a substitute for a good reporter. (Did I say good reporter? I mean GREAT reporter!)

The simple truth for me is that I don’t care how good the technology gets, it won’t be a human, and it will never offer the adaptive nature required and necessary for doing this job. That’s a nice comfort for us to have. From day to day, being married to a court reporter brings days of triumph, where “taking down” a hard case is done well and we celebrate the joy of that performance. There are also days where things don’t go perfectly well, or let’s be honest, the job assignment was with someone rude or challenging to understand. It happens. Yes, I’ve seen some tears, and yes, I’ve had to reassure my wife that she does an impeccable job, but I always figure those hardships and doubts are a part of any career or human experience and certainly a part of being a good husband. And then there are little day-to-day things like when a job finishes early and my wife makes it home early to make me lunch. Who would complain? And then there are times when a job goes late, not only do I get to work a little later too, but I get to cook dinner for her –- doing what I can after her long day.

In the end, my wife has stability, an honorable job, a flexible schedule, and as a result, she also has balance in life. I love all of that! She works hard; there is no doubt about that. And this career offers her great earnings, while allowing time to be a wife, a family woman, a caring member of the greater community. This balance brings great joy to my own life, and it benefits so many of the people we know. And at our dinners, or even our lunches, I can assure you that when we say our prayers, when we acknowledge our blessings, my wife’s career is always amongst our list.

Michael Madson      
Color Wheel Painting, LLC  
www.remodelandpaint.com