What To Know About Court Reporting
June 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Court reporting is an important job. The legal system needs someone to record the legal processes that go on with trials. This done with short handed typing that is used to record so that no words are missed when he or she is typing. The other kind is a voice recorder that types everything that is said from the lawyers, witnesses and others in the courtroom during the time of the trial.
Becoming a court reporter is not necessarily that easy. This person is required to take up to two years of school and get the degree of an associate before he or she will be qualified. This degree uses the same classes as any other undergraduate degree. The student is still required to take basic classes in math, science, history and quite a bit of English.
Learning about voice recognition software is necessary for the students interested in being court reporting, they need to have success with the program as well. The student will need to spend quite a few hours on homework a night because the voice writing is very technical and it takes a lot to use it correctly. There is another method called shorted handed which makes students go to school for 2-4 years before being eligible.
Despite having a degree, there could still be real time experience necessary before a court reporter is actually hired for the job. Even after they complete the training while under an apprentice they are still going to need to practice their skills. The reporters will still need to attend classes to keep up with their skills.
Having a very high word per minute ratio is important for court reporters. Typing over 200 words per minute is required by two different organizations for its members. There is one organization that requires 225 WPM while the other requires its members to type 250. Recording word for word what is said in the courtroom is the association that requires the higher amount of words.
Many of the court reporters work as freelance reporters. They often do a lot of work outside the courtroom. They can do religious services or webcasts where transcription is needed. They could also do transcription for television networks that make TV better for the deaf. These people could also be employed as freelance journalists. There are many things they can do that require fast typing to keep up with verbal instructions.
A court reporter can make anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 a year. There is a program that will help to make reporters earn more money. This program makes it possible for the reporters to earn a continuing income when their work is sold as a research tool for witnesses.
Court reporting is a very necessary profession. It allows the court proceedings to be recorded so they can be accessed later. It makes the court system flow smoothly because of the organization they bring to the legal system. It would not be as efficient as it is now without these reporters. This is certainly a job that will remain around for the long haul.
Finding the best litigation support services is crucial to succeeding in the legal community. From real-time reporting to streaming live videos, our superior court reporter services provide documentation, information, and consultation to all clients.
Are There Any Places That Provide Litigation Support Services?
April 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment
No one enjoys having to go to court, for any reason. There are, however, situations where doing so cannot be avoided. When you find yourself facing such an event, it can be very hard to understand everything that might be going on. If this is the case, then you may find yourself needing litigation support services.
These types of services can be of great benefit to people. They help you wade through the legal morass, to enable you to understand exactly what is going on. They can assist you ever step of the way and keep you apprised of exactly what to expect next.
They anticipate obstacles and will let you know ahead of time the best way to handle them. They are also knowledgeable on any type of paperwork that my be needed by the courts. This means they can help you put it all together, in advance, to save a lot of hassles and frustration.
The litigation support will consult with you to discover how to best use technology. Taking their advice can definitely be to your advantage. Their assistance will be ongoing, they stay with you through the entire process. The litigation support services specialize in speed and efficiency to help their clients.
You may never have considered needing such a thing, but there are places that specialize in these services. A person involved in a court proceeding should never be left alone and guessing what they need to do next. They even assist with trial presentations, so you know everything is being handled professionally.
If there is some special equipment needed for your case, they know where to find it. They will handle all trial presentations accurately and speedily. If an expert is needed, they will make sure to find the right one. They have no problem finding the best person in any given field.
On the rare occasion you find yourself involved in a court case, you should make sure you have litigation support services. They can help you cut through the red-tape and keep your piece of mind intact. These professionals are always ahead of the game.
Finding the best court reporting services is crucial to succeeding in the legal community. From real-time reporting to streaming live videos, our superior court reporter team provides stellar documentation, information, and consultation to all clients.
Court Reporting Service Became Green Certified
February 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment
O’Brien and Levine Court Reporting have been in business for 30 years. A lot of people would not think of a court reporting service as a Green type of business, but they would be mistaken. O’Brien & Levine has just earned their Green Business League Green business certification by installing and improving the procedure of their office.
Mike O’Brien worked alongside of Deana Sanchez, who is a Certified Green Consultant, (www.GreenThemeConsulting.com) to demonstrate that Green Practices are already installed and to increase the Green conformity of the office. Energy effectiveness is always a good starting point as the office used better lights, powerstrips to decrease phantom load, and Energy Star equipment.
For more than three decades, O’Brien & Levine has helped attorneys, paralegals and secretaries manage information that’s vital to their success and the success of their clients. Since accurate reporting has been-and forever will be-critical in the legal profession, they have always considered court reporting services to be one of their core offerings, and they have always worked hard to provide unparalleled quality in this regard.
So it’s no wonder they have developed an intimate understanding of the inherent complexities, specialized discourse and subtle nuances of court reporting-and developed sophisticated tools that produce timely, user-friendly documentation in support of client goals. Yet, as in all professions, technology in today’s legal world continues to evolve rapidly. Their clients now need to leverage a myriad of new technologies to ensure that information is being optimally used and managed.
O’Brien & Levine has always been the leader of technology improvements-employing the newest advancements to improve their solutions. In short, by combining constant technological upgrades with a “can do” outlook, they are able to proactively tackle the exclusive information management needs of each and every client. And that’s why they are frequently growing their core court reporting capabilities to include services like litigation support, videography and videoconferencing.
Replacing plastic plants with live plants will reduce office VOCS and improve oxygen content. Green cleaning products replaced VOC producing products. Recycling effort included recycling ink cartridges, plastic bags, and even computer equipment. Flow restrictors and aerators also reduce water consumption. When the full assessment and sustainability report was completed, O’Brien and Levine Court Reporting earned at least 100 points which was the required entry level certification level. Obviously, technology has also brought Green innovations to this business. Computerized data storage and retrieval, video conferencing, and video recording now broadens the variety of services and also reduces the physical workload involved in legal proceedings.
Yet, as in all professions, technology in today’s legal world continues to evolve rapidly. O’Brien and Levine clients now need to leverage a myriad of new technologies to ensure that information is being optimally used and managed. O’Brien & Levine has always been on the forefront of technology improvements-employing the latest advancements to enhance our solutions. And that’s why we are continually expanding their core court reporting capabilities to include services like litigation support, videography and videoconferencing.
The Green business League applauds O’Brien & Levine Court Reporting for its efforts to be a teriffic business and a leader in Green business services. If you are attracted to making your business Green, then go the Green business League homepage. All Green business Certification is earned, not bought.
Litigation Support Services - (what Is This) Help For The Trial Attorney
December 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Litigation support services - (What is this) help for the trial attorney is here. If you are a trial attorney you know how complex this field of law has become. Yes many cases do not reach the trial stage. Many cases are settled out of court. Many cases are handled in dispute resolution. But many cases still get in front of the jury. And that is where litigation services can help.
Are society is fascinated by the courtroom trial. They are part of many television shows and many movies. Jury trials make for great drama on the big screen or on the TV. We love to see a witness broken down by the bastion of justice the honest lawyer who is trying to ring out the truth from the witness. The witness finally breaks down during the cross examination and the person on trial unjustly accused is free because his lawyer stood up for the principles of truth and justice.
Today in real life court you will have a better chance of winning if you present your case in video rather than audio testimony. One way litigation support services can help your case is putting together video testimony that will help support or explain your case. If your client was hit by a car while he was crossing the street you can better prove this when you can show a video reconstruction of the incident. Litigation support services have experts in video technology who can do this for your case.
Let us face reality the modern jury is made up of people who watch television, who like movies with special effects, and who go to the internet and watch videos demonstrating everything from how to install a dishwasher to how to cook lasagna. People, even members of juries want to see a video. Litigation support services have experts in video creation.
Litigation support services are also experts at putting together animation videos. Let us say you have a medical malpractice case. You want to demonstrate what the medical procedure does, what it was supposed to do, and what went wrong. You easily make your case when the jury sees the medical procedure in animation. And in malpractice litigation you will need an expert witness. You can rely on litigation support services to provide the expert witness that will perform well under questioning.
Most experts do well under direct. But they fail you sometimes under cross examination. You need a litigation support service to provide experts who will hold up under tough cross examination. You do not want all your time and money you spent on one expert witness to be wasted.
Some lawyers think that all they need to film a deposition is a video camera and a charged battery. Then after they realize that there is no audio on the tape they wish they hired a professional You want to look at litigation support services for all your video recording needs. Most services even keep a back up of your videos like your depositions in their archives.
You need today in this complicated practice of law a litigation support service on your team. Look one up today.
Our superior court reporting service maintains most stringent guidelines and guarantees that our court reporters and litigation support services are certified and skilled in the latest technologies. For more information on litigation support, please visit us.
Court Translators Versus Court Interpreters
November 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment
The demand for multilingual professionals is ever important in today’s multicultural world. This is especially true in the court system, where it is vital that all participants be able to understand each other clearly. Court interpreters and court translators make this possible. There is a common misunderstanding that a “court interpreter” and a “court translator” are the same thing but in actual fact, they are two very different jobs and require different sets of skill. Some things they do have in common, are the absolute fluency in two or more languages (generally the language of the court system and at least one other), an understanding of legal terms in those languages, and a general “feel” for how people understand the words in those languages - beyond simple word-for-word conversion. There is more to translating and interpreting than just those things, however.
Court Interpreter
Court interpreters work with the spoken word. They listen to people as they speak in one language, and repeat the same thing in another language immediately after that. The court interpreter’s job function is sometimes called “simultaneous translation” and this could be one of the reasons why they can be confused for court translators.
A court interpreter needs to be very alert and to have excellent listening skills. In addition, court interpreters need to be familiar with the subject matter of the court case other than legal terminology. Since people usually do not speak in one sentence at a time, a good memory is a very useful trait as well. Their job is essential to the conduct of court proceedings when the witnesses come from diverse backgrounds.
Court Translator
While the court interpreter works with the spoken word, the written word is the court translator’s area of expertise. Their job is to convert documents written in one language into another.
Court translators need to be familiar with the languages that they work in on a literary level, because the written word is more complex and more formal than the spoken word. Their job is especially important because of the very specific way in which legal documents are written. It is for this reason that court translators need to have highly analytical minds and excellent research skills, so that they can learn the vocabularies of many subjects in two or more languages while they work. Legal proceedings usually have hard deadlines, so they need to be diligent, conscientious, constant workers. Finally, court reporters work with official documents, so their spelling and grammar needs to be perfect. A court translator needs all the skills of a writer and an editor, in addition to an excellent command of two or more languages. Today, almost all translation work is performed on a computer, and most work projects are received and submitted electronically.
Both Court Translators and Court Interpreters are a valuable part of the court system. Neither job is more important than the other, less difficult than the other, and both are very much in demand because they are extremely important in maintaining the accurate and effective operation of the court system.
Our superior court reporting service maintains most stringent guidelines and guarantees that our court reporters and videographers are certified and skilled in the latest technologies - from real-time reporting to streaming video via remote Internet access.
Factors to Notice When a Crime Occurs
November 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Witnessing or being a victim of crime can be a very traumatic experience. If one witnesses a crime, it is important to make a note of the details of the crime scene and even the criminal act. This will ensure that the accused gets a fair trial and legitimate evidence is submitted at trial. Because there is so much crime taking place everyday across the country, it is important to be prepared in the event that you suddenly find yourself a witness to a crime.
Some factors to notice when a crime occurs include:
1. Physical Description of the Suspect: If you actually see the perpetrator of the crime, you should make a note of his or hers physical appearance. This includes the height, ethnicity, gender, weight, and any unusual way of running or walking. You should also make note of the clothing and any unique characteristics such as a logo, particular word, sports team name..etc. Are the clothes casual, formal, dirty, torn, bloody..etc? The facial features are also important and include complexion, hair color, eye color, hair length, body hair..etc. As well, note any unusual traits such as tattoos, piercings, unusual hair cut, deformities, scars..etc. As well, note if there is more than one suspect and try to remember their features.
2. Voice Recognition: Note any accent or speech characteristics such as slurring, stuttering..etc. Does the perpetrator have a deep voice or high voice? Is the voice gruff, wheezy, or shrill?
3. Accessories: Did the perpetrator have a gun, bag, umbrella, knife, tire iron, baseball bat, or carrying an object such as item that could have been stolen.
4. Familiarity of the Suspect: If the suspect seems familiar, think about where you have been recently and who you have seen them. This can include: mall, retail store, school, department store, supermarket…etc. If possible, get the suspect’s car license plate number.
5. Damaged Items: Note any damage that you see around the crime scene such as vandalized cars, broken windows, open door or smashed open door, open cash register, items spilled over the floor..etc.
If you witness a crime, immediately call 911. Provide as much information as you can over the phone as a recording will be made. Try to be detailed. After you thoroughly look around the crime scene without contaminating it, write down everything you see and remember about the crime. As well, do not talk to other witnesses as it can confuse what you observed. One other thing you can do if you don’t have a pen and paper is to call your voice messaging service and record everything you remember about the crime.
When observing a crime or a crime that just taken place, it is important to be as accurate as possible when giving details to the police officers. This will make things a lot easier if you have to give testimony in a criminal trial for the court reporter to record. To be a reliable witness, your testimony will have to be consistent. Whatever you do, make sure you do not contaminate the crime scene or become involved in a situation that is dangerous.
Our superior court reporting service maintains most stringent guidelines and guarantees that our court reporters and litigation support services are certified and skilled in the latest technologies - from real-time reporting to streaming video via remote Internet access.
How To Become A Legal Videographer
October 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Advancements in technology have made criminal investigations much more efficient and effective. As well, there have been significant increases in a variety of technological jobs in the justice system. One such career is a legal videographer. This career is also known as a forensic videographer, court videographer, or video court reporter, is responsible for using multimedia equipment to record digital images and video for court cases, recording evidence at crime scenes, enhancing poor quality analog and digital images, assessing the validity of video, and recording court trials. They are also involved with recording contracts, wills, and reconstructing incidents such as accident scenes. This professional produces legal video, forensic video, and courtroom video evidence. The practice is also referred to as forensic videography, legal videography, and court videography.
There are number of steps one can take to become a legal videographer that include:
Experience: Experience is essential to obtaining a career in legal videography. You should work or volunteer helping others You can also practice by making your own compilation of videos such as short films or documentaries. As well, you can take training workshops taught by professional videographers. Ask other colleages for advice about gaining experience. One may even offer you the chance volunteer with him or her.
Education: Currently it is not compulsory to have a degree in videography, but it would give you a competitive edge to have completed courses in videography, forensics and criminal justice. It is important to have some type of education background in videography and criminal justice. There are videography programs available at a number of trade schools. You will learn all about videography such as the process of editing.
Acquire videography Equipment: If you are working with a videographer or taking a videography program, you will need such equipment as film or digital video-camera, a tripod, hand-held lights, monitors, editing equipment, and other video camera gear. With a digital video camera, there is excellent software on the market that allows for editing.
Certification: The American Guild of Certified Videographers states that “a certified professional is not only better equipped to handle jobs once he starts working, but is also in a better position as far as marketing.” Becoming a Certified Legal Videographer is not a complicated endeavor. The types of certification available include: Certified Deposition Video Specialist, Certified Video Documentary Specialist, Certified Court Video Specialist (certified to do both video depositions and settlement documentaries,) Certified Legal Video Instructor (certified to instruct and validate other videographers,) and a Certified Senior Court Videographer. It is recommended that you obtain a combination of certificates.
This career is fast becoming an indispensable part of the criminal justice system. Career options are increasing across the country. There is also a shortage of professionally-trained which makes this career a great choice.
The services of are expected to increase in demand. A career in legal videography is an exciting and fascinating field for anyone who has a passion to work in the justice system.
Court reporting provides a broad selection of reporting as well as document & case management services to the legal industry, we continually set the standard for court reporter.