Work From Home Best Practices for Court Reporters

Ever since the novel coronavirus spread across the United States, numerous states launched administrative orders for remote proceedings. Florida Supreme Court also declared a statewide public health emergency as of 1st March 2020. The order stated that those judges and court personnel who can conduct the “judicial branch business” remotely should continue to do so. To ease the situation, the order further suspended rules of procedures and court orders “applicable to court proceedings that limit or prohibit the use of communication equipment for conducting proceedings by remote electronic means.”

While Florida court reporting firms, just like every other state, move towards remote practices, such an idea still remains new to them. Not everyone is familiar with the current digital age, and the case only becomes more sensitive in the case of legal proceedings that require utmost client privacy.

 Remote Does Not Imply Video

Court reporters are experienced with video depositions since that is where their expertise lies. However, a remote video-conferencing deposition is not the same type court reporters have been accustomed to in the past.

The best practice is not to assume familiarity between the two and treat them as completely separate. Even though this may seem far too simple, mere oversight can cause confusion between the two parties involved. The transcript produced needs to take the location and virtual factor into consideration, so there are no biases involved.

 Not Entirely Tech-Savvy

While some big legal corporations are known to embrace the growing tech age, smaller court reporting firms are not as likely. Due to this reason, such resources can be intimidating and challenging to handle. What’s worse is when court reporters are required to deal with software and applications that are completely alien to them.

One of the best practices to employ in such a case is to hire a tech expert as part of your firm. They can not only be useful for training you and your team in accordance with the growing digital age, but can also be employed to remain present at remote depositions for any technical errors. Technical support assistants can be handier than you think.

 Remote Deposition Day

After preliminary steps are taken to prepare for the deposition, a number of factors should be considered for a smooth legal proceeding on the main day:

·      All participants’ audio, video, and sound features are working.

·      All electronic devices to be put on silent or ‘do not disturb’ mode.

·      The deponent should be visible to all participants.

·      Control chat functions for the deponent, so propriety is maintained and no one has the opportunity to discuss the deponent’s testimony during the proceeding.

·      Consider time limits and all recordings to carry on throughout.

 As COVID-19 continues to spread, remote deposition may become the new normal for quite some time. Consider some of the above-mentioned work from home best practices for court reporters, and ensure legal proceedings run as smoothly as possible!