The future of court reporting is bright and very busy. Contrary to popular belief that court reporters can be easily replaced by technology, we’re learning and seeing first-hand that this is not the case.
Yes, it can be very challenging to find and hire a qualified court reporter, but this is not because of technology. Rather, the downturn in available skilled court reporters is due to the bigger picture changes in the economy and how people want to work and live.
You likely have colleagues who have transitioned to full-time work-from-home jobs or are juggling multiple smaller jobs in the new gig economy. This move by so many to want to change how, when, where, and why they work has had a trickle-down effect on every industry, including the legal profession.
What this has done is resulted in there being fewer qualified court reporters available. The best way to find a proven court reporter is to rely on dedicated Bay area court reporting firms and even reaching out to court reporting firms in other cities such as Pittsburgh for references and guidance on qualified reporters in your area.
Will Technology Replace Court Reporters?
We know that technology has introduced many improvements in how court reporters do their jobs, but we also know that technology will not replace human court reporters. Some may argue that the savings offered by advanced technology will drive a push to technology and a steady elimination of court reporters.
However, while advanced voice recognition software is very sophisticated, the cost savings are not worth the headaches that come with relying solely on technology. What happens when the voice recognition or recording software fails? What is the fallback plan when the data is lost or corrupted? What is the solution when there is a hardware failure and the technology simply fails to work?
The obvious backup plan for these failures and problems is with traditional human court reporters. Humans offer skills, experience, knowledge, and professional attributes that simply cannot be replaced by humans.
- Accuracy. Humans are able to discern different voices, overlapping speech, accents, and other communication challenges. Humans can quickly identify which courtroom sounds need to be recorded and those that do not. Know that the top Bay area court reporting firms hire only court reporters that meet top standards for both accuracy, quality, and speed.
- Speed. The very best in court reporting can meet and exceed the speed of even the most advanced voice-to-text software. It’s important to remember that speed of delivery should also be factored in, and this is what the savvy combination of a court reporter and live software translation solution gives to everyone in the courtroom.
- Affordability. Court reporters are flexible and are inherently more affordable than a rigid technical system. Whereas the technology used in the courtroom cannot be easily moved to the deposition suite, humans can easily move from the courtroom to the deposition suite and back.
- Written transcripts. Generating a written transcript from the court reporter’s recorded transcription is easy to do. This is not the case when relying on an audio or video recording. You need the written transcript quickly, accurately, and in a format that works for you – this is why you need a human court reporter.
What Does The Future Look Like For Court Reporting?
The future of court reporting looks very bright and exciting. Technology will not replace court reporters but will make it easier for court reporters to deliver quality final products. The advances in technology will support the best in court reporting to continue to excel and meet the demands of the courtroom, deposition suite, and legal industry in general.