Talk:Court reporter

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Court reporters often command earnings which rival those of the attorneys whose speech they transcribe.

What is this supposed to mean? (Ok, I am not native English speaker, but still...) saigon_from_europe

Basically, it just says that court reporters can earn as much or more than attorneys when they are working steadily. The pay rate is divided between 'appearance fees' which are payments for simply showing up and taking a deposition, and 'page rates' which means that a court reporter can charge a certain amount per page when an attorney orders a transcript. This 'page rate' can vary depending on where a transcript was taken. -Heidi from Idaho

In which case, let's just say "can" - certainly outside the US it is rare for court reporters to earn anything near what lawyers earn. ~~LP

I have been a freelance court reporter for several years in New York City, and I have consistently earned more than most of the attorneys that hire me for depositions. Talk about envy! I wish I had the education of an attorney, and they wish they made my salary. There's something to be said about someone who goes to law school for four-plus years, graduates almost $100K in debt, then goes to work for a firm that starts them out at around $50K. That is after working almost 70 hours a week, and not being able to try any cases. Just depositions and Conferences, motions, and the like. I, on the other hand, went to a specialized school for stenography for two and a half years for about $20K, and now I command up to $125K per year, working an average of 30 hours a week.

I added a link to the BLS about pay.

Can anyone clarify what happens to the transcripts? I understand that the reporter generally notarizes their validity, may keep back-up records, etc. Are transcripts for depositions or transcripts entered into court records now public? Under license?

I deleted the sentence on court reporters receiving personal gratification for doing closed captioning work, because that is purely speculative (they do get paid).

[edit] American style

This entire article (except for the link to Hansard) seems to reflect only the American experience. Court reporting in Canada, for instance, has somewhat different requirements for education, experience, etc. I'm making a note to come back and see if I can make this somewhat less US-centric. Accounting4Taste 22:54, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Hi I would appreciate if you could do this. I work as one over here in England and it is a different reality altogether, not to mention that it is probably much more different for court reporters around other parts of the world. Perhaps a country categorisation and explanation of the use of court reporters in different countries might be of some use? Just a thought - Sayem —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.110.248.146 (talk) 14:01, 4 October 2007 (UTC)