When it comes to hiring the services of a stenographer for legal and courtroom proceedings, we are often confused. Who do you choose – a court reporter or a transcriptionist? The confusion usually arises because most people are unaware of how these two professionals are different in the first place. The job of a transcriptionist and a court reporter seems to be the same on the surface. Then how do you decide which one would be a better fit?

DLE Legal, a court reporter and process server specialist service in Miami, talks about the major differences between the two. Being in the court reporting services themselves, DLE Legal offers a clear and concise description of what a court reporter does as opposed to a transcriptionist.

What do court reporters do?

Court reporters, also called stenographers or shorthand reporters, are entrusted with providing real-time reporting of courtroom proceedings. Their services are very valuable in the courtroom because of the sheer speed with which they can type the entire proceedings in real-time. Their job is to record the spoken word into shorthand script on their stenotype machines and later translate the script to English.

DLE Legal emphasizes that court reporters type reports in real-time, simultaneously with the proceedings, producing the report almost immediately after a hearing/ trial. DLE Legal has expertise in court reporting as they offer court reporter shorthand services in Miami.

What do transcriptionists do?

Transcriptionists have a similar role. The major difference, as DLE Legal puts it, is in the mode of the dictation. The transcriptionist documents the event or the trial from an audio recording of the same. In transcription speed is not as much an important factor as it is in the case of court reporting, says DLE Legal.

Yes, it still does require a minimum amount of concentration and speed in transcription too, but they always have the chance of going back to something they may have missed, and correcting it. This is impossible in the case of a court reporter though, as they work on the spot.

Differences in training, skills, and qualifications

One of the main differences, that DLE Legal points out, between court reporters and transcriptionists is the kind of training they receive. A court reporter needs to undergo much more intensive training that spans over two to four years to acquire the skills. The courtroom setting being highly formal, the court reporter needs to be adept at shorthand, legal vocabulary and procedures, and verbatim transcription.

A transcription usually needs to undergo a 1- or 2-year long course. They also need to learn legal procedures and terminology thoroughly, but they have relatively more liberty in the way they work.

Transcriptionists do not necessarily have to be trained in using a stenotype machine. But for court reporters, it is a necessity, says DLE Legal.

When to hire a court reporter or a transcriptionist

Coming to the final question, DLE Legal says it depends entirely on the setting in which the work is to be done. If you need a skilled professional to record a legal proceeding in the courtroom in real-time, only a court reporter can do the job.

If you can do with transcription from recorded audio or video of the case though, a transcriptionist should suffice.

The real-time reports that a court reporter can provide helps lawyers identify mistakes or nuances critical to their case right away. So, according to DLE Legal, you have to decide on what your priority is before hiring a court reporter or a transcriptionist.

About DLE Legal

DLE Legal is a court reporter and process server specialist in Miami that offers legal support services to lawyers. They offer Process Serving, Court Reporting, Interpreters and Translators, Videography, Document Retrieval, and Conference Room services across Florida and the United States.

To know more about their services, visit their website.

For More Information :- https://www.dlelegal.com/