In California court reporters have had a tough year.  The recession has hit our profession hard.  I have been reading and collecting www.law.com articles and blogs written by attorney groups for a seminar I am on a panel on for the Deposition Reporters Association convention tomorrow.  Attorneys have been hit hard by the recession.  I can cite you layoffs of staff, associate attorneys, and commercial buildings becoming empty of lawyers.  I personally know young people who just passed the bar and have nowhere to work.  Two of the new licensees I would hire in a half-second they are so smart, diligent and progressive in thinking.  They are becoming their own rainmakers out of necessity.  One of my business clients recently told me, “There is no capital to fund lawsuits, but tremendous opportunity is out there.”

In these tough times I believe many reporters are asking themselves, “What are my choices?”  Court reporters coming out of school need mentoring and monitoring.  Seasoned court reporters have a full calendar, and then the jobs cancel.  Attorneys are looking for ways to save their clients money, and if that means settling a case or going to trial with no discovery, and they think they can get away with it, they are canceling depositions.

I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning about what I will call the “science” of the recession by David Ranson, Director of Research at H.C. Wainwright & Co., Economics, Inc., “Why The Recovery Will Be Robust.”  He writes, “The fourth quarter GOP growth rate of 5.7% (annual) announced by the Commerce Department should be a ray of sunshine,” but then he goes on, “many panned it as either a statistical anomaly or an unsustainable blip…or the governmnet’s ‘stimulus’ package.”  But then, pay attention, court reporters, he writes, “History refutes all three interpretations.”  Ranson says, “We are witnessing the natural resilience of a free-market economy; a strong rebound is normal at this stage in the business cycle.”  Ranson goes on to state, “The great majority of U.S. recessions and recoveries are V-shaped , i.e., the more deep and precipitous the drop, the steeper and more vigorous the bounce.” 

Many of the experts are predicting an upswing of the economy starting in the spring of 2010.  Law firms are now starting to hire again.  Today I read an article that cites MoFo raising their first-year attorneys’ salaries back to 2008 dollars. 

This recession shall pass.  From my past experience, having owned a court reporting firm since 1985 and surviving two recessions, we will be incredibly busy once again.  There are going to be exhausted court reporters begging to be off calendar. 

The question is, what are court reporters doing now to get ready?  When times are slow we have a choice.  We can sit back and worry or sharpen the saw.  As we all know, the cleaner we write, the faster we scope.  The more sophisticated the dictionary, the faster we scope.  The more efficient we are in utilizing our CAT software, the faster we scope.  When reporting firms are calling you begging you to work, the faster you scope the more you can take more work without going crazy – and if you use a scopist, allow her/him to be more productive. 

Let’s all make a commitment to learn at least 2 new “macros” we can do from our steno machines in realtime by March 10.  Tweet to me what you decide your 2 new tricks are.  I will choose 2 and let you know what they are.  I need to sharpen my saw, too.

Students, I would like you to learn 5 new briefs for phrases by March 3.  Let me know what phrases you choose and the briefs.     

Let’s use this time to work as a profession to get ready for the onslaught of work that is coming.  I don’t want anyone turning away work because they are spending all of their time scoping or their scopists get overwhelmed.  Let’s be ready for the ROBUST RECOVERY!

Rosalie@kramm.com

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)

It was suggested by a firm owner I ran into at NCRA firm owners that I blog about a court reporter’s appearance when in the field.  This is a tricky subject.  I believe geographically there are differences in what is considered appropriate, common sense, and stylish.  There are dozens of web sites that offer suggestions about looking professional for men and women.  The mantra in all of them is “neat and clean and nice shoes” (no beat-up looking shoes). 

As blogger Dawn Rosenberg McKay writes, “Maybe it is unjust to judge a book by its cover, but we all do it.  It’s human nature.  While the person in jeans may be as competent and as intelligent as the one wearing the formal suit, or more so, we do assess these attributes based on appearance.” 

As working court reporters, we are judged the moment we walk into a deposition room, courtroom, or meeting room.  The attorneys may not say anything to us, but they are looking us over and making a quick judgment about our competency.  Like Ms. McKay writes, “It’s human nature.”

I know I judge the attorneys when they walk into the room.  A person’s posture, suit, accessories, and shoes say a lot about that person.  I decide in my mind quickly if a person is successful or not.  Is that fair?  Probably not.  It is just the way it is.

If you think about it, when you look good, you know you look good, and you walk into a room, you feel better about yourself as a professional.  I would go so far as to throw out the comment you even write faster and are more accurate.  Court reporters work hard getting out expedites and huge transcripts.  It may be easy to stop caring enough about appearances after awhile when you are tired.  That’s when we need to really get our groove on.

I am using this blog as a reminder to myself to “pay attention” and always look sharp.  People are watching me and deciding what kind of a court reporter I am before I even start writing.

rosalie@kramm.com

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)

Last week a young reporter from Florida wrote me looking for some advice.  He wanted to know what to do when you are at a deposition and your software stops working.  He had a bad experience that turned from bad to worse.  I won’t go into the details.  As we all know, the more out of control the deposition gets or if something stops working, the more your fingers start shaking, you start sweating, and then things really start to go bad – unless you take control.

I had shaking fingers and was convinced my license was going to be taken away from me because of a deposition I was reporting about ten years ago.  My client spoke with an English accent, the witness was an Australian scientist, and they were talking about the sequencing of the human genome.  Both sides were hooked in.  At one point one of the attorneys asked for me to read back an answer that was all “science talk.”  I read it back with a semi-Australian accent because I was writing everything out phonetically.  I wasn’t trying to be funny or cute or pretend I had an Australian accent.  Everyone at the table started laughing at me.  I was able to keep up with the speed, but had no clue what I was writing.  I started feeling sorry for myself.

During the lunch break I called my husband all shook up.  His words to me were so perfect.  He said, “Stop it.  You are a professional.  You get right back in there and be the court reporter.  I don’t want to hear another word about losing your license or any of that other nonsense.  Call me when you’re done.”  First I got mad at him a little bit, but then I realized he was right.  I told myself to knock it off and just bear down and write.  There was no room for excuses or having a pity party.  It was a tough depo, period.

As a new reporter, never forget your responsibility is the record.  When your fingers are shaking, go off the record if you need to. Go to the restroom, slap cold water on your face, and tell yourself to knock it off.  Pull yourself together mentally.  Force yourself to focus.  If you are in over your head, stop the deposition.  Call the agency owner.  Tell the attorneys.  Be honest.

If you notice your machine or computer is malfunctioning, ask to stop the deposition.  Don’t be shy.  You can say, “I am having a technical difficulty.  May we go off the record?”  Be confident.

One thing I know from all of my years as a reporter, the attorneys know when a deposition is difficult because of speed, accents, or subject matter.  If they see you working hard, they will give you a chance and help you slow things down.  Some attorneys or witnesses don’t care and prefer the messed-up record.  Don’t let those people shake you up or ruin your reputation.  Take responsibility.  I promise you they will respect you in the long run and might even request you to be their reporter.

By the way, the attorney who I was working for the day that I did the double hook-in about sequencing of the human genome, thinking I would lose my license, started calling our firm asking me to be his reporter for not only his San Diego court reporting work, but all national court reporting work as well.

rosalie@kramm.com

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)