Court reporters as well as lawyers have been hurt by the great recession.  There are surprising mergers of law firms and court reporting firms and the filing of bankruptcies (Esquire and Howrey).   With this recession comes less litigation, fewer deals, and non-payment of fees.  BUT as my mother always says, “This too shall pass,” and I know it will. We will have a day soon in the future when there will be too much work, and a lot of the workforce will be “weeded” out because during these tough times there will only be survival of the fittest.

Now is the time to sharpen the saw.  I have been reading a lot of law and business blogs that push networking and marketing.  People don’t want to spend money because they are not sure of the future.  The experts are advising us in the B2B market, “This is the time to work on your networking skills, become an expert in your area of practice, and put energy into your profession.”  Living in the age of technology and information, being “low on funds” is no excuse for not being great.  There are free powerful digital platforms (LinkedIn and Twitter) where a businessperson can get information, share knowledge, and study their niche.  With LinkedIn and Twitter, we can network and create new relationships with like-minded people. 

Bottom line, everyone is in the same boat.  We all need to connect and learn.    

I don’t know about everyone else, but I truly am sick and tired of worrying about stuff out of my control (i.e., the economy) and want something new to focus on.

I love using Twitter for my personal education.  I follow brilliant people and read their suggested articles/blogs.   I advised my niece who is studying graphic arts at Long Beach State, “Find people in your chosen profession whom you admire and then follow them on Twitter.  Read what they have to say, study how they think.  When you get a chance, become a part of their conversation.  You never know what might happen.”  She has connected with the CEO of a large graphic arts firm in New York letting him know she reads and admires his blog. He wished her well in her studies.  My golden rule re Twitter:  “Always be authentic, sincere, and pay it forward.” 

I don’t want to spend my time playing Angry Birds and worrying about the recession.  I believe this is the time to become stronger and the time to think, think, think.  There is plenty of opportunity to be better.  If there is one thing I know for sure, the recession will one day be over, and I plan on being ready for that day!

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

I am visiting my dear friend Jan Ballman of Paradigm Court Reporting in her beautiful city of Minneapolis this weekend.  Most of our conversations turn to the subject of court reporting and court reporters.  While having lunch in St. Paul, Jan made the statement, “Good is the enemy of great.”  I started thinking about the statement and realized the danger of being good.

I remember back, circa 1989, one of my court reporters came back from a seminar in Los Angeles and told me that court reporters were writing and sending their raw notes feed to attorneys’ computers so that the attorneys could follow along and read the testimony.  I thought that was the craziest thing I had ever heard.  There was no way I would ever allow anyone to ever watch my writing.

I was a good reporter in 1989. I wrote about 2500 pages a month and got my work out timely.  I enjoyed court reporting.  BUT THEN I started to hear about my competitors offering realtime to their clients and rough drafts.  I knew being a good court reporter was not going to be good enough any longer.  I had to become great.

 I went to an NCRA realtime seminar and a DRA realtime seminar and focused on cleaning up my writing (conflict free) and forced myself every week to work on a different “problem” with my writing.  For example, I had a conflict with all words beginning with a, i.e., a part/apart; a piece/appease…  At one seminar I learned to use a long A when I wanted it to be stitched to the next stroke.  That cleaned up so many of my problems, and it was an easy fix, it blew my mind.

My advice, don’t let being a good court reporter get in your way from being a great court reporter.  There is always room to be better, whether it means how you present yourself, how you write, how fast you get out your rough drafts…  Let’s all be great because being a court reporter is the greatest profession ever!

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

I have previously written a post about where court reporters and videographers could park in Los Angeles.  Court reporters, legal videographers, and attorneys working in downtown San Diego have similar issues of where to park, find the entrance to parking garages, and find the best rates.  I found a great website that takes away the worry or wonder of where to park at www.sandiegobestparking.com.   If you choose San Diego and insert the zip code you are traveling to, you will find a map populated with parking lots, pricing, and location.

As a court reporter, it is important to be as stress-free as possible before you get to a job.  There are enough things to worry about with attorneys’ names, identifications, organizing exhibits, and writing FAST.  Parking should not be an issue, and being late for a deposition, arbitration, or hearing because of parking issues is never a good excuse, and one that will probably have the client calling your firm asking that you not be sent back.

Legal videographers need to be on location at least an hour before the job is to begin, and court reporters need to be at a deposition 30 minutes early if they are writing realtime and at least 20 minutes early to set up for the deposition.

Being a freelance court reporter and legal videographer in downtown San Diego doesn’t have to be stressful or too expensive when looking for a place to park.

@rosaliekramm Twitter