Court Reporters – Accessing the Internet (and Sharing) Makes Life Better
As a court reporter, I love my Verizon 4G Hotspot because it allows me to send out depositions, arbitrations, and rough drafts no matter where I am. As an added benefit, the device gives me the opportunity to share internet connectivity with attorneys at depositions.
This is the decade of efficiency. There are tools on the market that will make your life as a court reporter better if you decide you want to participate and use them. I believe most wifi companies have a gadget that allows a person to share internet activity with one to five people at a time.
Many depositions and arbitrations (meetings) are held in public rooms or hotels that do not provide internet connectivity or charge outrageous rates to be online. I was court reporting a deposition in Laguna Beach last month, and the hotel wanted to charge $800 per day to allow up to ten people wireless access to the internet. After I almost fell over when I heard the charge, the gentleman quickly offered the wireless deal for $400 per day. It was CRAZY.
Offering my Hotspot to the attorneys made me very popular for the day. As an added piece of advice (a DepoMan tip), have your password for the attorneys to log on be something like, “Kramm Court Reporting is Great” or “I love my court reporter – Linda.” Having a number as a password is kind of boring, in my opinion, but for a serious crowd of lawyers might be appropriate.
Having my Hotspot I can send a rough draft out no matter where I am. I can access exhibits on my repository when proofing a transcript or indexing exhibits.
I believe a Hotspot is a great investment for a working court reporter out in the field.
@rosaliekramm Twitter
Great tip, Rosalie. I can’t wait to change my password! I love my Verizon 4G Hotspot. I was able to cancel my dedicated data plan for the iPad and now get double bang for my buck with the Hotspot, providing WiFi for my laptop and my iPad. A little caution, though…keep in mind that whatever data the attorneys consume while using your Hotspot counts as megabytes usage against your data plan.
Comment by Word Warrior — April 2, 2012 @ 7:53 am
We use hotspots as well, you don’t know how many times it’s come through for us in a pinch. Whether the attorney needs to quickly pull up lost exhibits on his laptop, or quickly email his paralegal during a depo, the hotspots are very convenient. I wish they would come up with a way to provide more bandwidth.
Comment by Tony Wright — April 7, 2012 @ 9:29 am
Good point. My firms have always provided hotspots, and we want you to use them!
Comment by Ray Campbell — May 26, 2012 @ 1:27 pm
I come from a family of lawyers and legal aids and my sister was complaining about a hotel in Chicago charging $200 a day for a hotspot connection. I told her to get a WI-fi card and while i didn’t have the real world experience to give examples of how it could help, I now have this blog post I can pass along to her.
Comment by http://www.unitedstatesgamblingonline.com/legal/ — June 29, 2012 @ 8:51 am
The reporter who can offer an Internet hotspot to attorneys at depositions is the star of the show. If you have any doubt, try it and see how much you are appreciated. So few reporters currently offer this, you are truly on the cutting edge. You will be remembered and talked. That’s a good thing.
Comment by Linda Taylor — October 16, 2012 @ 5:54 pm