WASHINGTON, April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –

The “Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009,” recently released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), said court reporter employment will grow by 25 percent through 2016, because of “increasing numbers of civil and criminal cases” coupled with federal telecommunications legislation that requires television captioning and the increasing demand for real-time communication access for people who are deaf and hard of hearing under the American with Disabilities Act.

In recent speeches, U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said with the country transitioning to a knowledge-based economy, workers with higher skills “are being paid a premium,” while she said the strongest demand is for workers “in technical occupations.” Her words are borne out by the BLS projection for court reporting and by a 2006 NCRA survey that determined an average net income after expenses of $65,242 for freelance (deposition) reporters and $72,072 for court reporters who work for local, state or federal courts and agencies.

“Our efforts to increase the number of court reporters and training opportunities are beginning to pay off,” says Mark Golden, CAE, NCRA’s executive director. “Last year, nine new schools opened to teach court reporting, while maintaining high performance standards and a challenging academic curriculum. Yet we still have a long way to go before the supply even starts to meet the demand.”

Golden noted that the training is challenging. “It demands a great deal of practice to develop skills of dexterity and concentration,” he says, “but for those who become guardians of the record and providers of communication access, the rewards and sense of making a real contribution make it all worthwhile.”

To further meet the future need for court reporters, NCRA is reaching out to potential students at http://www.bestfuture.com. In addition, legislation now before Congress calls for competitive grants to train captioners and reporters who specialize in realtime and Communication Access Realtime Translation. CART provides an immediate translation of all spoken words and environmental sounds in academic, civic, religious or cultural events for people who are deaf, have hearing loss or are learning English as a second language.

NCRA, a 23,000-member nonprofit organization, represents the judicial reporting and captioning professions. Members include official court reporters, deposition reporters, broadcast captioners, providers of realtime communication access services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people and others who capture and convert the spoken word into information bases and readable formats.

 Janet Collins 

This article summarizes some of the fundamental e-discovery issues that must be addressed in modern civil litigation.

Today, e-discovery is no longer a best practice; it is the required practice. On December 1, 2006, proposed changes relating to electronically stored information (ESI) in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) took effect. These changes require advanced e-discovery planning in the earliest stages of litigation and will impact almost every case in federal court, and a vast majority of state court cases as state legislatures adopt the new FRCP provisions in full or in part.

While court reporters typically are uninvolved in the discovery process, evidence issues and e-discovery plans are beginning to migrate into depositions, hearings, and the courtroom. Becoming familiar with such recent developments will prove advantageous in the court reporting field as this area continues to develop. This article summarizes some of the fundamental e-discovery issues that must be addressed in modern civil litigation.

LOCATION OF DATA
As electronic discovery becomes routinely accepted in today’s technology marketplace, courts increasingly are demanding counsel to actively engage in the direction and management of the e-discovery process. In one landmark e-discovery case, Zubulake v. UBS Warburg, 2004 WL 1620866 (S.D.N.Y. July 20, 2004), the court addressed the general role of counsel in litigation, stating that “[c]ounsel must take affirmative steps to monitor compliance so that all sources of discoverable information are identified and searched.”
This includes assuming responsibility for uncovering relevant documents (with the assistance of an e-discovery expert if necessary), evaluating discovery requests for electronic information and properly preserving this information. It is imperative that all data locations are explored when searching for responsive documents.

PRESERVATION
Although electronic files are easy and convenient to create and duplicate, they also are easy to alter or destroy. For example, simply booting a computer can destroy “slack” and “temporary” files contained on a computer hard drive. Clicking on a file, rather than properly copying it, can change its “last access” date, revealing another innocuous way that computer data can be lost. In most cases, maintaining the status quo without taking proactive measures to save computer evidence will have unfortunate consequences.

As soon as litigation is anticipated, preservation letters should be sent to all parties and nonparties in possession of potentially relevant data. In some cases, securing a preservation order from the court and monitoring compliance thereafter may be required. Finally, practitioners must discuss technical considerations with their client’s information technology manager and electronic discovery expert. In complicated or voluminous discovery cases, requesting that the court appoint a neutral expert may be advisable.

SPOLIATION AND SANCTIONS
When proper preservation procedures are not followed, courts are faced with considering the effect of the spoliation, negligent or intentional destruction of evidence, and whether any sanctions are appropriate. From monetary fines to adverse inferences or dismissal and default judgments, courts have levied a wide range of penalties on parties committing e-evidence spoliation.

CONCLUSION
In today’s high-tech corporate world, litigators, courts, and organizations have clearly acknowledged that technology has a significant role in litigation. With this ever-growing recognition of modern technology trends, all legal professionals - including court reporters - will benefit by understanding the issues, rules, and case law relating to electronically stored information. 

Adam Kish, Esq., is a legal consultant for Kroll Ontrack Inc., a Minnesota-based company specializing in electronic discovery, paper discovery, and computer forensics. 

  VIENNA, VA (July 23, 2007 - Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and various pieces of telecommunications legislation are driving the need for more closed captioning and realtime translation for the deaf or hearing disabled, not enough court reporters are graduating to keep up with the demand, the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) said today.
 

On the eve of the 17th anniversary of the ADA being signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, the Census Bureau reports that more than 51 million Americans have some level of disability.  The National Association for the Deaf estimates that hearing loss affects some 28 million Americans. For Americans who are deaf or hearing impaired, court reporters provide access to important information - a key aim of the ADA — through closed-captioning and realtime translation.
 

Likewise, telecom legislation calls for various types of information technologies such as hi-def television to be made more accessible to people with disabilities, a need which will only grow as new technologies like Internet phones and iPods become more widely used by the population.
 

But a recently released NCRA report documents a steadily declining, downward trend in the number of court reporters graduating this year from NCRA-certified programs, with only about 350 graduates in 2007, when three times that number are needed nationwide.
 

“While both the demand for court reporters and the need for training in this profession’s technological advances are on the rise, the ranks of court reporters and students of this profession continue to grow thin. This trend needs to be reversed quickly,” said NCRA executive director and CEO Mark Golden.
 

To help meet the need for court reporters, NCRA is reaching out to interest potential students at http://www.bestfuture.com/.  In addition, NCRA is supporting bills before Congress that call for competitive grants to train captioners and reporters who specialize in Communication Access Realtime Translation.

Contact:  Pete Wacht, pwacht@ncrahq.org
703-556-6272 (office)
571-228-7346 (cell)
ADA and Telecom Laws

 Janet Collins

   It is with great pride that I announce the name that has been chosen for our court reporting school:

 

 

 

 

     With this step now complete, I will be submitting paperwork to the State of South Carolina in order to attain appropriate licensure.   

 

    ”Sagrada,” a Spanish word meaning “sacred,” was just one of the choices presented by Zafari after their collaboration on this project.  They pulled out all the stops in creating a name that coincides with my intention as well as producing a logo and tag line that ties it all together.  I am grateful for Zafari’s contribution and for their continued support of the cause.

 

   To my clients, It is because of your belief in me that we have come this far.  I am grateful for you ensuring that my students have a future they can depend on, and promise never to take your support for granted.

    

   As our intentional steps continue, we strengthen the resolve and commitment to our vision.

 

    Court reporters carry a heavy responsibility as the impartial record keepers in court and deposition proceedings. Captioners and CART providers carry a different, but equally profound, responsibility, acting as the deaf or hard-of-hearing citizen’s means of access to social, political and professional life. Thus, ensuring that the reporter, CART provider or captioner possesses the skills and knowledge to fulfill their responsibility is critical. But as technology continues to change rapidly, as litigation grows more complex and the judicial system becomes more sophisticated, not only effective preparation, but also continuing education and development to meet the changing demands of the profession proves even more critical.
   

    Thus, NCRA’s continued focus on reporter, CART provider and captioner certification. The goal of all certification programs is to raise the level of competence and professionalism of the practitioners in the industry. For the individual practitioner, certification provides a specific road map of the knowledge and skills needed in order to meet minimum standards of qualification, as well as an independent validation of competence that reporters can use to distinguish themselves in the market. There is clearly a public stake in the competent performance of reporters and, in some cases, life and liberty rely on the record.
    

President Bush SignsTraining for Realtime Writers Language

On August 14, President Bush signed into law the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which was passed by both houses of Congress on July 31. Included in the Act is NCRA’s Training for Realtime Writers language, which creates a competitive grant program to train realtime writers to provide both captioned information and communication access for the 30 million Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing.

The passage of the bill marks a triumphant end to eight years of effort put in by NCRA and our partners in Congress. Many legislators, especially Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), have been advocates of this language since it was first introduced. NCRA has worked hand-in-hand with these lawmakers to ensure that this vital language reached the President’s desk.

“As a certified broadcast captioner and realtime writer who works with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community week in and week out, I laud Congress’s passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act with the inclusion of the Training for Realtime Writers Act language,” said NCRA President Karen Yates, CRR, CBC, CCP. “Through my daily work, I see firsthand the needs of people with hearing loss and the difficulties that some in the community have in fully accessing communication. This funding will encourage more individuals to enter the realtime writing workforce and deliver positive changes to the 30 million Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. On behalf of the 23,000 members of the National Court Reporters Association, we thank Congress and our congressional champions for moving this vital piece of legislation forward.

“Moreover, I’d like to thank the thousands of NCRA members who have worked diligently on this issue – visiting Capitol Hill, writing e-mails and letters, advocating for almost a decade. This is a great victory not only for people with hearing loss, but also for the profession and the association.” 

The passage of this legislation is a major step in ensuring equal access to information for those people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. In addition, this legislation enables the growth of the court reporting profession in order to keep up with the increasing demand for trained realtime court reporters.

*Article published under the “Issues and Advocacy” section of the NCRA Web site:  http://ncraonline.org/PubPolicyAdvoc/fed_init/pres_fen_init/HEA+passage.htm

Preamble

The mandatory Code of Professional Ethics defines the ethical relationship the public, the bench, and the bar have a right to expect from a Member.  The Code sets out the conduct of the Member when dealing with the user of reporting services and acquaints the user, as well as the Member, with guidelines established for professional behavior.  The Guidelines for Professional Practice, on the other hand, are goals which every Member should strive to attain and maintain.  Members are urged to comply with the Guidelines and must adhere to local, state and federal rules and statutes. It should be noted that these guidelines do not exhaust the moral and ethical considerations with which the Member should conform, but provide the framework for the practice of reporting.  Not every situation a Member may encounter can be foreseen, but a Member should always adhere to fundamental ethical principles.  By complying with the Code of Professional Ethics and Guidelines for Professional Practice, Members maintain their profession at the highest level. 

Code of Professional Ethics

A Member Shall:

1. Be fair and impartial toward each participant in all aspects of reported proceedings, and always offer to provide comparable services to all parties in a proceeding.
2. Be alert to situations that are conflicts of interest or that may give the appearance of a conflict of interest.  If a conflict or a potential conflict arises, the Member shall disclose that conflict or potential conflict.
3. Guard against not only the fact but the appearance of impropriety.
4. Preserve the confidentiality and ensure the security of information, oral or written, entrusted to the Member by any of the parties in a proceeding.
5. Be truthful and accurate when making public statements or when advertising the Member’s qualifications or the services provided.
6. Refrain, as an official reporter, from freelance reporting activities that interfere with official duties and obligations.
7. Determine fees independently, except when established by statute or court order, entering into no unlawful agreements with other reporters on the fees to any user.
8. Refrain from giving, directly or indirectly, any gift, incentive, reward or anything of value to attorneys, clients, witnesses, insurance companies or any other persons or entities associated with the litigation, or to the representatives or agents of any of the foregoing, except for (1) items that do not exceed $100 in the aggregate per recipient each year, or, (2) pro bono services as defined by the NCRA Guidelines for Professional Practice or by applicable state and local laws, rules and regulations.
9. Maintain the integrity of the reporting profession.
10. Abide by the NCRA Constitution & Bylaws.