(Taken from http://www.yeslawdvd.com/index.html)

YesLaw is introducing an exciting new production tool for court reporters at the NCRA 2010 Annual Convention and Exhibition.  This new tool enables court reporting companies to create YesLaw PDF Transcripts – custom-branded, full and condensed transcripts, complete with embedded and hyperlinked exhibit files, and a hyperlinked concordance/word index.  This software compliments the YesLaw Generator, YesLaw’s market leading video synchronization tool and the YesLaw Online Repository the only secure web repository hosting document deposits, transcripts, linked exhibits and streaming synchronized video.

The YesLaw PDF Transcript Advantage

Hyperlinked Word Index – The YesLaw Transcript Generator auto-generates a concordance with each index word’s page:line references hyperlinked to the corresponding occurrence within the transcript.  Clicking on any index word opens Adobe’s advanced search tool allowing attorneys to quickly search across all their transcripts and exhibit files with a single query.  Alternatively clicking on the index word’s page:line entry immediately takes the attorney to that page within the transcript.  These hyperlinked page:line entries make the transcript easier to use and are unique to PDF transcripts created by YesLaw.

Hyperlinked Exhibits – Linked exhibit files are embedded in the single PDF transcript file.  Each reference to an exhibit is hyperlinked to the exhibit document and opens with a click.  Each exhibit is also listed in the bookmarks section with a comprehensive list of back-links to each page the exhibit is referenced upon.  So the transcript is hyperlinked to the exhibit files, and the exhibit files are hyperlinked back to all the transcript references.

Fastest Production –The YesLaw Transcript Generator fully automates production including exhibit linking and word index generation providing the fastest and easiest production process.  Linking exhibits is a snap: add the exhibit files and the work is done.  The Generator automatically determines the exhibit number, links each exhibit to every reference within the transcript, then back-links each exhibit to every transcript reference.  The software auto-determines the case caption, deponent’s first and last name, deposition date, header and footer text and even the reporter’s signature location.  The YesLaw Transcript Generator provides the highest level of automation for the fastest and most complete production process.

Professional Look – the software auto-determines the optimum line and character spacing to completely fill each page – top to bottom and left-to-right – for the best possible appearance and readability.  Attorneys will never see white space or un-filled pages.  The characters will be as large as possible yet never print outside of the page border.  The character spacing remains consistent throughout the transcript to maintain a clean, professional look and retain column alignment – all the Q’s and A’s and indents line up perfectly.  And this is all done automatically with no template changes, tweaking or reformatting required.

Smallest File Size – Even with full bookmarks, hyperlinked word index and custom-branding cover art; the YesLaw PDF transcripts are about the size of the court reporter’s ASCII.  You will not find this level of optimization in other transcript format.

Unmatched Attorney Ease of Use – Attorneys can copy and paste from YesLaw PDF transcripts and retain the transcript formatting – line numbers and indents remain aligned.  And if their copied text spans multiple pages, attorneys need not remove the headers, footers or watermarks after pasting.  This ease-of-use is unmatched in any other PDF transcript format.

The PDF Format Advantage
The PDF format is an open standard (not proprietary like others) with free viewing/printing software available for all the Windows operating systems, Mac OSX, and Mobile devices (Blackberries, iPhones, iPads, etc) and available from multiple vendors.  Indeed just about every attorney has a PDF viewer already installed on their PC eliminating the difficulty with downloading/installing proprietary transcript viewer software within secure networks and for PC users without administrative privileges.

Acrobat enables the attorneys to use a single program to manage their exhibits and transcripts, search across their transcripts and exhibit files with a single search, and mark-up/annotate the documents to collaborate with others.

As an open and ubiquitous standard, the PDF format is recommended and often required for electronic legal filing.  Tech-savvy attorneys will appreciate the PDF transcripts as unlike other proprietary transcript formats, YesLaw PDF transcripts can be indexed and searched by e-discovery applications without additional conversion.  And all the major trial presentation software packages support the PDF format.

For More Information
More information can be found on the website or by contacting YesLaw at 800-910-5009 or emailing lsupport@yesvideo.com.

New Version of Mobile Transcript Available

Version 1.4 of MobileTranscript for the iPhone and iPad is now available. New features include: bookmark; jump to next highlight; keyword search; jump to page number; e-mail transcripts from within the transcript; e-mail transcript in PDF with or without your yellow highlights; finger swipe feature to move from page to page; page arrow keys are enlarged and repositioned under user’s thumbs when holding the phone horizontally; and increased screen viewing area to review and annotate the transcript.

To see a demo, click here.

Court reporting: a career oasis in an economic desert

Click photo to enlarge

Su-Lin Winalski, 38, of Santa Clara, right, uses the stenographic… ( KAREN T. BORCHERS )

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Single mom Diane Carre earned too much money as a tech-support manager to quit — even though she dreaded those stressful, 3 a.m. phone calls about system failures. So when that job was outsourced to India, she eagerly eyed another profitable career — one that doesn’t involve sleepless nights.

The San Jose mother of two boys is learning to be a court reporter, a job that has morphed well beyond the courtroom. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, demand continues to grow for people with court-reporting skills to caption TV broadcasts and college lectures for hearing-impaired students.

In the desert that is the current economy, the job offers a lucrative oasis. One longtime court reporter in Santa Clara County, Virginia Barrios-Gutierrez, has enthusiastically spawned three generations of court reporters — and now her grandkids look forward to earning $60,000 to $100,000 a year or more, depending on how many hours they’re willing to work.

The career has its drawbacks: it is challenging to master the “language” of legal stenography and takes years of practice to get up to speed on a stenotype machine. During trials, court reporters must take down every utterance from a wide cast of characters as they produce testimony that can be blazing fast, complicated, technical, emotionally disturbing — or all of the above.

Carre, 45, is not fazed.

“I’m looking forward to the money, the independence and being in a respected field,” she said. “I can’t wait to hear the cases. And it’s great for a single mom because if you do depositions or captioning for the hearing-impaired, you can pick and choose the hours you work.”

The number of jobs for court reporters — now 21,500 nationwide — is expected to grow 18 percent from 2008 through 2018, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor rates the career prospects “excellent.”

21,500               current court-reporting jobs nationwide

18 percent        job growth expected from 2008 to 2018

$80-$150         hourly wage for freelance captioner

In the Bay Area and Sacramento, “there’s a real shortage — I’m always looking for the best students to hire,” said Rhett Simmons, who owns a Sacramento-based employment agency called West Coast Captioning.

Freelance captioners who work with college students and at conventions earn $80 to $150 an hour. UC Berkeley has six captioners on staff who start at $60,000 per school year, plus benefits.

Court reporters who work for the state Superior Court system can do even better — they can qualify for a generous pension and can make extra jingle by selling extensive transcripts of court proceedings for about $2.70 a page.

But court reporters who work in judicial settings — especially in criminal courts — must develop strong stomachs, said Georgeann Wiles, president of the Santa Clara County Court Reporters Association. Child molestation cases can be particularly gruesome.

“But that’s humanity,” Wiles said, “and you just try to hold it off and go on with your day.”

Three generations

Overshadowing the career is the prospect that California will replace court reporters who work in felony courts with digital recorders, as many states already have done to save money.

In the Bay Area, only two colleges and one private school still offer court reporting programs — in Saratoga, Novato and Dublin. Saratoga’s West Valley College almost abolished its program this spring because of state-budget cutbacks, until it was saved by a last-minute groundswell of support from the legal community.

But the California Court Reporters Association has managed to stave off the technological threat for the past three years by vigorously lobbying state legislators. The group commissioned an independent study that found digital recording is cost-effective only in low-impact cases. Otherwise, the quality of the recording is worse and transcript preparation costs are higher.

“A tape recorder doesn’t know what it didn’t hear,” Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Edward Lee says. “A court reporter does.”

Barrios-Gutierrez, 64, is so optimistic about the profession that she’s made it a family affair.

Thanks to her encouragement, daughter-in-law Dominga Antonio is also a court reporter in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Granddaughter Stacie Antonio is nearly done with court reporting school at West Valley, and two more grandchildren are enrolling.

“I believe there’s a lot of work ahead for court reporters,” Barrios-Gutierrez said.

One of her colleagues at Santa Clara County Superior Court is playing it safe — just in case. Court reporter Heather Bautista works for the county during the day and freelances one evening a week captioning for hearing-impaired students at San Francisco State.

The college work provides an extra perk.

“It’s almost like a free education,” Bautista said, “without the homework.”

Contact Tracey Kaplan at 408-278-3482 or tkaplan@mercurynews.com.

Total Immersion Pilot Program – Fifth Quarter Report

Total Immersion Fourth Quarter Report

Taken from http://ncraonline.org/Careers/totalimmersion/fourthquarter/

The fourth quarter of the Total Immersion Pilot Program began on December 28, 2009.  The NCRA Board of Directors and the NCRF Board of Trustees approved extending the pilot for up to six additional months, to give the students more time to complete their speed goals.  The students have adjusted their schedules as needed in order to continue their training.

In February, a student was forced to drop from the program for medical reasons.  There are now 11 remaining students.

Speedbuilding was again the primary focus of this quarter, but the students also incorporated medical terminology exercises and dictation into their daily routines.  They are working regularly on practice questions that will help prepare them for the RPR Written Knowledge Test.  The students will receive training in court procedures during the next few months.

The individual training sessions continue to play an important role in allowing students to discuss the life issues that could impede their practice and progress, as well as to provide targeted guidance for their writing issues.  The students enjoyed a guest speaker who lectured on brain function, nerves and anxiety, and how negative self-talk and thoughts of failure can affect speedbuilding progress and test-taking success.

The fourth quarter ended on March 26, 2010.  One student finished the quarter at 180 wpm, one at 160/180, three students at 160 wpm, three at 140 wpm, two at 120/140 wpm, and one at 120 wpm.

By Victoria Reitano of the “Commack Patch”

The Homeland Security Associates Degree program at the Long Island Business Institute (LIBI) is accepting applications to fill their first 25-member class and will include training for managing a homeland security team and issue.

According to James Foster, director of enrollment, the course will be taught by retired army Maj. Gen. Richard S. Colt, who created the 61-credit degree program exclusively for LIBI. The first semester began at the Flushing, N.Y. campus in June.

Known for court reporting degrees, this accredited independent college offers day and night classes as part of a continuing education program. Foster said he notes many students with 4-year degrees returning to the programs, particularly with court reporting, because they are looking for a specific skill they did not obtain during their undergraduate education. He said this change has increased since the recession began.

For over 40 years the center in Commack Corners has taught court reporters to “beat 225.” That statement refers to the words per minute minimum for certified court reporters. The school will not certify a student unless they can reach that number. Foster said students interested in this program need to anticipate 2 hours per day practicing outside of class as moving through courses include speed requirements.

“Sometimes students jump from court reporting one to court reporting three, but it doesn’t always happen. Students need to beat the speed at every level in order to continue,” Foster said. If students cannot achieve the necessary speed, they need to take the course again.

The writers, machines created by Stenograph and used nationally, are rented from the school during training. Machines can be purchased online via the website or on eBay. The machines must be computer compatible as a program – called Real Time – is used to allow the stenography, the language of the writers, to be read as real text, on a computer simultaneously.

This investment can range anywhere from over $4,000 to $800-900 on eBay.

The 65-credit Associate’s Degree in Court Reporting includes four general education requirements, while the 54-credit certification program does not. These programs also enable a student to become a broadcast captioner for live television programs to give assistance for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers as well as a court reporter, one who takes the minutes of a court proceeding or other legal meeting.

Semesters at the center begin in February, June and October, with registration at least two weeks before the start of classes. Foster said there is an open house Saturday at 10 a.m. and requested that students call to reserve their seats.

TALLAHASSEE – Steven Andrews, the attorney who slapped Rick Scott with a subpoena last week, has told the GOP gubernatorial candidate’s campaign that he is delaying the deposition he had initially scheduled for Friday.

The subpoena that Andrews served on Scott had “commanded” him to answer the attorney’s questions in a meeting on Friday — four days before the primary election — at the Florida Press Center in Tallahassee.

Andrews, a contributor to the campaign of Scott’s primary rival Bill McCollum, is suing Collier Court Reporting for access to a sealed deposition that Scott gave in April in a now-settled case against Solantic healthcare company, in which Scott is a major investor.

Terms of the settlement in that case made Scott’s April deposition confidential, and he has refused publicly to release it, calling it a “private matter.”

Scott’s attorney and Collier Court Reporting have been trying this week to persuade a Leon County Circuit Court judge to throw out the subpoena demanding that Scott answer Andrews’ questions on Friday. To date, no hearing has been scheduled on the motion; Scott’s attorney, Charles Trippe of Jacksonville, would not comment on the case.

Scott’s campaign, however, has received a letter from Andrews’ legal staff, stating that “Mr. Andrews is postponing your deposition, currently scheduled for Friday, April 20, 2010, and will reset it within 60 days. Additionally, please advise that you are still under subpoena pursuant to Florida law. This postponement of your deposition will allow the Defendant, Collier Court Reporting Inc., to secure legal counsel.”

Jennifer Baker, campaign spokeswoman for Scott, said “the fact that this letter was sent to our campaign headquarters is further proof that the accusations are baseless and part of a smear campaign orchestrated by a Bill McCollum supporter.”

Andrews and McCollum have denied the latter.

Reporters Keith Cate and William March contributed to this report. Catherine Whittenburg can be reached at (850) 222-8382.

Total Immersion – Second Quarter Report

Taken from http://ncraonline.org/Careers/totalimmersion/secondquarter/default.htm

The second quarter of the Total Immersion Pilot Program began on June 15.  The students were writing in speeds ranging from approximately 40 to 80 words per minute at the start of the quarter.

Unfortunately, we lost two students in the second quarter.  They voluntarily left the program in July, due to personal reasons.

On July 28, Lynette Eggers, a member of the NCRA Education staff, assumed the instructor position for the pilot.  The students were given a series of speedbuilding tests to determine baseline speeds, and drills were created after each test for the students’ specific errors.  A structured daily assignment sheet was created, which includes a practice log for both StenographU and Realtime Coach. Students are writing between six and eight hours per day.  Included in their daily assignments are speedbuilding practice and drills on vocabulary, numbers, challenging material, word families, and high frequency words.  Additionally, legal terminology dictation and word drills have been developed and structured within the course site.  Legal terminology is also included in short dictations during class time.

Class is held five days per week, with an additional hour-long class at the end of the week.  Fridays are test days.  Attendance remains excellent, with few absences.    Individual coaching sessions are ongoing, with discussions about student progress, writing issues, day-to-day commitments, and anything else that might be relevant to the training.  Various guest speakers have joined the class to share their knowledge, including freelance and official reporters.  Karen Ruud spoke about career path options.  Donna Crane gave the students some Case CATalyst guidance.  Nancy Varallo discussed the steno theory and answered questions.  The students will begin more extensive CaseCATalyst training in the third quarter.

This is an exceptional group of students who possess an intense desire to succeed.  Some of the students have had perfect test scores.  They aren’t surrounded by more advanced students, so they have no preconceived notions about speedbuilding.

The second quarter ended on September 4, and the benchmark goal was 120 words per minute.  Two students are writing at 140 wpm, seven at 120 wpm, three at 100 wpm, and one at 80 wpm.  After a one-week break, classes resume on September 14.  The third quarter ends on December 18, and the benchmark is 160/180 words per minute.

taken from ncraonline.org

The Total Immersion pilot began in March 2009 with 15 students. The students are highly motivated and have a strong technological background. Throughout the first quarter, the students typically learned two theory lessons per day, and they have now incorporated speedbuilding. Attendance remains at 100 percent for the live classes. The quarter ended on June 5, the students had a weeklong break, and classes resumed on June 15.

Here is the first report of the committee:

The concept of the Total Immersion pilot began in 2005 with research carried out by NCRA’s Reporter Education Commission, which gathered volumes of reporter training data through focus groups and individual discussions with students, reporters, and educators. The research findings led the Reporter Education Commission to form a task force to develop a skills-only training program that would allow NCRA to identify what role the machine time plays in a student’s success or failure. The goal was to test whether immersing students in only the theory and their steno machines would allow them to reach 225 words per minute in a year’s time.

In July 2008, the NCRA Board approved the requested funding for the Total Immersion pilot and directed the task force to move forward as planned. Robert McCormick, CRI, a retired professor from Alfred State College, was hired as the pilot instructor; a steno theory was written by the task force; an academic exam was written; and the TAIS Inventory (Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style) was selected as the desired aptitude screening test for pilot applicants. Ads were placed, and 198 prospective students submitted resumes, tested, and were interviewed. At the end of the process, 15 students were chosen to participate in the program. Equipment was purchased, the online course was set up using the Moodle course management software program, and the pilot was launched on March 16, 2009. The program is run under the auspices of the National Court Reporters Foundation.

All students entered the program with strong technology backgrounds. Each is visible in class at their work stations by videocam. The class meets twice per day, five days per week. Throughout the first quarter, the students typically learned two theory lessons per day and were given regular unit evaluations. There were four parts to each test – numbers, word lists, transcribing steno into English, and speedbuilding. Students who scored less than 90 percent were required to go back, review, and retake the test. Those who had difficulty grasping a theory principle were pulled out for remedial review and tutored until they were back on track. All students are expected to spend a minimum of eight hours per day in class or practice sessions.

Several working reporters have visited the class as guest speakers to give the students an extra boost of enthusiasm. The students are highly motivated, and attendance remains at 100 percent for the live classes. Additionally, the students began personal coaching sessions with NCRA’s Education Department staff toward the end of the first quarter.

The quarter ended on June 5, the students had a weeklong break, and classes resumed on June 15. The NCRA Total Immersion Task Force met to discuss the students’ progress against the established benchmarks and to determine if any adjustments were needed in either the curriculum or the timeline. As a result of the students’ success in Quarter 1, the second quarter began with no adjustments to second quarter activities, which will consist of a combination of theory review and speedbuilding.

The students uploaded their dictionaries on the first day back to class, have learned how to add, modify, and delete entries, and they are now performing daily dictionary maintenance. The students seem to have easily grasped the concept of hearing new words, writing them, and making entries by applying the theory principles they have learned. There’s added excitement, with the students now seeing their translation.

Students are submitting an average of 25 pages of practice per day. Through Realtime Coach and Stenograph University Online, they are responsible for completing weekly practice assignments, with a focus on accuracy and speedbuilding. The students are putting their newly acquired skills to use by writing e-mails, Word documents, and even the daily chat section of the classroom with their steno machines and outputting to their CaseCATalyst software. The second quarter will end on September 4, with a benchmark of 120 words per minute.