Christmas in the City

The holidays are just around the corner and we hear about the hardships many families are facing.  In lieu of giving gifts of appreciation to clients, we decided our gift to them would be to donate to a special, local charity in need.

A few years back we were introduced to Christmas in the City.  It’s a wonderful non-profit organization run by Kennedy Brothers Physical Therapy here in Boston.   Their idea was to collect gifts for homeless children whose mothers have been abused and have sought shelter.  This organization provides a bit of cheer to those families by hosting a huge winter wonderland gathering full of fun games, great food, and, of course, Santa. 

For the second straight year, Doris O. Wong Associates,Inc., has requested names of children that we can sponsor.  The mother writes down three wishes for her child and we purchase a gift.  Gift wrapped with festive ribbons and bows, Santa presents to each child their special something during this party.  What a wonderful way to provide a bright spot in the eyes of a child.

What started out as a party for 165 children and mothers at the State House has now grown into a party for over 3,000 children and parents.  It’s simply amazing that this is run 100% by volunteers.

For more information about this wonderful organization, visit http://christmasinthecity.org/.

Happy Holidays from the reporters and staff at Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc.

HONORING OUR VETERANS - NCRF'S VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT

In 2013 the National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) will celebrate its 10^th anniversary in partnership with the Library of Congress on the Veterans History Project.  Reporters from around the country have volunteered to preserve the verbal histories of veterans by transcribing their memories of the conflicts in which they served.  So far over 2,600 veterans’ histories have been preserved and submitted to the Library of Congress where they will remain in perpetuity for the education and benefit of future generations.  The Foundation’s goal is to reach 3,000 submissions by Memorial Day of 2013.

The National Court Reporters Association is honored to play such an important role in the preservation of these invaluable first-hand accounts given by our living heroes to whom we all owe so much. 

We pay homage to all our veterans, past and presently serving, on this Veterans Day and thank them for their service and sacrifice.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERPRETERS AT DEPOSITIONS

From the court reporter’s standpoint, when a potential witness does not speak English as his first language or when he is difficult to understand, it would be wise to consider having an interpreter present at his deposition. 

When an interpreter does his job correctly, the deposition will proceed smoothly, unimpeded, and the final transcript will be readable, understandable, and useful.

Regardless of the reporter’s technical skills, more often than not she will enter the deposition room with no prior knowledge of the matter at hand.  If the reporter has to struggle to understand what the witness is saying, and having no history of the case as a frame of reference, it will be difficult, and sometimes impossible, to decipher the answers being given.  This is a scenario that can lead to misinterpretation and error.

The skills required of an interpreter at a deposition involve more than just language fluency.  He must interpret accurately and completely, switching gears from one language to the other with ease, interpreting in a verbatim manner the question to the witness, the answer to the questioner, and any colloquy.  This means speaking in the first person, not the third person, avoiding language such as “he’s asking you” or “she said.”  The interpreter must act professionally, remain impartial, avoid any conflict of interest, and of course he must hold his duties in strict confidence.  An interpreter who specializes in legal proceedings knows all of this and is prepared to meet your standards.

Please call Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc., when you need a qualified interpreter.  We can refer you to experienced interpreters in all languages who will make your experience a positive one.

Speed Kills

One of the greatest challenges facing court reporters, novice and veteran alike, is fast-talking witnesses and lawyers.  Speed instantly ratchets up the level of difficulty.  Believe it or not, reporting the testimony of a slow-speaking neurosurgeon can be easier than that of a fast-speaking lay witness. 

When one speaks at breakneck speed, clarity suffers.  Words can be misheard.  “September” sounds like “December.”   Little words such as “in” or “and” are difficult to hear.  Tenses become unclear.  It is hard to distinguish between “said” and “says,” “can” and “can’t,” and “did” and “didn’t,” especially when those words appear at the beginning of a question.  “Didn’t she say she killed her husband?” has a different meaning than “Did she say she killed her husband?”   Reporters also punctuate on the fly which becomes more difficult when the speaker is speaking so fast that his sentences seem to run together.

But speed is just one element.  If a speaker’s voice barely registers above a whisper, if he has an accent, if the testimony is technical in nature, or if there are other competing background noises, such as a noisy air conditioner or ongoing construction, the reporter will have a difficult time. 

Reporters ask lawyers and witnesses to slow down all the time, but it is difficult for a speaker to change his natural speaking pattern.  Some will make an earnest effort but will be unable to keep it up for long.

As reporters, our main goal is to make a verbatim record and to be as unobtrusive as possible, but there are times when an interruption is necessary.  If the reporter does not understand you because of excessive speaking speed, chances are the judge and jury won’t understand you either.  So when a reporter asks for your cooperation in making a clear record, be assured that there’s a good reason.

Free iCVNet App is HERE!!! Interactive Realtime Made for an iPad!

Are you an iPad lover who is tired of using a laptop for interactive realtime during your depositions or hearings?  The iCVNet App is here.  It's a free App developed by Stenograph Corporation that works just like CaseViewNet, LiveNote, and other interactive realtime software only you can use it on your iPad.  You receive the feed via a WiFi connection supplied by the court reporter.  The feed is password protected, encrypted and fully secure.  iCVNet allows you to view, mark, search and email the transcript.

Simply download the free App at the APP Store.   http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/icvnet/id541142890?mt=8

Linda Fifield  is a member of the Liaison Committee with the Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporting (STAR) and Stenograph, and she has witnessed the development of iCVNet over the past year.  Its long-awaited release will be showcased at the National Court Reporters Association convention in Philadelphia this week.

When scheduling your next interactive realtime deposition with Doris O. Wong Associates, bring along your iPad and try out the new App.  You'll love it.

Webex Video Conference

Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc., has been providing video conferencing since 2004.  We have wired three conference rooms for dedicated HD video conferences so that clients can enjoy the HD quality video and audio that the Polycom system provides.

The other day we received a last-minute call from a client who wanted to do a video conference. They couldn’t use the Polycom system because many of their satellite offices did not have the necessary equipment or a convenient location from which the additional parties could participate.  The question was whether it could be done via Webex or GoToMeeting.   Of course we said yes. 

We placed a dedicated notebook with WiFi in our conference room and downloaded the Webex software.  Then we plugged the external HD camera (for better resolution) into the notebook and then plugged the notebook into our large 55” HD TV for better viewing.  Now the five participants in our conference room were able to see the other parties from around the world also sitting in on the seminar.

It was a successful five-hour event. 

The next time you need to conduct a meeting with multiple locations over video conference, call Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc.  We can save you time, money, and travel fees.

Calling All Law Students and Young Associates

The reporters from Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc. have sat through enough depositions to know a good lawyer when we see one.  Asking pointed questions and analyzing the answers takes great skill, but that is only part of the equation.  For an attorney to build his case, he must be mindful of the record that is being made.  A great case can come up short if the record doesn't accurately and completely reflect what transpired that day.  A compromised record can also reflect poorly on you.

But we can help!  We have a great tutorial that can help you avoid numerous pitfalls and make the most useful and accurate transcript possible.  Please call us today for a free copy.

All of us at Doris O. Wong Associates wish you the best in your endeavors, and we stand ready to help you with all of your court reporting needs.

Kleenex vs. Tissue | E-Transcript vs. Electronic Transcript

Like Kleenex is a trademark and represents a brand name for tissue, e-transcript is RealLegal’s trademarked name for their electronic transcript.  However, in the court reporting business, “e-transcript” or “e-tran” can mean many different things.  There is a bit of confusion in the marketplace about what an “e-transcript” means to you.

An “electronic transcript” is a transcript in digital format that can be sent over the Internet, attached to an e-mail, put in Dropbox or delivered by any other means except paper.  It could mean a compressed transcript in digital form, an ASCII and/or a PDF file.

Types of electronic transcripts:

Standard PDF – looks just like a paper transcript but can be read on the computer using Adobe Reader and Acrobat.  The PDF is viewable, searchable, printable, you can copy and paste key testimony, highlight, and you can read it off a computer, iPad, reader and Smartphone.  Also, because it uses Adobe, you have access to all the advanced searching and digesting features that Adobe products have to offer.

Min-U-Script® - a PDF version of a transcript where you can view the transcript as four pages of testimony on one screen or full page.  The MUS PDF also has an interactive word index.  The word index wheel shows the page and line number for each occurrence of a word.  Click on the page and line number and it will take you to that word.  Additionally, if you would like the exhibits scanned and linked, MUS PDF supports it.  It can do all the things that a standard PDF can do and much more.

E-transcript – made by RealLegal, this product is similar to a Min-U-Script PDF with one major difference.  You need an e-transcript viewer downloaded onto your notebook to open the PTX file.  Like the Adobe PDF files, you can view, search, and print full-sized transcripts, condensed transcripts and word indexes.  E-transcript files are Windows-based only.

ASCII – an electronic file that can be imported into Word or other litigation support software such as CaseViewNet (free), Summation and LiveNote.  These software packages allow you to print, search, annotate and add issue codes to a transcript.

The next time you order an electronic transcript from the court reporter, be sure to specify which of the formats described above you would like to receive.

Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc., can help you select the product that best suits your needs.  Our firm is your technology solution.