Don’t Be Left Behind - Catch the TRAIN!

Members of the Massachusetts Court Reporters Association met in Worcester on April 6, 2013, for their spring seminar.  The highlight of the conference was learning about TRAIN, our National Court Reporters Association’s initiative to Take Realtime Awareness and Innovation Nationwide.

Many reporters write realtime for themselves, but the push is on for them to transition to providing realtime for attorneys at every deposition or hearing.  This involves writing with a minimum of 97% accuracy, having software and hardware that allows you to send files serially or wirelessly, and for greater success in promoting realtime, purchasing iPads or netbooks for counsel.  Stenocast (serial wireless) and CVNet with a Linksys router, MiFi or Connectify are the preferred wireless routers used by court reporters.  Stenocast allows you to send wirelessly to many different interactive realtime products such as CaseViewNet, LiveNote, Summation and Visionary.  CVNet can be sent to CaseViewNet only but has Instant Refresh.  As the reporter edits the transcript during the day, counsel sees the benefit of those corrections. Reporters also have a serial connection option, if needed.  

Only professional court reporters can provide instantaneous realtime to counsel.  Reporters who provide this service, along with accompanying rough drafts at the end of the day, are the best this profession has to offer.  Since this is a premium service, reporters who deliver this service have the potential to increase their income above the usual transcript sales.

Massachusetts is currently at the forefront in moving this effort forward.  There are TRAIN groups in Boston, the North Shore, and in the western part of the state.  A new group will be starting up soon on the South Shore.  This seminar gave those in attendance a taste of what joining a TRAIN group would be like through a rotation of four mini-sessions covering different but related topics.

Members owe a debt of gratitude to Jill Shepherd, Jodi Ohnemus, Sue Garvin, Kathy Silva, and NCRA Speed Champion Ed Varallo for their time and effort, advice and encouragement during the TRAIN seminar.  They gave brief tutorials on what equipment to buy, how to set up, how to provide the cleanest roughs possible, and how write “short” for better translation rates and less wear and tear on the hands.

The Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporting (STAR) is another wonderful resource for those reporters who want to move forward and invest in their career.  Their emphasis is always on the latest technology and is suitable for reporters at all levels.