Court Reporting Schools

What Does a Court Reporter Do?

A court reporter is a transcription specialist who creates a written record of conversations that take place during judicial proceedings, in courtrooms, and during meetings between lawyers and clients. These records are necessary for correspondence and legal proof, so court reporters are required to ensure a complete and accurate record of conversations, meetings, speeches and other events. Court reporters also provide real time translation for people who may have hearing disabilities as well as performing other duties for judges and attorneys. Court reporters may be required to obtain a license before they can start work. Court reporters are mainly employed by the federal and state governments to work in courts, legislatures, public offices and various other agencies.

What Does A Court Reporter Study?

Court reporters or court stenographers usually enroll in a diploma program or earn an associate’s degree in paralegal studies. In order to enroll, students must be at least eighteen years of age and should be high school graduates. Most court reporting schools require students to undergo an entrance exam, which tests their listening and comprehension abilities and basic computing skills. The academic programs offered by court reporting schools train students to write in excess of two hundred words per minute on a stenotype machine. Court reporting schools also train students in techniques such as electronic reporting and voice writing. Electronic reporting uses audio equipment to record court proceedings which a court reporter later on listens to and converts into written form. Voice writing is also a similar method, which records everything that is said in the court room, and allows reporters to prepare transcripts later on.
Court reporter training can be completed in as little as a year, though it takes most people another year of practice before they gain enough proficiency to pass licensure exams and start work. Over 100 court reporting schools offer various certification programs and degrees today. These schools offer programs based on a particular academic curriculum set by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA). In addition to developing their typing skills and comprehensive abilities, students learn to use the latest technology employed in courtrooms for recording purposes. They also carry out a certain period of on-job training under the supervision of licensed court reporters to learn the skills and expertise required in order to succeed in the workplace.

Is Any Type of Licensing Required Before I Can Work?

After completing their formal education at court reporting schools, students must then give licensure exams, which allow them to use the designations of ‘Certified Verbatim Reporter’ (CVR), ‘Real time Verbatim Reporter’ (RVR) and ‘Certificate of Merit’ (CM). Usually these three certifications are considered sufficient by most states; however, some states require students to take an additional ‘Certified Court Reporter’ (CCR) exam, so it is best to check with the local paralegal authority or court reporter’s association in your area. Spurred by the demand for real time broadcasting and translating as well as the need to maintain records of legal proceedings, employment opportunities for court reporters are expected to increase by eighteen percent over the next decade, more than the average for all other occupations. Interestingly, most of this growth will take place outside courtrooms; such as law firms, private transcription and recording companies and federal agencies.