Here’s How You Can Help

There are
times that you’ll need your deposition transcript sooner than the standard 10
business day turnaround. Whether you’ll need it in five business days or
overnight, there are some things you can do to help your court reporter with a
quick turnaround.

Let us know in advance

If your court reporting firm is notified ahead of time, your transcript can
be turned around overnight or even faster. With advance notice they can ensure
that the reporter assigned to the deposition doesn’t have other expedited
transcripts on the same day, and that production staff is available to deliver
the transcript. If the court reporter isn’t notified until the end of the deposition – or even just prior to its start – they will
still do their best to meet your request, but might not be able to.

Communicate with your staff

Make sure that your paralegal and support staff have accurate information
about deadlines and when you’ll need the transcript. This will avoid a
last-minute expedite request and the possibility that the court reporter won’t
be able to accommodate your request.

Be specific

People interpret things differently, so be extremely clear about when you
need the transcript. Attorneys often say “as soon as possible,” which
to a court reporter can mean, “drop everything else you’re doing and do
nothing else until I have this transcript.” Provide your court reporter
with a specific date and time you’ll need your expedited transcript.

Give additional information  

If you have multiple days of depositions in a row, let the reporter know if
you’ll need rough drafts of the transcripts the evening of or day after each
day of depositions. The rough draft won’t be perfect and it won’t be a
certified verbatim transcript, but it will give you something to work with.

Provide technical terminology in advance

If your deposition will be technical in nature, provide terminology to your
court reporter at least a day before the deposition. If you don’t have a list
of technical terms prepared, you can send the court reporter answers to
interrogatories or other discovery documents so they can scan them for
technical terms. This will save them time in looking up the terms or needing to
contact you for a spelling.