Impact of the Global Pandemic to the Court Reporting Industry By Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC
The court reporting industry was seen to be one of the booming industries, especially in the United States. Due to the ongoing global pandemic and restrictions, however, the courts and professionals in the legal arena including the court reporters have been shaken up. Let us take a quick look at the court reporting industry amidst the corona virus pandemic. The corona virus pandemic has hit the world hard. As the corona virus continues to spread, mutate, and infect millions of people, many countries around the world implement sweeping measures to slow down, prevent, and eventually halt the spread of COVID-19. Quarantine, lockdown, closure of some public facilities, restrictions on social gatherings, social distancing, and extensive campaign on personal hygiene like wearing of face mask, face shield, disinfecting, and frequent hand washing are just some of the measures that are introduced and implemented to stop the spread of the virus. The pandemic and these measures have significantly affected not only people’s daily lives but the different industries, professions, and services as well. The court reporting industry is one of those that are greatly impacted by the current pandemic. As the courts close down their offices and suspend their operations, court proceedings including hearings, litigation, and depositions are put on hold. This has caused a downturn in court reporting services demand.
The court reporting industry before the pandemic Before the time of the pandemic, the court reporting industry was seen to be one of the booming industries, especially in the United States. In the last quarter of 2019, the National Court Reporters Association has reported that the US court reporting industry is experiencing a shortage of around 5,000 qualified court reporters for legal matters. According to the report of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, moreover, it is expected that the demand for court reporters will increase by at least 7% through 2028. This growth rate is quite faster as compared to the average rate of increase for all occupations in the U.S.
The court reporting industry during the pandemic The courts provide essential legal services. However, due to the ongoing global pandemic and restrictions, the courts are experiencing an unprecedented backlog. This has caused all professionals in the legal arena including the court reporters to be shaken up. Instead of an increase as projected in the statistics report, the demand for court reporters in Atlanta GA has slightly decreased in the first few months of 2020. These last few months, however, court reporters are slowly getting back on track. Essential as they are, the legal system and its services can’t just stop. Because everyone is urged to observe social distancing, the court has to find ways to still conduct proceedings without the need for people to gather together in a closed court or deposition room. As a response to the need for social distancing and at the same time address the shortage, courts in the United States have turned digital. Two of the best solutions the courts use these days are artificial intelligence technology and remote video platforms. Court reporters in Georgia have been using transcription, audio, and video technologies for quite some time already but not all courts in the state acknowledge their use and significance before. With this global pandemic, however, more and more courts are embracing these unorthodox methods of taking records of the deposition and other court proceedings.
Remote proceedings which are often done through reliable remote video platforms like Zoom are now becoming a standard. Because face to face and in-person litigation is still not encouraged due to the uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, courts are now conducting legal proceedings such as hearings, mediation, and depositions remotely.
The challenges of digital court reporting and AI technology One of the primary challenges that the legal community faces in conducting remote proceedings is how to ensure the certifiable accuracy and unimpeachable validity of the record.
The legal community is also concerned about issues on how to secure and maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the record and its contents. Thankfully, both these issues can be addressed by using AIaugmented transcription tools. On top of this, digital court reporting and AI technology can also potentially help the court with their problems regarding chronic backlogs.
The benefits of digital court reporting and AI technology Digital court reporting and AI technology do not only offer a solution to the adverse effects brought on by the global pandemic to the legal system, but they also offer other benefits. These are: ● Convenience – Digital court reporting and AI technology eliminates the need for the court reporters to attend an inperson court proceeding. They can attend to remote proceedings at the comfort of their home, provided they have all the needed technology in place. ● Less expensive – Transcripts of depositions that are typewritten, and transcribing a deposition are pretty expensive. ● Content management - Digital court reporting and AI technologies help make content management quicker, more efficient, and more effective. The huge volume of records can easily be managed and processed with the use of advanced technologies.
Endnote The use of digital court reporting and deposition technologies have already been existing even before the COVID-19 pandemic. But because of slow adoption rates, only a few courts embraced them. As the global pandemic forced the legal arena to shift to digital means, however, the use of these technologies is becoming commonplace. Legal agencies, court reporting firms, and their clients are now starting to get accustomed to remote depositions as well as to the use of technologies like deposition software tools and legal transcription devices to produce admissible transcripts. Even when the pandemic is over, the legal industry will more likely won’t get back to where it was a few years or even months back. As more courts and legal professionals witness their benefits, efficiency, effectiveness, and reliability, the once feared digital technologies are expected to stay for good. Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC Phone: 404.389.1155 Toll-Free Phone: 866.689.1837 Fax: 866.870.6032 General E-Mail: Click here to contact us. Visit our Facebook Page