Freelancers

Illinois'  freelance reporters are always there to meet the client's request, sometimes on very short notice, or are willing to help find someone who can.  The freelance reporter makes a living by taking and transcribing depositions, providing realtime transcription when requested, filling in whenever called upon for hearings, motions and trials, traveling wherever needed from attorneys' and doctors' offices to homes of witnesses or to warehouses, courthouses, corporations, or even outdoors if necessary.

Freelance reporters are service minded, willing to go the extra mile to accommodate the wishes of the parties, and eager to comply with requests to prepare transcripts and get them into the hands of their clients.  They are continually learning and keeping up to date on the latest technology so as to be prepared for whatever legal needs arise, from streaming video from a courtroom to litigants all over the country, or to providing daily transcription with a cooperative attitude.

Many Illinois reporters are self-employed and are solely responsible for their own insurance coverage and income taxes, as well as providing for all their own equipment, office furnishings, supplies, continuing education and advertising.  To be successful, these reporters must stay on top of their game, provide the best of services with a smile, and be the best they can be to meet the needs of their clients, specifically, and the legal system in general.
 

Reasons to Use Local Agency

TOP 10 REASONS TO ENGAGE THE SERVICES OF A LOCAL REPORTER-OWNED COURT REPORTING AGENCY
 
1.     Reporters from locally owned agencies have a consistent, conscientious, professional commitment to providing attentive, value-added services to their respective clients.
2.     Reporter-owned agencies have been historically efficient at networking among themselves to provide coverage for their respective clients.
3.     Locally owned agencies reinvest money into the local and regional economies; they do not siphon off significant dollars to other states, regions, or countries.
4.     Locally owned reporting agencies have the ability to provide all the court reporting-related litigation-support services available in the national marketplace.
5.     Volume discounts are no bargain when the service rates for the network firm you have been calling are appreciably higher than the comparative service rates of your local reporter-owned reporting agency.
6.     Volume discounts are no bargain when you spend 3/4s of the year tracking your scheduled depositions to determine whether you attain that elusive number.
7.     In fact, court reporters are bound by a Code of Ethics that addresses, among other things, a prohibition on kick-back incentives for scheduling with the agency, as well as establishing contracts at below-customary rates, which would compromise, or give the appearance of compromising, the necessary impartial role of the court reporter in proceedings. Conscientious individuals are mindful of the fact that any cost savings obtained by the law firm rightfully should be directly realized by the law firm’s client.
8.     Illinois Section 1200.90(k), Standards of Professional Conduct, prohibits a reporter from: receiving “contingent fees as a basis of compensation,” “giving or receiving, directly or indirectly, any gift, incentive, reward or anything of value to anyone as a condition for the performance of professional services,” and the “offering to pay, either directly or indirectly, any commission, or other consideration in order to secure professional assignments.”
9.     Illinois licensed CSRs attend continuing education seminars on relevant rules and business practices in order to maintain their certification.
10. Local reporter-owned agencies know the importance of providing upfront, itemized billing without hidden costs or overcharges to cover incentive programs.