Frequently Asked Questions

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We can help! Fortz Legal has a team of Certified and Registered Professional Reporters throughout the nation and globally. No matter where your deposition is being held, Fortz Legal can provide a high quality, reliable reporter to fulfill your transcription needs. If in need of a court reporter, please email [email protected], or you can fill out our online service request form.

Once we receive your request, we will always send a confirmation of scheduling straight to your email. We also always confirm that the deposition is moving forward the day before by e-mail or a phone call. If you do not receive a confirmation email or call the day before the proceedings, your deposition is not on our calendar. If this occurs, please call 844.730.4066 or email [email protected], and we will immediately begin securing resources for you!

Yes! We have access to reliable court reporters, videographers, interpreters, and more all around the world. We have covered depositions all around North America as well France, Germany, China, Sweden, South Korea, and more. Wherever your deposition needs to be held, we can confidently assist.

Cancellations must be made before 5:00 PM the day before a proceeding to avoid late fees.

There are a few ways to order a transcript. You can let the court reporter know directly at the deposition, email our production team at [email protected], fill out our online transcript order form, or call our office at 844.730.4066.

Our normal turnaround for final transcript delivery is 8-10 business days. If an expedite is needed, please let us know, and we will assure a court reporter is assigned to the job who can meet that deadline, whether it be a five-day turnaround or next day rush.

We can! We have a team of dedicated court reporters that can handle daily and expedited transcripts. If an expedite or daily copy is needed, please let us know and we will assure a court reporter is assigned to the job who can meet your needs.

Realtime allows for instant access to a transcript as it’s being written via a wireless connection from the court reporter’s computer to yours. There are many benefits that come with realtime. For example, you can share excerpts with your experts via email as soon as they are written and question the witness using exact testimonies. Multiple parties can be connected to the realtime feed so your legal partner or support staff can be connected at the same time, even remotely! If you would like realtime added to a future deposition, please let us know in advance so we can assign a qualified court reporter and provide the right equipment for you.

A rough draft is a copy of the transcript at the end of a proceeding that has either not been edited by the court reporter or edited very briefly, hence the word “rough.” The rough draft is then emailed to the requesting party. Rough drafts are helpful as they allow parties to have a general outline of what was said during the session for use in preparing for the next day’s proceedings.

A daily copy is a finalized, certified transcript that is expedited for same or next day delivery. If you know you would like a transcript expedited, please notify us ahead of time so the court reporter is prepared.

An “e-transcript” is an electronic deliverable of a transcript from a deposition or court proceeding. We will provide a link that contains downloadable and viewable files of the transcript, including the full and condensed versions in PDF format as well as the Text/ASCII file. All the exhibits are also included in PDF format. We can include as many individuals in your firm to a distribution list to receive the e-transcript.

Yes, you can! Our electronic copies provide both full and condensed copies of the transcript and Fortz Legal can send hard copies of either format straight to your office upon request.

A videographer records depositions and other legal proceedings using a video camera. The benefit of adding video to your proceedings is that video allows one to capture facial expressions and body gestures that one cannot see through just a written record. We also can provide synchronized videos which ties together the video recording and the written transcript.

We primarily use MPEG-1 and send YesLaw synchronized videos. We can accommodate other formats upon request.

Video synchronization syncs together lines of a transcript to its deposition video, allowing for the text of the transcript to scroll alongside the video as it plays. This allows you to jump through the deposition by clicking on the text of key moments you want to hear, and the video resumes playing from there.

Videoconferencing is meeting via video through the internet. Videoconferencing allows for attorneys to attend depositions globally without leaving the comfort of their own office. This technology can also be used for live testimonies, allowing for expert witnesses to testify in court without the expenses and time consumption of travel. Fortz Legal provides easy to use videoconferencing technology, and all that it requires is a computer with an internet connection! We assist clients every step of the way with videoconferencing depositions to assure everything runs smoothly.

Please contact our office at 844.730.4066 for specific rates of the services that you need. You can also email [email protected] and we can send you a PDF of our rates sheet for your reference.

We do! We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. To pay online, click here. You can also call us at 844.730.4066 to pay over the phone. Please have the invoice number(s) ready.

We do not. For our industry, we believe a rewards program would be unprofessional and provides incentives that compromise neutrality. We treat all sides in litigation equally and provide the same rates to all parties. We do so to honor our legal obligation to remain neutral and to commit to ethical business practices.

Yes! We have a dedicated trial support team. For more information, please check out our trial services page. If interested in our trial services, contact us to connect with our trial support staff at 844.730.4066, or email [email protected].

Absolutely! Our phones are always on. If you need assistance after hours, please call 844.730.4066 and a team member will be available to help.

Court reporters become legally certified by first receiving a certification of completion from a state-recognized court reporting program. They must also pass the state exam to earn their Certified Shorthand Reporter License. Reporters can receive additional certifications through the National Court Reporting Association, such as Realtime reporting.

To become certified, court reporters must have a typing speed of over 200 words per minute and an accuracy of 97.5%.

Steno-machines, also called stenographs, are small machines that court reporters use to take down the record. They resemble a laptop, but unlike letters on a typical keyboard, the keys on these devices are assembled with phonetic sounds to help maximize typing speeds. Multiple keys are pressed at a time to type out pronunciations of words.

Though technology is advancing, court reporters will always be needed to take down an accurate record. Recording devices are unable to distinguish between people talking over one another, coughs, and other various noises. Human reporters can ask parties to repeat what they said and tell parties to speak one at a time to create a more accurate record. Reporters can also produce Realtime feeds that allow parties to view the transcript as it’s being written. Recording devices do not have this ability. Recording devices can also run into technology failures which can jeopardize the record and cause delays. Reporters provide much more reliable transcription services.

They can! Court reporters can utilize their transcription skills for CART, Communication Access Realtime Translation, which provides Realtime transcription feeds for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in classroom settings. Reporters also provide closed captions that you see on live television programs.