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The Best Court Reporters in Phoenix Have These Qualities

Best Court Reporters in Phoenix

Just this week I saw a post on social media asking where current phone books could be acquired and the comments were hilarious. While one response was to set up a time machine and go back a few decades, most were along the lines of, ?check Google,? and, ?as long as you?re here in this neighborhood group, just ask us.? While I don?t know why they wanted the yellow pages, I suspect they were a student conducting research or someone seeking a simpler way of finding information. If they were looking for the best court reporters in Phoenix, I would?ve recommended they call Herder and Associates!

Our full-service court reporting agency specializes in utilizing state of the art technology and certified professional court reporters for every aspect of litigation, hearing and arbitration testimony, and audio transcription.?

If you?re an Arizona attorney in need of a court reporter, keep these qualities in mind.

Technical Expertise

We specialize in large, complex cases which means there is no room for technical errors. Our court reporters use the latest technology to capture and transcribe testimony and are familiar with industry-specific vocabulary and medical terms. While this should be the standard, it isn?t always the case; we?re dedicated to making sure you?ve got the best court reporter for your case.

Accuracy?

Whether you?re calling someone from the yellow pages or you?re an attorney reviewing witness testimony, what you?re reading has to be correct right down to the last word. In addition to being the record of exactly what was said at the legal proceeding, our work must be free of errors, typos, and grammatical errors.

Speed?

When it comes to the best court reporters in Phoenix, it?s not enough to have a high rate of accuracy. Our court reporters are also able to type quickly while listening and capturing all of the speakers throughout a case. When legal teams talk over one another or when a witness simply points to answer a question, it can make for a challenging day!

Focus

A distracted court reporter isn?t nearly as effective as a focused one for the simple reason that in order to capture what is happening, they need to concentrate. There?s no checking messages or updating social media when they?re working. Not only that but proceedings can be long and tedious so reporters need to be on their game and able to effectively deliver the transcript on-time and accurately to our clients.

Whether you found us in the yellow pages, Google, or another way, we?d love to work with you. We strive to work with the best court reporters in Phoenix who have a combination of qualities that include speed, accuracy, technical expertise, focus, and experience. If you?re looking for the best of the best, give Herder and Associates a call to schedule your next deposition.

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What the Court Reporter Shortage Means in Arizona

Court Reporter Shortage

It?s estimated, by Ducker Worldwide that by this year there will be a court reporter shortage of 5,000 within five years meaning that demand will exceed supply. The combination of many court reporters being close to retirement age and a dearth of younger people pursuing the profession is leading the shortage.

What does this mean for the courts and for attorneys?

This shortage highlights the need to recruit younger people to the field. To retain the highest level of customer care for attorneys in Phoenix, Arizona and their clients, the profession literally cannot afford any of the current court reporters to retire early.

Recruiting new court reporters to the profession is not as easy as it once was because court reporting schools are also going out of business. This is especially true in rural areas which might not only experience a shortage of court reporters, but a complete lack of them.

The shrinking base of court reporters and a smaller pool of potential candidates to replace them has many court officials seeking options to ensure accurate records of court proceedings are captured and maintained.

What can be done?

Phoenix, Arizona attorneys and the courts themselves need to find ways to support and help regrow interest in the career. The salary and the flexibility the career offers should potentially lure new professionals into the career.

The starting salaries for court reporters is estimated at $43,000. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a 14% growth in salary per year through 2020. The reason for the salary growth is because the supply of court reporters is low and the demand remains high and that leads to salary increases. It is hoped that the salary level for even beginning court reporters will be an incentive for them to pursue training in the field.

Many court reporters work on a contract basis with various courts and this means they can work as often, or as infrequently, as they like. They are essentially able to set their own earning potential. Some court reporters, on certain cases, could earn more than six figures.

Why is there a court reporter shortage and what does it mean to the public?

A shortage of court reporters means a dearth of qualified professionals available to deliver service to attorneys who are representing their clients in courtroom proceedings.?

While electronic recording devices have been introduced into some courtrooms they are no replacement for an experienced court reporter who can pick up on nuances in conversations and request something be repeated it if wasn?t clear.

Technology is no a solution to the court reporter shortage, though because with technology comes technical problems. Additionally, even if the proceedings are recorded, the record still needs to be transcribed. Litigation firms do not anticipate a decline in the need for court reporters.

Court reporters provide service during court proceedings and they also prepare transcripts for appeals and other judicial review processes.

To entice a new crop of court reporters to the field, current court reporters in Phoenix, Arizona should be urged to communicate what they enjoy about their careers. It is up to those in the legal profession to help the public understand the need for these professionals in courtroom proceedings.

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Social Media Tips for Legal Professionals

Social Media Tips for Legal Professionals

Where do you go when you want a referral for an electrician, accountant, or attorney? Most people take out their smartphones and head to social media sites like Facebook and ask their friends for recommendations. That?s great but if you?re a lawyer, paralegal, or court reporter, how do you connect with your community? You might think because of the confidentiality of your work that you need to stay away from social. We politely disagree and offer our social media tips for legal professionals that include having a consistent presence and new website content.

Why are you using social media?

Your friends might be using social media for ranting about their boss but we caution you (and them) to be more focused in your online efforts. Even on a private page someone can screenshot what you?ve written and send it to someone else that you may not want to see it.

If you?ve been involved with a divorce or family law case especially, you can appreciate the enormity and seriousness of what can happen when you use social media certain ways. What used to be he said she said is now exhibits of text messages and social screenshots. It also happens to businesses who fail to use social the way we think it should be.

Who is your target client?

I often hear that legal professionals, and others, have no time to manage social media and I ask why. They tell me how they have to create content for multiple social media sites, message contacts, and manage comments. My next question is to find out who their target client is.

Once you?ve identified your target or ideal client, focus marketing efforts, including social media, on the sites where they are spending time. If they?re 30+ year old professionals, consider Facebook and LinkedIn and avoid Instagram and Pinterest as the latter are for the younger crowd.

What do you post on Facebook, LinkedIn, and blog?

On first glance it may appear you can post the same on your Facebook business page and LinkedIn profile updates but I caution you using this strategy. The reason is that the audiences are different.

  • Facebook is family-centric, a place where people go for recommendations, so you want an engaging presence. Mix news with facts and ask questions.
  • LinkedIn is where you connect with other legal professionals or find people to hire for your team – court reporters, legal assistants, paralegals, attorneys.

LinkedIn also has a publishing feature which is beneficial to establish you as the expert in your area of law. In addition, I encourage you to blog consistently (2 times a month minimum) on your own website because Google loves new content. Keep in mind users, whether on LinkedIn or your blog, are attracted to catchy headlines and content. The more you can entertain while telling a relatable story, the better to connect with your audience.

The next time someone is looking for a recommendation for a legal professional, we want your firm to be the one that is mentioned! Have fun and let us know how you?re using social media tips for legal professionals.

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Phoenix Court Reporting Firm Herder & Associates and Chandler Horizon Rotary Give Back in Charity Fundraiser

PR Web – December 14, 2017

Phoenix court reporting firm Herder and Associates and Chandler Horizon Rotary Give Back in Charity Golf Tournament Fundraiser

Marty Herder, President of Phoenix Court Reporting Agency Herder and Associates, is sponsoring the 25th Annual Chandler Horizon Rotary Hole-in-One contest. Over the years the event has raised more than $650,000 to help charities including the Chandler Gilbert YMCA, Desert Cancer Foundation, and Pregnancy Care Center, to name a few.

In addition to the charity golf tournament, Herder and his Rotarians are involved in rebuilding the Houston home of a single mother whose home was devastated by the hurricane.

?Giving back is an important part of the mission of Herder and Associates and for the Chandler Horizon Rotary. Our motto at the Rotary is, ?Service above self,? and I agree with that sentiment. In a world that is filled with stress and terrible news, it?s refreshing to focus on improving our community by giving back. Whether it?s time or money, every little bit we can do helps whether it?s rebuilding a Houston home or sponsoring a golf tournament to benefit charity,? says Marty Herder.

The $100,000 Shoot Out will take place February 17, 2018 beginning at 10am at the San Marcos Golf Resort in Chandler, Arizona. 100% of funds received from golfers and sponsors at this all-volunteer event will support charities in Chandler and surrounding Phoenix area communities.

Herder and his fellow Rotarians wouldn?t be able to pull off such a big event without help from volunteers and sponsors. Learn more about the golf tournament on the Rotary HIO website www.rotaryhio.org.

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Is it worth it to make a New Year’s Resolution?

make a New Year's Resolution

It?s that time of year when people start looking back to see what they have accomplished and where they failed. What I?ve found over the years is that while it?s worth it to make a New Year?s resolution, it?s just as important to set reasonable goals. That?s because it?s too easy to look back and beat yourself up over missing a goal that you have the power to change.

Life is full of change.

Whether it?s your personal journey or business development, there?s one thing we can count on and that is change. We can make all the plans we want, including resolutions, but life can get in the way of reaching our goals.

Here?s the wild part about life that I?ve learned over the years. It?s that we can get in our own way when it comes to facing challenges and meeting goals.

When it comes to managing a court reporting firm or other business, we set the bar high with what often becomes unachievable goals. We want to lose 30 pounds in a month or double our income in six months. The problem is that we don?t have a plan and even when we do have a plan, life gets in the way or we get in the way of progress.

Make a new year?s resolution.

To avoid this messiness of making but not achieving what we desire, it?s important to make reasonable resolutions. Let?s take the goal of doubling income as an example.

  • How many clients do you need to reach that income goal?
  • What does it take to turn a prospect into a client?
  • How many hours does it take to serve X new clients?

You may find that to reach your goal you and your team would have to work around the clock which is unreasonable. Even if it?s possible to achieve the goal, do you have the team in place to serve those clients? It?s likely the answer is no and you need to go back and re-work your plan. Don?t be discouraged. This is an exercise in setting achievable goals.

Rather than ONE BIG GOAL, set small goals that ultimately get you to where you want to be this year and in the future.?

  • Do you need a marketing strategy to attract and sign new clients?
  • Once they sign with your firm, what?s the process for onboarding?
  • Do you have the team to support the growth?

By breaking your new year?s resolution into bite size pieces, you will find you?re achieving more than you even planned! So yes, it?s worth it to make a New Year?s resolution. If the plan is to increase your caseload, Herder and Associates is here to help with depositions and more. Contact our Phoenix office today.

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What You Need to Know Before Scheduling a Deposition in Phoenix

Scheduling a Deposition in Phoenix

Before scheduling a deposition in Phoenix, it?s important to have specific information about the case, including witness names, to give to the court reporter prior to the deposition. While it can seem like a needless task, we promise it will help make the actual deposition run more efficiently and your court reporter will appreciate your effort.

Scope of Work

When scheduling a deposition, it?s important to understand the scope of work. That will help your court reporting firm find the right reporter for your case. If you anticipate needing a court reporter longer-term, that?s important for us to know so we can check availability of our team. If you need final transcripts on a rush status, have multiple exhibits to log, or need to hire a legal videographer, let us know ahead of time.

Specific Dates and Times

The sooner you can communicate specific dates and times, the easier it is for us to schedule our court reporters for you. That?s especially true if you have a request for a specific reporter.

We?d also want to know where the deposition will take place. If it?s in the Phoenix metro area and you need someone on-site, that is likely easier than if you need them on-site in Yuma or Globe. We can certainly do our best to accommodate those requests and/or suggest a reporter who can work remotely.

First-time Deponents

If your witness is a first-time deponent, you or someone from your legal team may want to spend extra time pre-deposition talking about why they?ve been called and what they can expect. That will help the actual deposition day run more smoothly. Your court reporter will appreciate your effort to make the witness comfortable.

Witness Names

If you can provide a witness list to the court reporter prior to the deposition, that would be most helpful. It?s their job to make sure names and titles are spelled correctly so if they can familiarize themselves with that information ahead of time, it will make the deposition a more efficient process.

Whether it?s your first time scheduling a deposition in Phoenix or your 100th time, Herder and Associates is here to help. Give us a call to schedule today!

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Phoenix Court Reporting Firm Herder and Associates Offers Advice to First-Time Deponents

PHOENIX, AZ (PRWEB)?NOVEMBER 18, 2017

Phoenix court reporting firm Herder and Associates offers advice to first-time deponents.

As a first-time deponent, the process can be quite intimidating. Marty Herder, President of Herder and Associates with 37 years of experience, offers advice to these deponents and the counsel that calls them. Begin by making the deponent feel comfortable and explain why they have been called making it important to contact them prior to deposition date so they understand what is happening at the deposition.

Herder says, ?While someone like me has worked on thousands of depositions, we have to remember there are people who have never experienced this. First-time deponents are often nervous and unsure of what to expect. Assure them they are there to provide testimony related to a specific event. Answer truthfully and to the best of your knowledge.?

Deponents often have a tendency to speak softly or ramble in their answers which can be challenging for even the most experienced court reporters.

Herder offers, ?Let the witness know they only answer what they are asked. If the question is if they know about the incident, the appropriate answer is simply yes or no. Don?t go on to tell the story until asked. The attorney likely has a strategy.?

A deposition is part of the discovery phase of a case. While cases go to court, many are settled based on what is found out during this phase making it critical for all deponents to tell what they know to the best of their knowledge.

For your next Arizona deposition or other court reporting service, please contact?Arizona’s finest court reporting firm, Herder & Associates, at 480-481-0649, and look us up at?http://www.CourtReportersAZ.com.

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Organize Your Legal Office For Success

Organize Your Legal Office For Success

Whether you?re a solo law practice or whether you work within a larger firm, getting and staying organized could lead you toward higher productivity and more billable hours.

Time is in short supply for lawyers, paralegals, and court reporters. You continually have client demands on the books, and you may feel pressure to bring in more clients and up their billable hours, but how do you do that when you?re already feeling overwhelmed and overbooked?

Organizational skills and organizing your law office will:

  1. Feel more in control
  2. Find needed information more quickly
  3. Clear your head
  4. Offer a better first impression for prospective clients and colleagues
  5. Amp up your productivity. You may find you have more time for yourself because you?re better organized at the office.

What can you do to become better organized?

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week; how you use those hours will either lead to a feeling of accomplishment or a feeling of overwhelm.

Productivity as not as much about managing time as it is managing tasks and your schedule.

Organize your desk. A CNN Money survey found ?the average person loses an hour a day because of disorganization.? Can you afford to lose that daily hour?

Consider the items you use on a regular basis and place those items within reach. Limit the number of personal items on your desk, they will eventually overwhelm your workspace. File items you don?t use regularly. Make certain your desk chair, monitor and keyboard are ergonomically aligned; feeling better will help productivity.

Your desk is your command center. It should be up to flow smoothly and to help you work more productively.

Do a thorough clean-up. Before you organize your desktop, open all the desk drawers, cubbies and file cabinets and determine if what?s in there is necessary to your practice. Make three piles ? trash, file, recycle ? and use only these piles.

Recycle and discard virtual clutter. What does your computer desktop look like? Do you have thousands of unread emails? Take time and put those items into folders. Clear up that area of your workspace because having a cluttered virtual desktop is as overwhelming as is physical desktop clutter.

Don?t open an email or touch a piece of incoming paper without having an action plan. Act upon each email or document. Whether that action is to delegate it, take your own action upon it or to trash it, if you touch it you have committed to an action.

Personal productivity. Plan the next day before you leave the office. If you have your to-dos, appointments and other task items written down, you can jump right into work when you walk into the office the following day. Writing down your to-dos and tasks and tracking client projects keeps you focused on helps you meet deadlines you?ve set.

Enhanced productivity isn?t all about adding more billable hours to your week, it is as much about gaining balance in your work and your professional life as it is about billable hours.

If you?re a Phoenix court reporter or attorney wondering how to get more organized to enhance your productivity, we?d love to hear from you on what methods you use to organize your legal office for success.

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Making Time for What Matters Most

time for what matters most

In today?s busy and complicated world, it?s easy to get caught up in technology, political debate, or personal drama that surrounds us. It?s overwhelming and for some professionals, makes us feel like what we do doesn?t matter. Let me tell you that whether you?re an attorney, Phoenix court reporter, or other profession, if you?re passionate about what you do, you and your work matter.

How do we make time for what matters most?

For years I?ve said that I want to give back to the community but I couldn?t find the time. Shame on me because once I made it a priority to help others a few good things started happening.

How did I find the time? I found it simply by putting away my phone, turning off the television, and blocking my calendar for what matters most – volunteer work and spending time with loved ones. For me, it was really about reflecting on what I wanted and taking steps to make it happen.

It has been quite freeing.

As I made time for others, I met like-minded people and built a new circle of contacts. I was also able to cut ties with people, organizations, or events that didn?t fit my new priorities. It wasn?t an easy process but if you know what you want, you really can achieve anything, no matter how busy your life seems at the time.

Are you excited about being a court reporter? We need your help!

Begin by sharing your own experience on social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, connecting with people seeking career options, and mentoring students. We need to get the word out that court reporting isn?t just in the courtroom. We?re covering legal cases as well as business, political, sporting, and other events and there are benefits of being a court reporter like earning potential and flexible schedules. This is especially important during this time of uncertainty in the industry with a looming court reporter shortage.

What matters most to us professionally is that we?re helping the community while raising awareness of this growing industry that is helping clients across Arizona.

Ready to get started? Contact Herder and Associates today!

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To double space or single space?

To double space or single space

Raise your hand if you ever took a typing class in school. <Me: raises hand.> If you?re of a certain generation, Gen X or older, it?s quite likely taking a typing class was part of your high school graduation requirements. The answer to the question of whether to double space or single space is a nagging one. I recently asked on social media if my friends were single or double spacers and was a bit surprised at the answers.

Truth be told, I was shamed into becoming a single spacer.?

My need to double space came from my time in school writing papers on an electric typewriter. Because of the spacing, we were taught to use a double space. While a seeming simple change, double vs. single still causes controversy to this day.

Controversial because it was pounded into us that we needed to hit the spacebar twice between sentences, losing points for careless single spacing. Up until 2005, I was in the corporate world using a computer and slamming the space bar so hard I needed a new keyboard every quarter.

Then a lovely young editor pointed out that while she loved my writing, she hated editing my double-spaced work. That?s when I was shamed into my journey to not only single space but to save the company in new keyboards.

In the legal world, there are two schools on this issue.

Some attorneys will tell me that double spacing is what they?ve always done and will continue to do. It?s the way they learned and they?re not changing. Others still feel the wrath of typing teachers from their past and simply can?t live the single (spacing) lifestyle. An attorney friend of mine said that her firm?s standard is double spacing. Then she reminded me of our typing teacher from high school and almost shamed me into living the double (spacing) lifestyle again!

There are a few who have embraced the single spacing lifestyle but I haven?t found many.

Seriously, I wondered how I had been so easily shamed into single spacing when what feels like the rest of my generation is still slamming the spacebar twice.

If you?re a Phoenix court reporter or attorney wondering what to do, I recommend asking your peers or reviewing the standards for your firm. There?s no right answer to double space or single space, no matter how hard the younger generation pushes us into single (spacing) life.

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