What To Do If
Someone in the Deposition Asks You What a Transcript Costs?
By Judy Stevens – RPR, CMRS, CPE – Principal, Colorado
Q: What do I do if someone in the deposition asks you what a transcript costs?
A: When I was a working reporter and was asked for the cost of a transcript, my standard answer was that I wasn’t involved in billing matters and that I would have someone from the office call him/her.
Reporters generally don’t have anything to do with “client” billing, and even knowing specific page rates, you wouldn’t be able to quote an exact price or even an estimated price of a transcript without knowing:
- The number of total pages in the final
- If the client’s firm has pre-arranged orders for expedited delivery in this particular matter
- The number of pages in the stack of marked exhibits
- Any special file formatting requirements the client’s firm orders for the file and/or for the exhibits
- Any Veritext advanced technology services the client ordered
I used to say, “My specialty is the court reporting; I don’t do numbers!!” That usually gets a laugh and then they move on to another subject. Mission accomplished!
Have you been in an “on the job” situation that you were unsure how to handle?
Email us at [email protected] with a scenario you’d like a solution for!
About Judy Stevens – RPR, CMRS, CPE – Principal, Colorado
Judy Stevens has been a firm owner in Denver since 1994 before becoming part of Veritext in 2019. She began her career as a court reporter in Tucson, Arizona before moving to Denver, Colorado. In 2000, Judy earned the highly coveted designation of Certified Manager of Reporting Services (CMRS) by the National Court Reporters Association while building her firm, mentoring her team and also serving on the board of her state association and volunteering through the Alliance of Professional Women.
Over the years, Judy and her firm have been recognized by the Denver Business Journal as one of the “Top 10 Fastest Growing Denver-Area Private Companies” and she has been nominated by the Denver Business Journal for its “Outstanding Women in Business” award on numerous occasions. In addition, Judy was recognized by NCRA with its prestigious “Excellence Award for Leadership and Team-Building” and has authored many articles for the JCR magazine. Judy is also quite active in her teaching/mentoring role as a regular guest lecturer at both Arapahoe Community College and the University of Denver Law School.
