Tribute to an Industry Icon
By Jan Ballman, FAPR, RPR, CMRS
Principal – Paradigm Reporting and Captioning, A Veritext Company
Hundreds of family members, friends and colleagues of Lisa Michaels, CSR, RPR, CCRR and President of Chase Litigation Services, gathered at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach, California on June 8th to celebrate her life and pay tribute to her many legacies. Lisa battled pancreatic cancer for 14 months before passing away on May 14th.
Lisa Michaels opened Chase Reporting Service in Orange County, CA in 1984. She was an active and committed member of the National Court Reporters Association, the Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporters (STAR), the California Official Court Reporters Association, and the Deposition Reporters Association of California(CalDRA), serving two terms as its President.
Lisa obtained certifications as a Registered Professional Reporter and a California Certified Realtime Reporter. In 2016, Lisa was honored by her colleagues in CalDRA with their prestigious Distinguished Service Award, recognizing her many contributions to our industry.
Lisa achieved legendary status when she took on then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during her CalDRA presidency for calling court reporters “old-fashioned and unneeded.” She called out The Terminator in a video that went viral amongst her court reporting colleagues, receiving tens of thousands of views after being shared on virtually every California court reporter’s website and Facebook page.
Well-known for her passion around court reporting ethics, her witty sense of humor, her brilliant intellect and her amazing smile, Lisa was a dedicated advocate for the profession, donating not just hours but years of service to NCRA and CalDRA. Friend and colleague Toni Pulone, President of Pulone Reporting Services in San Jose, was one of four to deliver beautiful tributes to Lisa at her Celebration of Life.
Veritext colleagues Rosalie Kramm from our San Diego office and Julia Obien from our Seattle office were also in attendance as we paid our final respects to an amazing court reporter and special friend whom we will never forget.
