In complex litigation, your success depends not just on what you do as counsel, but on the people who build and protect the record: court reporters, videographers, case managers and the technical team running your hybrid environment. Here’s a practical guide to what “excellent” looks like in each role, with best practices on collaborating with your litigation team.

When they are excellent, you barely notice them. When they are not, you never forget it. Here’s how to brief and collaborate with your litigation team so they can anticipate issues, protect the record and free you to focus on execution and strategy instead of logistics.

Court Reporters: The Guardians of the Record

In complex matters, an excellent court reporter matches expertise to the matter. For cases such as mass tort, intellectual property, securities or highly specialized medical and engineering issues, you want reporters who already know the vocabulary and pace. Make sure your complex depositions get reporters with relevant backgrounds.

You need accurate, real-time feeds that integrate with your platform so co‑counsel and experts can annotate, search and reference testimony in the moment. Make sure your court reporter can deliver rushed, same‑day and expedited certified transcripts, backed by a defined quality review.

Consistency across jurisdictions matters too. In multicity or multistate programs, the standard should feel identical: same caliber of reporter, same exhibit workflows, same expectations around roughs, real-time and certified delivery. Before the first deposition, provide a one‑page case profile and flag critical witnesses and deadlines so your reporting team can prioritize real-time, backup reporters and quality checks. Lastly, invite feedback from reporters as they can sometimes see issues before they become problems and can help you protect the record.