Daily Transcripts (Write-out)

Daily transcripts will be provided in cases where the parties require the edited transcript either at the end of the day, or first thing the next morning. The parties ordering a daily transcript will supply the verbatim reporter/s with papers so that they may have full cognizance of what the case is all about. There are often three reporters taking it in turns to take the note, transcribing their segment whilst the others are taking their notes.

The verbatim reporter will check in advance arrangements in the hearing room and the room where you will be transcribing (e.g. seating, amplification, electrical sockets, computers, printer).

Check transcript requirements with client (e.g. number of hard copies required and whether copies need to be e-mailed).
Check information for front pages of transcript (e.g. appearances).

Prepare for the day by organising the rota in advance, if possible.

Be considerate of other team members. If you are going to be late, contact someone on the team to let them know. Enter and exit the hearing room quietly. Take-overs should be prompt, firm and unambiguous, usually by a quiet tap on the table.

Agree on layout of transcript (e.g. setting up of witnesses, whether quotes will be indented, whether quotation marks will be used at the beginning of each paragraph or only at the start and finish of quotes, form of words to be used for adjournments).

Aim for consistency and uniformity in a transcript – there is no room for personal idiosyncrasies on a write-out.

It is helpful to prepare a front page and index which can be accessed for use each day.

Keep a glossary of names and technical terms.

Agree on a system for labelling turns for easy identification.

Make back-ups of your files, particularly if you are working on a network.

One person should be responsible for putting the transcript together at the end of the day and preparing an index. It is very helpful in putting the transcript together if brief carry‑overs are included at the end of each turn, together with an indication (which should be in an agreed form) that it is the end of a turn. Care should be taken to ensure that such carry-overs and end-of-turn indicators are checked and then deleted from the transcript. It is a good idea to do a final spell-check once the transcript is complete and to check such things as headers, footers and page numbers.

When complete, the transcript should be printed and/or e-mailed as required and a back-up copy saved to a floppy disk.

CAT reporters producing speech-to-text for viewing as the hearing continues should make clear to the parties that it is not an edited and checked transcript.

CAT reporters producing their own work will amend their dictionaries as necessary for a cleaner note the following day. Where a CAT reporter is using a scopist, she will make all documents available to the scopist and be responsible for the final transcript.

Forthcoming training weekend

Daily Transcripts (Write-out)