Tag: court reporting

The 6 Most Common Questions About Court Reporting — Answered by PRI Court Reporting

The 6 Most Common Questions About Court Reporting — Answered by PRI Court Reporting

If you’ve ever watched a courtroom scene on TV or attended a legal proceeding, you’ve likely noticed someone quietly typing on a small machine beside the judge or attorneys. That’s the court reporter — and their job is one of the most important (and least understood) roles in the justice system.

At PRI Court Reporting, we’ve been capturing the official record for more than 45 years. Over the years, we’ve heard countless questions from curious clients, witnesses, students, and community members who want to know more about what we do and how it all works.

Here, we’re answering the most common questions we receive— from “How do you type so fast?” to “Is AI taking over your job?” — to give you a closer look at the fascinating world of court reporting.

1. What Does a Court Reporter Do?

At PRI, our role as court reporters goes beyond typing quickly. Court reporters are the guardians of the record — capturing every word spoken in a deposition, hearing, or arbitration with precision and neutrality. The transcript we produce becomes an official legal document that attorneys, judges, and clients rely on for accuracy.  When the record matters, experience matters.

2. Is Court Reporting Being Replaced by Artificial Intelligence?

While technology supports our work, it cannot replace it. AI lacks the context, accuracy, and impartiality that certified court reporters provide. At PRI, we use technology to enhance our service — never to replace the human expertise that defines it.

3. How Do Court Reporters Type So Fast?

Through years of practice and precision. Court reporters use a stenograph machine that captures syllables or words in single strokes. Experienced professionals routinely write over 225 words per minute — ensuring even the most fast-paced testimony is recorded accurately.

4. How Can I Become a Court Reporter?

Stenographic court reporting is a rewarding, in-demand career for those who value language, law, and technology. Training typically takes two to three years, followed by certification testing. There are many online and in-person court reporting programs across the country.  PRI proudly supports learning and mentorship to prepare the next generation of reporters.

5. Is There a Shortage of Court Reporters?

Not necessarily a shortage, but as veteran reporters retire, the demand for skilled reporters continues to rise nationwide. It’s one reason PRI invests in supporting and retaining experienced professionals. Our clients benefit from PRI’s longstanding relationships and reputation for stability.

6. Can Court Reporters Work Remotely?

Yes — and it’s one of the most exciting parts of the profession today.
Modern court reporting blends technology and flexibility, allowing skilled reporters to work from virtually anywhere. At PRI, our reporters are equipped with secure, high-speed connections and advanced realtime software that make remote proceedings seamless. Whether reporting from a home office or onsite in a courtroom, the work remains precise, professional, and deeply rewarding.

Court reporting offers the best of both worlds — a respected legal career and the freedom to work wherever accuracy and technology come together.

Closing Thoughts

Court reporters are one of the most important participants in the legal system, ensuring every word is preserved with complete accuracy. At PRI, we take pride in that responsibility. For more than four decades, we’ve built our reputation on professionalism, integrity, and a commitment to excellence that serves both the legal community and the public it represents.

So the next time you see a court reporter quietly working at their machine, you’ll know they’re not just typing — they’re preserving history, one word at a time.

PRI Court Reporting — Experience. Precision. Integrity.
Learn more at priohio.com

Is Your GPS Set to the Right Destination?

Is Your GPS Set to the Right Destination?

Every year the National Court Reporters Association holds a Business Summit for court reporters and firm owners to network with other firm owners and gain business tools to help with their success.  Photo by capnsnap on Unsplash

While attending the Business Summit this year, we attended a session that was presented by a very engaging speaker by the name of Karim Ellis.  He was full of personality and was able to present his ideas and message in a very relatable way.

One of his sessions was called “GPS Your Success.”  Here’s the theory:  When you enter your destination into a GPS, that GPS will focus solely on getting you to that destination.  You may take detours, you may have distractions, but that GPS stays focused on the destination you entered.

How does this relate to your life and career?  Setting a goal and achieving it is similar to using a GPS to arrive at your destination.  Here’s how Karim described the similarities:

  1.  Set a goal/vision.  You have to set your vision or goal that you want to achieve.  It could be long-term or short-term.  This is like setting the address in your GPS.
  2. Clarity helps the journey. Be very clear and specific about how you will achieve that goal.  Remember, the opposite of clarity is confusion.  If you don’t have specific steps to reach your goal, you’ll easily get off track or confused about your goal.  Imagine if your GPS gave you unclear directions – would you be able to reach your destination as easily or quickly?
  3. Connectability vs. dead zones. Who are you connecting with to help you achieve your goal?  Do you have an accountability partner?  Are the people you are connecting with helping you to achieve your desired goal?  What are your dead zones?  Dead zones could be friends, family, or even your job.  What stops your GPS from working towards your goal?
  4. Dealing with distractions. While distractions will come along during your journey, if you have a stated goal, clarity on how to achieve it (even if there are distractions) you can get back on track towards your goal.  Just like a GPS stays focused only on the address you enter; it will keep recalculating and getting you back on track to your destination.
  5. Are you loyal? Check the history log on your journey – have you entered lots of “addresses” that don’t get you to your ultimate goal?  Are you staying loyal to your path towards that goal?

This analogy seems to be relatable to a personal goal, professional goal, and even students working to get through school.  Think of your journey towards a goal as being similar to traveling with a GPS.  Applying these principles will help you stay on track and achieve that goal you have set for yourself!

Happy travels!! 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angie Starbuck, RDR/CRR/CRC is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and the owner of PRI Court Reporting, LLC. Connect with her on LinkedIn.  You can also follow PRI Court Reporting on Twitter and Facebook.

You can find more information about Karim R. Ellis here or on Twitter and Facebook.

Protect Your Client. Protect Your Record.

Protect Your Client. Protect Your Record.

Can we have a word?

You may be receiving marketing materiSteno machine standardals and sales pitches from national court reporting firms about alternative ways to preserve testimony at your depositions, namely “digital reporting.”  They are suggesting you change the language of your deposition notices to “broadly reflect variable methods  of capture.”  Perhaps you haven’t heard a thing about this yet.  Either way, it’s important that you are fully aware of some of the complications of this emerging practice.

These national firms are suggesting that digital reporting at a deposition is comparable to having a stenographic reporter present at the deposition.  They are suggesting that a shortage of stenographic court reporters has created a need for this alternative method of preserving testimony.  They are suggesting that this will assure you coverage for your depositions.  We disagree with this stance and we feel very strongly that the stenographic profession is strong, very capable, and committed to the service we provide to the legal community.

While we are not seeing these challenges in the Ohio area yet, there are cities across the country where attorneys that are required by their client to use these large firms (an issue for another day!) are facing the challenge of getting their depositions covered with stenographic reporters, thereby having to reschedule or cancel them.   There are several reasons some of these national firms have trouble finding court reporters to cover these jobs, including low rates to the court reporter due to contracting with insurance companies and corporations.

As a local, court reporter-owned firm with over 30 years of experience, we want to make sure you have enough information to understand the complexities of this situation if you’re ever faced with it, either in Ohio or when traveling to other cities for depositions.

In the states that have court reporting certification and professional standards, such as California and Texas, having a digital “reporter” present at a deposition could jeopardize your record, your case, and your relationship with your client.  In California, stenographic reporters are licensed by a board in the same state department that regulates CPAs, physicians, and other professionals1.  They are subject to discipline by that board for their conduct.   Machine operators or digital recorders are not trained, certified, or regulated in any way by the state.

According to the Deposition Reporters Association of California, when you agree to utilize a digital reporter for your deposition in California, you run the risk of the following:

Here are just a few advantages of having a stenographic reporter over a digital reporter, regardless of where your deposition is held:

The bottom line here is that there are still many qualified, certified stenographic court reporters available for depositions across the country.  Don’t let the national firms scare you into changing your deposition notice language to include “digital audio equipment or any other alternative means of capture.”

Choose a licensed or certified stenographic court reporter for your record every time.  If you’re traveling to other cities or states for your deposition, be sure to request a “stenographic court reporter” when scheduling with your chosen court reporting firm.  If you ask for a certified stenographic court reporter (whether certified by the state or NCRA), you can be assured you’ll receive a quality transcript, which is exactly what you and your client deserve.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angie Starbuck, RDR/CRR/CRC is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and the owner of PRI Court Reporting, LLC. Connect with her on LinkedIn.  You can also follow PRI Court Reporting on Twitter and Facebook.

1Deposition Reporters Association of California, Inc., www.caldra.org

2There are many, many examples of malfunctions. Here is an excerpt from a 2012 case in New York involving a prisoner: “[t]he petitioner’s transcriber documented numerous and lengthy gaps in the hearing tape, which rendered much of the transcript unintelligible. Based upon the foregoing, the Court found that the condition of the transcript was such that it, indeed, precluded meaningful review of the disciplinary determination.”

3CCP section 2025.340(m): “ … If no stenographic record of the deposition testimony has previously been made, the party offering an audio or video recording of that testimony under Section 2025.620 [impeachment] shall accompany that offer with a stenographic transcript prepared from that recording. (Emphasis added.) “Audio or video recordings made by the parties or by the deposition reporter … are not considered recordings of the proceedings. Only the stenographic transcript qualifies” ]Weil & Brown, Cal. Prac. Guide Civ. Pro. Before Trial Ch. 8E-14, The Rutter Group,(June 2018), Chapter 8. Discovery, Chapter 8E. Depositions, 14. [8:766], “If the testimony is recorded stenographically, it must be recorded by a certified shorthand reporter.” Serrano v. Stefan Merli Plastering Co. (2008) 162 Cal.App.4th 1014, 1033

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Last Minute Holiday Tips

Last Minute Holiday Tips

(Let me just clarify, I know this photo has nothing to do with a healthyChristmas palm trees
lifestyle, but it’s got a holiday feeling and they’re palm trees –
what’s more relaxing than seeing those in your inbox?!?)

There are some “holiday tips” that can be used year round.  The challenge is trying to remember them on a regular basis!  This blog post features some tips we gained at a luncheon seminar put on by the Women Lawyers of Franklin County which featured a presentation by two Columbus attorneys, Stephanie Hanna (OSBA) and Simi Botic (health coach).

Stephanie and Simi offered simple tips to start a practice of self-care in three areas of our lives that can wreak havoc on our health, our diet, and our sanity!  Here are just a few of their great tips:

Relationships

Career

Health

With the holidays on top of us, everyone’s life gets a little more hectic, so don’t try to make a lot of changes all at once.  Pick one or two of these to focus on at a time and then gradually add another.  Thinking you need to change many habits all at once will set you up for failure.  One of my favorite messages is, “Forgive yourself for your inability to be perfect.”  Perfection cannot be achieved, but, rather, setting a goal to make yourself better than you were the day before is manageable.

You can find many more inspirational posts on Simi’s blog.

My wish for you is that you enjoy the holidays, enjoy the people in your life, and take the time to nourish your spirit!

Angie sigt 2.jpg

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angie Starbuck is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and the owner of PRI Court Reporting, LLC. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Google+.

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Would You Jeopardize Your Case?

Would You Jeopardize Your Case?

 

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Many attorneys and paralegals across the country get calls, e-mails, solicitations from large court reporting firms with an offer of great perks if the attorney will agree to allow that firm to cover all of their depositions.  Perhaps you personally have been the recipient of these efforts.  Your client, whether a large corporation or insurance company, may also be the recipient of these efforts.  These offers always sound beneficial in one way or another.  It may be a reduced rate on the transcript order.  It may be a waived appearance fee.  It may be gift cards to restaurants, iPads, bottles of wine.  All of these can be enticing and may be persuasive in your decision to switch court reporting firms.

However, there are several reasons this practice is not in your best interest or that of your client, the most important of which is the risks this could mean to your case.  Many states have adopted rules prohibiting certain contractual arrangements for court reporting services, including Ohio.

The Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, specifically Rule 28(D), state that, “(1) Any blanket contract for private court reporting services, not related to a particular case or reporting incident, shall be prohibited between a private court reporter or any other person with whom a private court reporter has a principal and agency relationship, and any attorney, party to an action, party having a financial interest in an action, or any entity providing the services of a shorthand reporter. (2) “Blanket contract” means a contract under which a court reporter, court recorder, or court reporting firm agrees to perform all court reporting or court recording services for a client for two or more cases at a rate of compensation fixed in the contract.”

The Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure also state, “This prohibition is enforceable by the court in which the underlying action is pending. Enforceability is implicitly recognized by Civ. R. 32(D)(2), which requires reasonable diligence of a party in raising a disqualification issue.”  Rule 32(D)(2) states, “Objection to taking a deposition because of disqualification of the officer before whom it is to be taken is waived unless made before the taking of the deposition begins or as soon thereafter as the disqualification becomes known or could be discovered with reasonable diligence.”  This leaves the burden of discovering any reasons for disqualification on the attorneys in the case, one of which could be the violation of Rule 28(D) by the court reporter or court reporting firm.

So the question is: Would you want to risk your case, or your client’s goodwill and reputation, for a few cents per page, a bottle of wine, or restaurant gift cards?

As officers of the court, court reporters have a responsibility to be fair and impartial toward each participant in all aspects of reported proceedings and be alert to situations that are conflicts of interest or that may give the appearance of a conflict of interest.  We should also guard against not only the fact but the appearance of impropriety. (NCRA, 2017)

Sarah Nageotte, Executive Director of the Ohio Court Reporters Association and a Past President of the National Court Reporters Association, indicates that “Court reporters have long been held as the guardians of the record.  Litigants, the Bar, and the public must have confidence and trust in the process, and it is vital that the court reporting community fulfills its role impartially and above reproach.”

The National Court Reporters Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics and Board of Directors have adopted the following language, stating that members, “Refrain from giving, directly or indirectly, any gift or anything of value to attorneys or their staff, other clients or their staff, or any other persons or entities associated with any litigation, which exceeds $150 in the aggregate per recipient each year.   Nothing offered in exchange for future work is permissible, regardless of its value. “

Protect yourself and your client. Hire a reporter based on skill and experience who puts ethics first.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angie Starbuck, RDR/CRR/CRC, is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and the owner of PRI Court Reporting, LLC. She is an NCRA member and an NCRA Ethics First member.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Google+.

Jury Duty and CART

Jury Duty and CART

Sample of CART display
Sample of CART display

Recently PRI was contacted to provide CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) services to a potential juror in Franklin County, Ohio, who was hard of hearing.  This individual (consumer) has used CART services in the past and was very familiar with the benefits and impact of CART.

CART is accomplished by having a court reporter listening and taking down what is being said and transmitting the feed to a laptop for the consumer to view and read.  It is the position of the National Court Reporters Association that, “A CART provider should refrain from working in the dual capacity of official reporter of proceedings and CART,” unless no other option exists.  That’s where PRI became involved.

After some discussion on the logistics with the court staff, I attended the first jury pool meeting with the consumer and sat with her until she was called for voir dire (questioning of potential jury members) in a courtroom.  I then proceeded to sit with her and provide CART for her until the trial began.  The consumer was selected as a juror and another CART provider worked with her throughout the rest of the trial (see the blog post from her here).

There were three exciting things about this assignment for me:

I always enjoy the opportunity to share our profession with the public and, at the same time, provide much-needed services so that a consumer can participate in an event or meeting just like everyone else.  If you ever have the opportunity to talk with a court reporter or CART provider, feel free to ask them about their profession (preferably on a break, when they’re not writing!) and I’m sure they would be glad to share their experiences with you.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angie Starbuck, RDR, CRR, CRC is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and the owner of PRI Court Reporting, LLC.  PRI has been a leader in the CART and captioning services industry for over 25 years and provides CART and captioning regularly for individuals in the legal, corporate, and educational settings.  Connect with Angie on LinkedIn.  You can also follow PRI Court Reporting on Twitter and Facebook.

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My Experience with Jury Duty – by Rhonda Lawrence

My Experience with Jury Duty – by Rhonda Lawrence

16140571199_fddf693906_z (1)I have been called to jury duty twice, and both times I was released immediately for the mere fact that I am a court reporter, being told I know too much about the legal process and know too many attorneys.  So you can imagine my excitement when I was asked to be a CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) provider for a hearing-impaired juror.  Not only was it my first opportunity to sit with a jury, but it was also my first murder trial.  Working as a freelance reporter, generally all of my work is civil in nature.

The trial went about as any typical trial does.  Having been an official reporter, I know the things that go on outside of the jury’s presence.  This time, since I was sitting with the juror and none of that was presented to “us,” I found myself envious of the official reporter.  I wanted to hear the bench conferences; I wanted to know why someone in the gallery was asked to leave; I wanted to know why certain witnesses and evidence was not presented; I wanted to know what both sides said about the jury instructions; I wanted to know the “history” of the case.  All things I otherwise would have known as the official reporter.

The case was closed and the time came for deliberations, which is what I was most excited about.  Having not been the CART provider for this particular voir dire selection, I did not know the background of any of the jurors.  I found myself intrigued by all of the different perspectives everyone had, wondering what their background is for them to hold the opinions they did, questioning in my mind why they thought certain things were or weren’t important to the case, and speculating on evidence that was not presented.  It was interesting that everyone heard such different testimony from the same witness.  It was very difficult for me, when they would argue over what was or wasn’t said, to not be able to just pull it up on the screen and show them, as I would do in a deposition setting.

As a freelance reporter, I usually only get to hear one side of the story and I never know the outcome of a case.  So you can imagine my frustration when the outcome ended up being a hung jury!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rhonda Lawrence is a court reporter with PRI Court Reporting, LLC, in Columbus, Ohio.  You can learn more about Rhonda here.  You can also follow PRI Court Reporting on Twitter and Facebook.

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An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Andrea Crago

An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Andrea Crago

PRI Court Reporting is lucky enough to have a very talented and experienced team of employees.  Andrea Crago is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio and she has been with PRI for 23 years.  While Andrea has concentrated her work in the CART setting for many years, she also has deposition experience as well.  Andrea is very professional, knowledgeable, and talented.  You may have met her at a deposition or CART job, so here’s a chance to get to know her a little better.

How long have you been a court reporter?
I have been a reporter for over 35 years, but took six years off (consecutive) during that time to have two children and to get them started in preschool.

How long have you been working at PRI?
I was hired by PRI in July of ’92, following my six-year hiatus from work. By the time I came back, the court reporting business had gone completely CAT (computer-assisted transcription), so I had a lot of ramping up to do, especially since I wanted to specialize in CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation). After five months of homework to build my computerized dictionary and building up my writing speed again, I went out on my first job in November of ’92. And I have been with PRI now for over 23 years.

Did you have other court reporting experience prior to joining PRI?
Yes, I have six years’ full-time experience in deposition work, trial work, and conference/meetings work, over four different states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut (my husband was in computer sales, and his job took us to four states over five years), but I never had any trouble getting a job with a freelance firm wherever we lived.

What do you like most about working at PRI?
Two things, really. Since I specialize in CART, PRI is the number one freelance firm in the state of Ohio which offers the highest quality CART/captioning writing, so we get some very high profile work, which is interesting and personally challenging. The second reason is PRI’s willingness to be flexible with my work schedule. I really only work part-time, but my availability is all over the place. I have been able to raise three children (yes, we added one more) while still being an “at-home” mom when needed.

Where are you from or where did you grow up?
I was born in Phoenix, AZ, while my dad was in the Air Force. When his tour was over, my parents moved back to Youngstown, Ohio. I was only 2 years old.

Before working as a court reporter, did you have another career or job?  If so, what?
I actually was a secretary for two lawyers in a firm after I graduated high school with clerical training. I was the person who booked the court reporter to come in for depositions. I would talk with them and ask lots of questions, and I thought it was something I would like and could do. Luckily, Youngstown State University offered an Associate’s Degree in court reporting. (They don’t anymore, sadly.) So I went to school at night after work, and three years later, I graduated at the top of my class.

What is one thing you would like our clients to know about court reporting/depositions/CART?
Not to sound flip, but to remember that even though we work with machinery and technology, that we are human – which ultimately makes for a better transcript (versus electronically recorded). But we do need periodic breaks, time for nourishment, and have busy lives outside of the courtroom/boardroom. And I wish we had super human hearing, but we don’t; so if you cannot hear a person talking, chances are we can’t, either.

What is the most unusual deposition/CART situation you’ve found yourself in?
Logistics-wise, having driven into the countryside for a deposition at someone’s home (a hostile witness) and not being able to get out of my car because of the attack dog that was at my window. Ultimately, the lawyer called me on my cell (from his car) and said that the depo was not going to take place.  Content-wise, while I was working in Connecticut, I reported the grand jury indictment proceedings, and there were always strange and unusual stories!

What’s on your iPod?
Oh, boy, I don’t own an iPod. I’m a big fan of listening to NPR on the radio.

What is one thing our clients don’t know about you?
I’m only half Italian.  (French is the other half)

What is your favorite restaurant in Columbus?
Mimi’s Cafe – best salmon.

What is your favorite app?
Google maps with audio directions. The best when driving at night and unfamiliar with the area. Second favorite: GasBuddy — finds the lowest gas prices in the area.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
Driving – picking up and dropping off kids.

What is your best tip for balancing work/life/family?
Trusting God, and looking ahead and planning for the next day or two. When the unexpected happens, put a positive spin on it and go with the flow.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about Andrea.  Look for more interviews with other PRI Court Reporting staff in the future.

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Are YOU Your Toughest Competitor?

Are YOU Your Toughest Competitor?

“The individual who only does enough to get by seldom gets much more than “by.” – Napoleon Hill

We’ve all heard the sayings, “You get out what you put in,” or “Garbage in, garbage out,” but this quote that I received in my daily e-mail from the Napoleon Hill Foundation freshened up this principle for me.

If you want to get more than “by,” how about applying these principles to your career, your faith, and your personal relationships in the coming year?  Not a New Year’s resolution, but a commitment to yourself to do your personal best every day.

The phrase that struck me the most in this particular daily e-mail was, “Your harshest critic and your toughest competitor should be you.”  We’re all probably really good at being our own harshest critic, but are we all our toughest competitor?

Do you strive to be/do/think/act better than you did the day before?  Do you seek higher achievements than you did last year?  Do you take the initiative at work to improve a process, make a job easier, save the company money?

Sometimes it’s easy to look at our competitors and try to compete with them when it’s really ourselves that we should be competing with.  If we do that, the achievements we seek will happen because we’re working hard to better ourselves.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angie Starbuck, RDR, CRR, CRC is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio, and the owner of PRI Court Reporting, LLC. Connect with her on LinkedIn.  You can also follow PRI Court Reporting on Twitter and Facebook.

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An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Amy L. Miller

An Interview with Columbus Court Reporter – Amy L. Miller

Amy Miller recently joined the team at PRI Court Reporting.  Amy is a court reporter in Columbus, Ohio and she has been a court reporter for over 20 years. Amy is very friendly and cares a lot about her work and her family.  You’ll meet Amy at a deposition soon, but in the meantime, here’s a chance to get to know her a little better.

How long have you been a court reporter?
I started reporting 21 years ago this month!

How long have you been working at PRI Court Reporting?
I am thrilled to have started PRI Court Reporting in November of 2015

Did you have other court reporting experience prior to joining PRI?
I did.  I was with two other local firms before joining PRI

What do you like most about working at PRI?
So far, I am really enjoying the office staff, clientele, and software.  I love the atmosphere!

Where are you from or where did you grow up?
I was born at St. Ann’s Hospital.  While much of my family has decided to leave central Ohio, this is my home.

Before working as a court reporter, did you have another career or job? If so, what?
I heard a commercial for the “glamorous life of court reporting” on the radio when I was a senior in high school.  I decided right then and there that this was the path I was taking and I never looked back.

What is one thing you would like our clients to know about court reporting/depositions? 
Court reporters put their hearts into your transcripts.  It is really helpful to state your goals for them (i.e., expedited due dates, unusual spellings that are case-specific) as these things arise so we can keep up with your needs!

What is the most unusual deposition situation you’ve found yourself in?
Once I was in a situation where emotions ran so high, the police were called and me and my machine were knocked over all while still on the record!  Who says court reporting isn’t interesting?

What’s on your iPod?
Oh, I love music!  My iTunes library has over 3,000 songs in so many genres, I couldn’t even begin to list what’s on it!

What is one thing our clients don’t know about you?
I am a hard-core couponer.  Like following websites for the best “deals” of the week and looking forward to the Sunday paper.  I find this fun.  I started doing it way before they made a silly TV show about people that coupon.

What is your favorite restaurant in Columbus?
That’s a tough question. For a special evening, The Refectory.  For a nice evening, Polaris Grill.  To carry home, Golden Valley.

What is your favorite app?
Without a doubt, my favorite app is Spotify.  There is so much music to choose from, and the ability to download and listen and make your own playlists is just awesome.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I love to cook and do prepare meals most days of the week; spend time with my son; hang out with my friends and family.  I have two dogs and a cat and I am crazy about them as well. My favorite times involve all of these cool people and furry animals all landing in the same place!

What is your best tip for balancing work/life/family?
Sometimes our jobs can be a real balancing act when it comes to work life/family life and it doesn’t always work out.  Expedited transcripts happen and we don’t always know they are going to.  The people that love us are aware that is a possibility and are good about working around that.  However, for the most part, the way I have found that works best is to have a dedicated room in my home for an office that has a door that can be shut during off hours.  So when I am done for the day, the door gets shut and then work is over and my home becomes my home again.  Balance.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about Amy.  Look for more interviews with other PRI Court Reporting staff in the future.

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