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Court Reporter Career Interview
Lillian Freiler has worked as a court reporter for over 35 years, including working as an official court reporter for 22 years and running her own court reporting agency. She is also the president of the Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association.
Court Reporter Career Path
During high school, Lillian developed shorthand skills in her business curriculum.
“I did so well with machine shorthand that my teacher said that I should look into court reporting as my career,” she says. “I’m glad I listened to him.
Court Reporter Experiences
Lillian attended the McCann School of Business, where she earned her business degree.
Since then, Lillian has been working as a court reporter for over 35 years. She began as an official court reporter in August 1975. In 1997, she started her own business as a freelance court reporter and ever since then, she has been self-employed.
Court Reporting Degree Programs
“It depends on which state you live in,” Lillian explains. “I would not even consider hiring a court reporter who did not graduate from an accredited court reporting school or online course. Some states don’t require anything. Some courses take up three years. It shouldn’t take longer than that.”
Court Reporter Job Description
Lillian runs her own court reporting agency, where she answers the phone, schedules reporting at cases, reports at those cases, edits the transcripts, mails the transcripts, bills for the transcripts, collects payment, disperses payment, and buys the supplies for the company.
Court Reporter Daily Schedule
“A normal day varies from agency to agency and from court to court,” says Lillian. “My typical day is going to a scheduled deposition and editing the report when time allows.”
Due to a lot of the work being done outside of the court, the production of the transcripts can all be done on her own time.
“I edit when time allows,” Lillian explains. “I work at home, so I’m able to edit whenever I want to.”
Court Reporter Steps to Success
A court reporter must be professional and organized because they deal with so much information.
“You have to be a team player,” Lillian advises. “Market yourself as irreplaceable. Be on time and courteous, and you should dress, look, and act the part so that you are treated with respect. High ethics are extremely important, in addition to strong English, grammar, and spelling skills.”
Court Reporter Job Opportunities
There are different opportunities for court reporters based on where you live and what kind of court reporter you want to be. Obviously, the more populated an area is, the more work one would find as a court reporter.
There are four types of court reporters: an official court reporter (who works directly for the courts, like how Lillian started her career), freelance (who works out of their own agency), CART (communication access realtime translation) reporters (who aid the hearing impaired), and captioners (who work for television stations to write the captions at the bottom of the screen during a program). CART reporters and captioners are court reporters who can use their talents outside of the courtroom.
Court Reporter Favorite Aspect
The easiest answer? For Lillian, all of it.
“I love traveling to different areas and different law offices and doctors’ offices,” she says. “I love the different hours every day, and being my own boss and working from home. I love to show off my skill: taking the spoken word, filtering that through my brain to my fingertips and seeing it there in English on my computer instantly. No one else in the world can do that buy a real live court reporter.”
Advice for Prospective Court Reporters
“Don’t go into this profession thinking it’s an easy way to make money,” Lillian advises. “You need to practice, practice, and then practice more. Don’t skip classes. Talk to other working court reporters that belong to their professional organizations to get the feel of the job. Keep away from negative people, and ask every question no matter how silly you think it is.”
“A court reporter should also be up to date on current issues,” she adds. “Read the newspaper and magazines.”
