Firm Owner Academy

The forces of change will not wait. More and more, the court reporting business will be defined by a court reporting workforce making use of stenography, voice writing, and digital reporting.

If you’re looking for a way forward, we introduce the STTI Firm Owner Academy.

Adopting new technologies to cover your calendar amid the exacerbating stenographer shortage

Recruiting and training a multi-technology
workforce—steno, voice, digital

Integrating systems while adhering to the highest standards

Packaging a new suite of services to current and prospective clients (and perhaps also to a skeptical workforce of steno reporters)

October 26^th

10:00 – 10:50am EDT

Steno, Digital, Voice: Similarities & Differences in a Legal Setting

Three veterans of court reporting technology across legal settings share facts, information, and wisdom that all firm owners should know as they pivot to marketplace realities.

• The benefits and limitations of capture methods
• The production line. What’s different? What’s the same?
• Lessons from three decades lessons of audio recording in the courts help in depositions
• Your firm’s expertise is “court reporting,” not stenography, digital, or voice writing.

Steve Townsend, the RecordXchange

SueLynn Morgan, For the Record

Phil Kaufman, GoDepo

11:00 – 11:50am EDT

Realities & Myths Surrounding the Steno Shortage

With more than 1,000 stenographers retiring each year and far fewer replenishing the ranks, firm owners must be equipped with the facts as they make key decisions about the future.

• What will the decline of stenographers look like over the next five to 10 years
• How the shortage is transpiring nationally and regionally
• Why every stenographer who wants a job will have a job for the next 50 years

Jim Cudahy, Speech to Text Institute

Kathy DiLorenzo, Planet Depos

12:00 – 12:50pm EDT

Recruiting, Educating & Onboarding a Multi-Technology Workforce

An evolving workforce making use of multiple technologies is requiring a new approach to training and recruitment, this amid a labor shortage that shows no signs of relenting.

• From what backgrounds will a modern, blended workforce of court reporters arrive?
• How is the education and training model of reporters changing?
• What steps should your firm take to supplement the work of schools and training programs?

Jen Krueger, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C)

Marybeth Everhart, Realtime Learning Systems

Kelly Moranz, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C)

1:00 – 1:50pm EDT

The Dynamics & Mechanics of Voice & Digital Reporting Technology

An immersion into the hardware and software that supports and enables digital reporting and transcription.

• Setting up the deposition suite
• Constructing workflows, production teams, and product delivery
• What a firm’s technology adoption and investment should entail

SueLynn Morgan, For the Record

Phil Kauffman, GoDepo

Janet Harris, Stenograph

Steve Townsend, The RecordXchange

October 26^th (cont’d)

2:00 – 2:50pm EDT

Navigating State Rules & Regulations

Adhering to state and federal rules associated with capturing and certifying the legal record is essential. Take the guesswork out of how to integrate multiple technologies into your system of capture.

• A state-by-state rundown of the rules and how they apply to a multi-technology firm
• Stipulation: What it means; how and where it can be deployed
• Staying away from trouble

Mike McDonner, Kentuckiana Reporters

Kathy DiLorenzo, Planet Depos

Neal Gross, Neal R. Gross & Company

October 27^th

10:00 – 10:50am EDT

Integrating Digital & Voice into a Steno Firm

If you don’t know where to begin to assimilate digital and voice reporting into your firm’s repertoire, you’re far from alone. Join fellow firms for a candid discussion of the associated challenges and solutions.

• What you must learn and unlearn to become an effective, multi-technology firm
• 10 mistakes you want to avoid as you adopt new technologies
• Changing the way you deploy steno reporters to maximize their impact

Kathy DiLorenzo, Planet Depos

SueLynn Morgan, For the Record

Janet Harris, Stenograph

11:00 – 11:50am EDT

Selling New Capture Methods to Your Clients (& Reporters)

As necessary as the arrival of new methods of capture is to traditionally steno firms, your positioning of the new service for your clients and your reporters will be vital to its success.

• How to demonstrate the value of a multi-technology system of capture
• Reassuring your steno workforce that their contributions remain vital to the firm
• Keeping your finger on the pulse of what clients want and need

Mike McDonner, Kentuckiana Reporters

Jeff Cobb, Stenograph

Christian Bonilla, Milestone Reporting

October 27^th (cont’d)

12:00 – 12:50am EDT

What’s Next for Remote and Hybrid Depositions?

Over the last 18 months the need and appetite for remote depositions has become vastly increased.  With clients (and reporters) demanding and accustomed to remote proceedings, the need of a platform that is purpose-built for legal becomes ever pressing. Implications will be far ranging. Firms that are equipped will be in a position to capitalize on the opportunity.

• What does technology have in store for us
• How to leverage a purpose-built platform to better customer experience
• How to utilize a digital platform to improve remote, hybrid, and in-room experiences

Caroline Wells, vTestify

1:00 – 1:50pm EDT

Agency of the Future: The Method-Agnostic Eco-System

We are hurtling toward an eco-system defined less and less by the method used to capture the spoken word, more and more by the quality of the verbatim transcript. Indeed, many will say we are already there. How do you capitalize on this development while making sure your firm is not left behind?

• How does ASR make your reporters and agencies more efficient?
• How do you make corresponding changes to your production model?
• How do you make most efficient use of your diminishing supply of steno reporters?

Janet Harris, Stenograph

2:00 – 2:50pm EDT

How Digital Tools Power the New Agency Model

The wholesale migration of legal proceedings to remote amid the pandemic has accelerated firms’ and clients’ use and acceptance of digital tools to deliver timely, accurate transcripts. Take a guided tour through the reporter’s evolving toolbox, harnessing the capabilities of all technologies to bring greater efficiency and added benefits, such as the ability to offer live read-backs.

• Empowering your workforce through ASR
• New possibilities that ASR and AI make possible
• Integrating digital tools with your systems

Tony Sirna, Verbit