In an industry where accuracy and timeliness are vital to your success, we think you should expect to work only with the best court reporters, always. What’s more, you’ll work with a firm that values your time and reputation, and enjoy the best customer service in the industry. When you work with us, you’ll escape the frustrations and problems of being “just another name” in someone’s customer database.
We hand pick only the best.
The court reporters who work with the firm have been personally vetted by Misty Klapper. This is very different from the way many large court reporting firms do business, and we believe our “hand-picked” process is the secret to our success.
In many large, national firms, when a request for a court reporter comes in, those firms simply bulk e-mail court reporters in that location and offer them the assignment. In most cases, these court reporters are completely unknown to the firm assigning them to the case. They’ve never met the reporter, nor have they ever seen or reviewed their work. They don’t interview the reporter or check references.
Your deposition is here. Your court reporting firm should be here, too.
Another problem that often occurs with these “one-stop-shop” court reporting companies is that they may not be local to where the deposition is being taken. In practice, this means that if the court reporting firm is in, say, Portland, Oregon, and your deposition is being taken in Washington, D.C. your exhibits will be shipped across the country twice: once to the office in Oregon, and then back to the client law firm in D.C.
In such a situation, it’s easy to see how easily exhibits can get lost causing delays, frustration – and mounting costs as the law firm and their client pays for shipping twice (or more!) Hiring a court reporter local to the Washington, D.C. area, or in Maryland, or Virginia considerably reduces the chances for important packages to get lost in transit.
Another excellent reason to work with a court reporting firm based in the jurisdiction within which the deposition is taken is the court reporter’s familiarity with that jurisdiction. This can sometimes mean the difference between being able to actually use the deposition transcript or having to take the deposition again.
Get the answers you need, fast.
Because we’re boutique-sized, if you have a question or need to get an update, you won’t ever waste your time going through multiple layers of the wrong people to get to the right person. Ever.
We’re always prepared.
Like a good Scout, we’ll always be prepared for your deposition or trial. Unlike working with larger companies, we don’t think preparation and research are optional for our court reporters.
Misty Klapper & Associates will represent you with a court reporter familiar with the rules in a particular jurisdiction, and who knows the notary laws in each state. We won’t let your deposition process be surprised by a lack of critical information that could impact the deposition.
We pay attention to the details that large firms often miss, too. For example, we make sure the court reporter always has the information for the contact attorney – a detail which can save both time and money when appearing for a deposition.
We’re early birds.
When a court reporter is late to a deposition, they cost clients time and money. That’s why our court reporters are always scheduled to arrive at least 20 minutes before the scheduled start time for depositions. Our clients particularly appreciate our promptness for expert depositions. When the expert witness is being paid for their time: every minute of delay is money out of the client’s pocket.
For realtime depositions, we build in at least an hour so that we can thoroughly check the equipment and the realtime stream well before the deposition is scheduled to begin. This means that if, for example, an internet firewall is blocking access, we can get the location’s IT staff to take care of the problem before the problem turns into a delay.
When you’re choosing a court reporter, talk is cheap. But remember, our name is on the door – and so is our reputation. In the end, the best way we can prove we are the best firm for you is to give us a try. We will not disappoint you.