What To Do If
There Is A Surprise Expedite
By Joe Grabowski – RMR – Principal, Maryland
Q: What Do I Do If There Is A Surprise Expedite?
A: I always made it a practice to ask attorneys individually before we start or during a break if there is a chance they’ll need expedited delivery.
Always be prepared for the unexpected, and usually at the most inconvenient times. Even though our online scheduling pages, and those working in the calendar, clearly ask for the expected turnaround of transcripts in order to assign the right reporter to a job, for various reasons attorneys and their staff don’t always know. Often times something comes out in a proceeding, or another witness gets added by opposing counsel, that requires an expedited delivery or rough draft so attorneys can prepare for that.
I always made it a practice to ask attorneys individually before we start or during a break if there is a chance they’ll need expedited delivery. It is especially good to know about an expedite if I happen to be sitting on a backlog of transcripts, some of which are already expedited, and/or have plans that will tie me up for a period of time.
When that happens and you get that surprise expedite request, at least you have time to react and see if you can either line up your scopist or proofreader to help you get it done or worst-case scenario, contact the office to see if relief is available who can easily accommodate the request. If relief is the only option, let counsel know when they are expected to arrive so they can plan for a convenient spot in the proceeding to accommodate the change in reporters.
Never say or do anything that would show your frustration or anger. That’s one of the classic situations that prompt clients to request that a particular reporter not be assigned to their jobs in the future.
Have you been in an “on the job” situation that you were unsure how to handle?
Email us at courtreporter@veritext.com with a scenario you’d like a solution for!
About Joe Grabowski – RMR – Principal, Maryland
Joe Grabowski, RMR, principal of Gore Brothers/Veritext began reporting in the Baltimore/Washington, DC area in 1976 and started providing realtime to attorneys and the deaf/hard-of-hearing in the mid-1980s. Joe has covered depositions in various locations in the United States, Spain, Greece and has taken statements from survivors of WWII German concentration camps in Poland.
Joe is a member of the National Court Reporters Association, past president and board member of the National Network of Reporting Companies, and past president of the Maryland Court Reporters Association. Joe is chairman of the Education Advisory Committee of the Maryland Court Reporters Association and was appointed by Chief Judge Robert M. Bell to the State of Maryland’s first Court Reporters Committee.
