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Gretchen Shore Court Reporting |
Independent Reporting |
US District Court Reporter |
Attorney Perspective |
Meet a Reporting Firm That is a High-Tech Pioneer in Texas
An interview with Leslie Goodwin, Gretchen Shore Court Reporting, Longview, TX
Gretchen Shore Court Reporting is blazing the legal technology trail in eastern Texas.
Despite being located two hours from Dallas in Longview, Texas, Gretchen Shore Court
Reporting firm's client list continues to grow with large law firms from "big-city" Texas.
The reason? Gretchen Shore Court Reporting not only provides accurate reporting services, but
they've enhanced their service offerings with technology that truly improves how their clients
work.
About two years ago, a prominent Dallas firm was in Longview to depose witnesses for a large
case. Gretchen Shore Court Reporting was given an ultimatum that would set their firm on a
new path: "If you want our business, we need you to provide RealLegal® E-Transcript files."
Without hesitation, Gretchen Shore and her Litigation Support Manager, Leslie Goodwin,
purchased E-Transcript and earned the business. Since then, their reputation for quality
service and technology expertise has traveled from Longview to Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston
and Austin.
"The RealLegal technology is great for us," says Leslie. "We are a small firm in a small town,
but our level of service and technology competes with larger court reporting firms in
metropolitan areas."
Gretchen Shore Court Reporting proactively began to educate their local law firms about the
E-Transcript files they could provide. The initiative successfully transformed the local
market so that law firms began to expect and request the RealLegal E-Transcript format.
Leslie and Gretchen are committed to continually 'upping the ante' in terms of the services
they provide, and their service menu now includes realtime and video recording as well. Last
summer, Leslie read an article about RealLegal Publisher software and knew that she had found
another new offering for her clients.
Before purchasing the software that "bundles" their E-Transcript files and corresponding digital
exhibits, saves them within a viewer, and gets burned to a compact disk, Leslie interviewed a
sampling of clients to evaluate whether or not a Publisher Bundle would be appreciated by law
firms. The response was an overwhelming, "Yes!"
"We really enjoy helping our clients progress and adopt new technology," says Leslie.
"I suspected that the more 'tech-savvy' segment of our clientele would immediately jump
on board with Publisher Bundles, but I was really excited when our most conservative clients
requested the service too."
Leslie reported that she loves her RealLegal technology and that it is making her life a lot
easier. Gretchen Shore Court Reporting uses the latest version of RealLegal E-Transcript
to convert their reporters' ASClls into the E-Transcript format for clients. For value-added
service, the exhibits are scanned for a per-page fee and then presented with the E-Transcript
files in a Publisher Bundle. Their clients purchase the complete Publisher Bundle disk for
a reasonable fee that helps Gretchen Shore Court Reporting maximize profits.
Independent Court Reporter Experiences Unexpected Success as a Result of RealLegal's E-Transcript™
A Fledgling Business
Deanna Glecker started the Independent Reporting court reporting firm in February 1999 in Ohio.
As she considered how she could give her company a competitive advantage over more established
reporting firms, she decided she would use technology to achieve her goal. Deanna didn't have
much starting capital, however, so she needed to evaluate which form of technology would give
her the sharpest edge.
A Significant Decision
As Deanna contemplated the options, she recalled a product she had seen at a trade show called
E-Transcript™. She had been impressed with the electronic transcript delivery, printing and
navigating software tool at the time. She also learned that no one in her area was offering the
E-Transcript service. She decided this was where she would invest her capital.
E-Transcript is transcript-management software that was developed by RealLegal with both the
reporter and the attorney in mind. E-Transcript> standardizes CAT ASCII formats. This results
in a streamlined process that reduces the reporter's time spent internally on transcript
formatting and production. E-Transcript files are delivered electronically and securely as email
attachments to the attorney.
All E-Transcript files are encrypted and password- and virus-protected, offering the utmost in security
and privacy. The attorney, who needs no special software to open the E-Transcript, can view,
search and print the transcript with ease. E-Transcript also benefits the attorney with its
hyperlinked word indices and citation functionality. The amount of time the attorney or
paralegal spends on summarizing and digesting transcripts is dramatically reduced.
Overcoming Client Concerns, Overwhelming Client Response
As Deanna began approaching potential new clients at depositions to introduce them to her new
services, she learned that security was a big issue for attorneys. She allayed any concerns by
assuring them E-Transcript is 100-percent secure.
"E-Transcript's encryption and password and virus protection eliminates the fear factor,"
she said. "Once attorneys hear about the program's security features, they are very open to e-mail
delivery."
One strategy Deanna uses to convince new clients of E-Transcript's superiority is to
provide one-minute demonstrations of the program, emphasizing the convenience of its hyperlinked
word indices and interactive environment.
"Clients see instantly that E-Transcript> is easier to use than ASCII or word-processing
files. She also stresses the fact that E-Transcript complements existing litigation support
programs that her clients might already use, and she'll visit law firms personally to deliver
E-Transcript files and provide training for the paralegals and attorneys.
Her clients have also been impressed with the added-value features E-Transcript
provides. "The word index has been a very popular feature with my clients," she said. "The
time savings in searching and digesting transcripts has been incredible for them. My clients
say reviewing transcripts is now a breeze!"
Deanna's Success
E-Transcript paid for itself within three weeks . "Because of
E-Transcript, my firm has secured new business via word of mouth. In fact, as a
result of E-Transcript, I have gotten so much business that I've been too busy to
upgrade to the latest version. Attorneys are so impressed with the service that they can't
wait to tell their colleagues. I simply show an E-Transcript to a prospective client
and that is all they need to see. It is exciting to see my clients get excited over a service
I can offer them."
"E-Transcript has exceeded my clients' expectations and become an extremely powerful
marketing tool for my firm," Deanna added. "Seventy percent of my business utilizes the
software. As a result, the time and cost to produce hard copy transcripts has almost been
eliminated."
Official Court Reporter Dramatically Reduces Time and Money Spent on Production and Delivery of Transcripts with RealLegal's E-Transcript
The Problems
Two years ago, Dennis Dinkel, a US District Court Reporter in Washington, D.C., realized he was
wasting valuable time and money printing, binding and shipping transcripts. He needed to find a
way to enhance his work product and reduce the amount of time and money he spent on transcript
production and delivery.
Dennis' business was also overwhelmed with orders for printed transcripts, ASCII diskettes
and various other word-processing transcript formats. He couldn't imagine how he would manage
the volume of requests. He needed to standardize the product he provided to his clients.
The Solution
Dennis heard about RealLegal's E-Transcript™ from a friend who was impressed by the product's
ability to quickly send accurate, secure transcripts via email. Shortly thereafter, Dennis requested
a demo copy of the software.
As he was reviewing E-Transcript, he began working with an out-of-town client who had been
experiencing problems with the messengers delivering hard-copy transcripts. Dennis told his client
that he had just bought E-Transcript and would try to send the transcript via email. The
client agreed to receive his transcript in this format.
Both Dennis and his client were impressed with the ease and quickness with which they were able
to send and receive the transcript. The client has been requesting E-Transcript files ever
since. With E-Transcript, Dennis can import CAT ASCII files into the standardized,
user-friendly and readable E-Transcript format. The program encrypts the document,
then password- and virus-protects the transcript for added security. The document arrives
attached to an e-mail message that is ready for opening. The bonus is his clients need no
special software to open, view, search or print their attached E-Transcript files.
Client Satisfaction Increased While Costs Decreased
Dennis has been delivering his transcripts electronically with RealLegal's E-Transcript for
two years. In that time, he has dramatically reduced the amount of time and money he spends both
producing and delivering transcripts. What's more, Dennis has seen an increase in client
satisfaction. His judge and law clerks have come to expect and appreciate E-Transcript files.
"After sending my judge an E-Transcript for the first time," Dennis said, "he wrote me
back and said the format was 'awesome.' Now he can't live without E-Transcript files."
The communication E-Transcript facilitates has also resulted in a reduced time commitment
on transcript production and increased client satisfaction.
"An electronic version of a transcript has been the best way to communicate with my judges
and their chambers," Dennis said. "I put all the parties on an email distribution list, and
everyone is in the loop. By automating my communications electronically, I have saved at least
two hours in the process of delivering transcripts alone. The time it takes to print and bind
individual hard copies has been virtually eliminated."
His Clients Accept No Substitutes
"Once I explain the E-Transcript service," Dennis said, "everyone I offer it to wants to
try it out. Once they try it, they are amazed at the convenience and simplicity it offers. Many
who receive E-Transcript files from me no longer want hard copies. Everyone who receives
E-Transcript files from me is very happy with both the time savings and the ease of viewing and
searching the documents. The response to the service has been truly remarkable."
Attorney Discusses his Preference for RealLegal's E-Transcript™ & Reporters Who Offer It
The Perfect Solution to a Common Problem
Louisiana attorney Don Johnson received ASCII-formatted transcripts from his reporter for years.
When a local reporting firm offered him a RealLegal E-Transcript™, he declined the offer
because initially, he didn't know what it was.
Shortly thereafter, another reporter he was working with offered him an E-Transcript again.
This time his curiosity was piqued. What was this E-Transcript he kept hearing about? He
decided to try it.
He was immediately impressed. Not only did he receive his transcript quickly and conveniently via
email, but the transcript he received was intact.
"I always had problems with ASCIIs," Don said. "The ASCIIs would need reformatting because they
were created on different word processors. As hard as we tried, we never got the correct page
correlation. E-Transcript provided us a solution. The transcripts were perfectly
formatted."
About a year ago, Don's firm decided to become a paperless office. "E-Transcript also
fits perfectly into our new scheme, because we don't have to store hard copies of transcripts
anymore. With E-Transcript, everyone has access to the preserved electronic depositions."
Don's New Preference for E-Transcript and Reporters Who Offer It
For Don, nothing but an E-Transcript will do. "I see reporters who offer E-Transcript
as more professional than those who don't," he said. "In fact, we prefer E-Transcript so
much that we'll pay reporters who insist on providing ASCIIs to convert them to E-Transcript.
If we're getting a transcript, we want an E-Transcript."
The features Don appreciates are the hyperlinked word index, which makes it easy for him to find
things in the transcript; the flexibility in printing condensed transcripts; and the
electronic format, which makes transcripts portable and enables his reporters to meet
deadlines.
"I love this product," he said. "It has made our lives so much easier and functional. In fact,
I don't think I ever want to pick up another paper deposition again."
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