2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
A research project conducted and reported by the
National Court Reporters Association
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association. Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
Court reporting and captioning firms can only
succeed if they have good relationships with their
clients. The firms grow and thrive as lawyers,
paralegals, court administrators, corporations,
educational institutions, and other clients pick up
the phone and schedule trusted court reporters and
captioners. Successful firms market their services to
existing and potential clients and constantly look for
ways to provide additional value to their list of
offerings. All of this sounds familiar to those who
operate in this long-standing profession.
Another freelancer notes, “If other reporters had
divulged that a particular firm lacked integrity in
matters of finances, truthfulness, [or] unfair treatment
of reporters, I would not tolerate this.”
Certainly, the relationship between a firm and its
stable of freelancers is healthiest when it’s a win-winwin for the company, the court reporter, and the client
requiring stenographic court reporting services. But
the NCRA Freelancer Survey points to some forwardlooking indicators that demonstrate why firm owners
need to prioritize the needs of freelancers for the
long-term health and success of their businesses.
But what about firms’ other clients? Most firms in the
industry probably don’t spend too much time looking
for ways to market to and serve the people who are
arguably the most valuable clients to the success of
their businesses — the court reporters who actually
execute the jobs on the schedule. With court reporters retiring in droves and fewer new reporters entering the profession, at least in the short term, firms in
some areas of the country are competing for the best
court reporters in the marketplace. This scenario is
likely to be further exacerbated in the coming years
as the court reporter shortage deepens across the
United States, according to the 2013-2014 Industry
Outlook Report by Ducker Worldwide, commissioned
by NCRA.
BY THE NUMBERS
NCRA surveyed member reporters in December
2014, drawing approximately 1,200 participants.
While nearly all respondents indicated working in
legal depositions and proceedings, participants also
work as freelancers in courtrooms and in medical,
educational, community, religious, and corporate
settings. Approximately 10 percent of respondents
reported working directly with end users, and therefore their responses were not included in the remainder of the survey that was specific to freelancers.
For the purposes of this study, these participants are
considered one-person firm owners as they do not
take work from other firms, but rather accept jobs
directly from lawyers, businesses, etc. Of the remaining freelancers who accept work from court reporting
firms rather than end users, 39 percent of participants
work with only one firm with few exceptions; 28
percent work with two, three, or four firms; and 23
percent of respondents work with five or more firms.
If court reporting and captioning firms are not
treating their freelancers as customers, they will find
that their best reporters are increasingly turning to
other firms for their assignments, according to this
study, which NCRA conducted, of court reporters who
work primarily as freelancers. Waning are the days
when freelancers will stand in the proverbial line with
their hands out, happy to accept any job assignment
on the schedule. Talented, credentialed reporters are
being more selective about the work they take,
and they aren’t interested in having professional
relationships with firms that treat them as just another
reporter on the roster.
The online survey focused on gathering quantitative
data but also garnered hundreds of pages of
qualitative feedback in the form of open-ended
comments. Some of these anonymous comments are
reflected in the addendum to this report.
“A firm that is not reporter-owned, has a questionable
reputation, a history of poor payment, and/or unfair
distribution of jobs would prevent me from taking
a job with a particular firm,” says one anonymous
respondent.
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 2 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
JOB ORIGINATION BY EXPERIENCE
100%
90%
95%
91%
80%
88%
82%
70%
83%
Scheduled through a court reporting/captioning firm
60%
68%
50%
40%
32%
30%
10%
17%
18%
20%
12%
9%
5%
Directly from the client or end user
Experience
5 YEARS
10 YEARS
15 YEARS
SOURCE OF JOBS
25 YEARS
scheduled through a court reporting firm (and these
are the respondents on which the remainder of the
study focuses). The remaining 21 percent indicated
that they received most of their jobs directly from the
end user.
One of the critical components of this survey was to
identify with clarity those reporters who are actually
freelancers versus those who function as one-person
firms. To clarify, a freelancer is loosely defined as
a reporter who takes the vast majority of his or her
work from a court reporting firm (or firms), whereas
a one-person firm would be one characterized by a
reporter who takes the majority of his or her work
directly from the end user (i.e., law offices, those who
need broadcast or CART captioning, etc.). The goal of
the survey was to focus specifically on freelancers —
those who take the majority of their work from court
reporting firms — so much of the data presented
throughout the remainder of this piece focuses only
on the respondents who identified as such.
Taking a look at these responses by experience
level, more than 90 percent of those who have been
working in the field for 10 years or less received most
of their work via court reporting firms. Only a small
percentage of reporters with less than 10 years
under their belts were working directly for the end
user of stenographic services.
Naturally, as reporters gained more experience
throughout their careers, they were more likely to
begin functioning as a firm owner — that is, taking
work directly from clients. There is a particular jump
toward becoming a firm owner once a reporter has
logged more than 25 years in the profession. Within
the bracket of respondents boasting 25 years of
experience or more, less than 70 percent report
taking work from court reporting firms, compared to
slightly more than 30 percent who work directly for
the end user.
Still, before turning down the fork in the road to look
specifically at the data as it comes from freelancers,
there is some interesting information in how respondents categorized themselves.
Overall, nearly 79 percent of survey respondents indicated that the majority of their work was
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
20 YEARS
| 3 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
JOB ORIGINATION
MEN
WOMEN
30%
21%
Jobs scheduled directly
VS
Jobs scheduled directly
from the client or end
from the client or end
user while 70% came
user while 79% came
through a court reporting/
through a court reporting/
captioning firm.
captioning firm.
Before moving on to focus specifically on freelancers who work for court reporting firms, there is one
more interesting cross section of data specific to this
question of job origination. On the whole, male court
reporters are more likely to work directly for the end
user than female reporters. Nearly 80 percent of
female reporters are true freelancers, taking the
majority of their work as scheduled through a firm.
Looking at their male counterparts, only 70 percent
of respondents receive the majority of their jobs
through a firm; men are more likely by almost 10
percentage points than females to work directly for
the end user. This data shows an interesting gender
disparity in terms of the overall ownership of court
reporting firms, particularly those that are one-person
shops servicing the end user.
BUSINESS CHALLENGES
MOST SIGNIFICANT
1. Maintaining a
work/life balance
2. Finding quality work
3. Keeping up with technology
BUSINESS CHALLENGES
In aggregate, freelancers reported time management,
such as maintaining a work/life balance, as their
biggest business challenge (average ranking was
3.12 out of 5 with a ranking of 5 representing a major
challenge and 1 representing little or no challenge),
followed by finding quality work (with an average
ranking of 2.97), and keeping up with technology
(with an average ranking of 2.8). Lower on the
business challenges scale was learning about
business practices (average ranking 2.46) and
keeping skills fresh (average ranking 2.5).
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
LEAST SIGNIFICANT
Learning about business practices
Keeping skills fresh
| 4 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
BUSINESS CHALLENGES — EXPERIENCE
While these average rankings demonstrate overall
sentiment among freelancers, the results are much
more telling when they are divided into various levels
of experience. Those who are new to the profession,
with less than 10 years of experience, demonstrate
different feelings about their business challenges
than those who have been in the profession longer.
Understanding how these challenges are viewed by
reporters with varying experience levels can serve
firm owners and managers as they strive to attract
the most talented professionals in the market.
Learning about business practices
NOT CHALLENGING
MOST CHALLENGING
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
Time management — work/life balance
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
Getting paid in a timely fashion
Not surprisingly, those who have just entered the
profession, noting that they have less than five years
of experience, are significantly more likely to struggle
with learning about business practices such as filing
income taxes, obtaining health insurance, and the
general business issues that come with working as
a freelancer. In fact, based on the feedback from
respondents, getting a solid handle on business
practices not specific to the field of court reporting is
a sizeable business challenge for as long as 10 years
after graduation. After those early years out of school,
more experienced court reporters demonstrate a
higher level of comfort with the business practices
surrounding working as a freelancer in the field.
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
Time management — scheduling issues
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
Finding quality work
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
Competing for available work
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
“Business practices ought to have been more a
part of the curriculum in the program,” says one
freelancer.
Lack of market awareness
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
Even though this challenge ranks high among
freelancers overall, the survey shows that early
reporters struggle to a greater degree than
experienced reporters with striking an appropriate
work/life balance. The survey responses show that
as reporters gain more experience over the tenure
of their careers, they are less concerned with work/
life balance issues as an overall business challenge.
While this finding could point to reporters struggling
to hit their stride in terms of efficiency on the job,
there are also likely personal factors at play such as
raising young children or other personal obligations.
Keeping skills fresh
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
Keeping up with technology
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
Finding steady work
LESS THAN 5 YEARS
6–10 YEARS
11–15 YEARS
16–20 YEARS
20–25 YEARS
MORE THAN 25 YEARS
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 5 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
For firm owners, being aware of this dynamic may
influence some of the professional development
opportunities they provide or encourage for those
who have been working in the profession for less
than 10 years. Teaching business fundamentals to
less experienced freelancers and providing techniques for increasing efficiencies both on and off the
job could address these most pressing concerns for
this segment of reporters. Serving in a mentoring
capacity and addressing these challenges may lead
to less experienced reporters feeling a particular
affinity for the firms that support them in this way.
BUSINESS CHALLENGES — CERTIFICATION
Finding quality work
NOT CHALLENGING
WITH RPR
WITH RMR
WITH RDR
WITH CRR
NO CERTIFICATION
Keeping skills fresh
WITH RPR
“We are a teaching agency, independently owned,
and [reporters] receive a lot of support to grow
professionally,” says Debra A. Levinson, RMR, CRR,
CMRS, who serves as CEO of DALCO Reporting, Inc.,
a firm based in White Plains, N.Y. “Reporters, both
new and even experienced, have much to learn and
are not guided enough to reach their potential talent.”
WITH RMR
WITH RDR
WITH CRR
NO CERTIFICATION
Keeping up with technology
WITH RPR
Turning to mid-career reporters, the most significant
business challenges shift to issues such as getting
paid in a timely manner and finding work that aligns
with their busy schedules. Mid-career reporters are
likely juggling personal concerns such as maintaining
a household, raising children, and perhaps caring for
aging parents, which could result in the weighted responses in these areas. Mid-career reporters place a
higher emphasis on finding steady work and making
sure this work fits into their schedules. Furthermore,
firms that pay in a timely fashion are likely to find
loyal reporters in the mid-career segment.
WITH RMR
WITH RDR
WITH CRR
NO CERTIFICATION
Finding steady work
WITH RPR
WITH RMR
WITH RDR
WITH CRR
NO CERTIFICATION
Interestingly, while mid-career reporters indicate that
they consider one of their business challenges keeping up with technology, they’re not as concerned as
less experienced reporters about keeping their skills
fresh. With a steadier workload overall, having gotten
into a more experienced phase of their careers, and
possibly because of additional post-formal education
training opportunities, mid-career reporters
demonstrate a clear confidence in their stenographic
skills compared to the less experienced and the most
experienced reporters in the marketplace. However,
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
MOST CHALLENGING
mid-career reporters indicate that they struggle to
keep up with technology, particularly as they move
through the decades of their careers. Those who
have 21 to 25 years of experience are more likely to
note keeping up with technology as a business
challenge than those who have less than 10 years
of experience and may have received more recent
formal training on current stenographic technologies.
| 6 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
INCOME STATEMENTS
Looking at business challenges, those who are not
certified are more likely to feel like they’re not
keeping up with the demands of the marketplace.
While credentialed and non-credentialed reporters
are relatively equally likely to juggle issues such as
work/life balance, getting paid in a timely fashion, and
time management, non-credentialed reporters report
that they find it more challenging to keep their skills
fresh, find steady work, find quality work, and keep
up with technology than their counterparts who have
earned at least the RPR certification.
Among the most interesting findings of the survey
was new information regarding freelancers’ income.
Data from all respondents indicate that 8 percent of
freelancers earn less than $30,000; 22 percent earn
between $30,000 and $50,000; 27 percent earn
between $50,000 and $75,000; 20 percent earn
between $75,000 and $100,000; 12 percent earn
between $100,000 and $125,000; and 11 percent
earn more than $125,000 (percentages were
rounded). Boiled down to its most basic findings,
about three-quarters of the freelance segment earn
less than six figures and less than one-quarter of
freelancers earn more than $100,000 annually.
FREELANCER ANNUAL INCOME
8%
22%
27%
20%
12%
11%
Less than
$30,000
$30,000 $50,000
$50,000 $75,000
$75,000 $100,000
$100,000 $125,000
More than
$125,000
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 7 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
Of particular note is the impact that certification has
on personal annual income. In general, freelancers
who earn more than $100,000 annually represent
approximately 23 percent of the population. However, among those who hold Registered Professional
Reporter certification, almost 30 percent earn more
than $100,000 per year. This is significant when
compared to those who hold no certifications
(national- or state-issued), a segment of freelancers
in which only 9 percent of respondents earn
$100,000 or more per year. Simply put, according to
the survey, freelancers make more money if they are
certified.
Another way to look at the certified vs. noncertified
numbers is where the majority of respondents
fall in terms of their income brackets. Among
noncertified reporters, more than 60 percent of
WITH RPR
WITH RMR
6%
17%
25%
22%
15%
14%
Less than
$30,000
$30,000 $50,000
$50,000 $75,000
$75,000 $100,000
$100,000 $125,000
More than
$125,000
2%
Less than
$30,000
WITH CRR
1%
3%
Less than
$30,000
$30,000 $50,000
10%
22%
22%
18%
26%
$30,000 $50,000
$50,000 $75,000
$75,000 $100,000
$100,000 $125,000
More than
$125,000
NO CERTIFICATIONS
13%
28%
23%
30%
17%
34%
29%
11%
7%
$50,000 $75,000
$75,000 $100,000
$100,000 $125,000
More than
$125,000
Less than
$30,000
$30,000 $50,000
$50,000 $75,000
$75,000 $100,000
$100,000 $125,000
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 8 |
3%
More than
$125,000
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
FREELANCER SENTIMENT
TOWARD FIRMS
reporters fall into an income range of $30,000 to
$75,000. Among reporters who hold RPR
certification, more than 60 percent of respondents
fall into the ranges encompassing $50,000 to
$125,000. The majority of RPRs report higher income
ranges than the majority of noncertified participants,
who report lower annual incomes.
Though market conditions can vary by region, the
2013-2014 Industry Outlook Report by Ducker
Worldwide, commissioned by NCRA, anticipates
a nationwide shortage of reporters by 2018 due
to pending retirements and increased demand for
stenographic court reporting services. While most
firms have not yet reported severe shortages of
reporters, some anecdotal evidence shows that there
is moderate competition in local markets for the most
skilled reporters.
Expanding the snapshot to include additional certifications — namely the Registered Merit Reporter,
Registered Diplomate Reporter, and the Certified
Realtime Reporter — the income discrepancies are
even greater when compared to reporters who hold
no certifications. Among the respondents in these
categories (the aforementioned certifications
combined with no certification reporters), less than
2 percent of those who earn more than $125,000
annually do so with no certifications. That means, in
turn, that 98 percent who fall into the highest income
bracket within the data hold at least one of the four
highlighted certifications. To take a look at a mid-level
income bracket, among those who earn $75,000
to $100,000 in this specific pool of respondents,
nearly 95 percent are certified and 5 percent are not.
Among those who earn $50,000 to $75,000 annually, nearly 87 percent are certified in one of these
programs and 13 percent hold no certifications.
As more reporters near retirement and additional
demand enters the marketplace from the legal arena
and to provide accessibility (refer to the 2013-2014
Industry Outlook Report Executive Summary for
details at crTakeNote.com), court reporting firms will
need to be aware of what influences freelancers’
decisions to work with one firm over another. If skilled
reporters are in high demand, knowing freelancers’
trigger points will ensure that busy firms will continue
to be able to meet their clients’ needs.
On the whole, freelancers indicate that the single
most important factor that influences their decision to
work with a particular court reporting firm is the way
that the firm owners and schedulers treat them and
consider their needs as an individual. In other words,
the relationship matters. On a scale of 1 to 5 (with
1 being not at all important and 5 being very
important), the way freelancers are treated by owners
and schedulers ranks a weighted average of 3.7. This
factor is followed by the types of jobs the freelancer
is generally assigned by a firm (which ranks 3.59 out
of 5) and the pay being offered by the firm (which
ranks 3.58 out of 5).
As the charts on page 8 show, the more specialized
a freelancer’s certifications, the more likely he or she
is to fall into a higher income bracket. Compared
to RPRs, those who hold the RMR, RDR, or CRR are
more likely to indicate higher levels of annual income.
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 9 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
One freelancer notes that working with a particular
court reporting firm is more enjoyable “when I’m
treated as a true independent contractor and there’s
no animosity or hard feelings if I have to turn down an
assignment because of my availability.”
The factors least likely to influence a freelancer’s
decision to work with a firm is whether the firm offers
ancillary benefits such as providing health or other
types of insurance, coverage of expenses, or paying
membership to state or national court reporting associations. Also ranking low on influential factors is the
amount of time the assignment is projected to take.
Another respondent notes that ideal firms “give me
work on the days I put in for work, as opposed to
other firms who expect me to be available daily no
matter what or pressure me to work on scheduled
days ‘off.’”
There are certain factors that are ranked fairly equally
between male and female freelancers. These include
the frequency of jobs assigned by the firm, the projected amount of time the assignment is supposed to
take, and the pay being offered by the firm.
INFLUENCING FACTORS
However, female respondents are more likely than
men to assign a slightly higher weight to the length
of time it takes to get paid, the way they are treated
by the owners and/or schedulers in terms of considering their individual needs, whether the job fits into
their schedules, and the reputation of the firm among
other court reporters. The only category in which
male respondents assigned a higher weight than
females is the firm offering ancillary benefits, such as
health insurance and coverage of other expenses.
MOST SIGNIFICANT
1. The way the
freelancer is
treated by the
owner and/or
scheduler
One freelancer notes that an ideal firm is “small
enough that the owner and scheduler know me both
as a person and as a reporter. They give me jobs that
challenge and interest me, and they always have my
back.”
2. The types of jobs
generally assigned
by the firm to the
freelancer
3. The pay being offered by
the firm
LEAST SIGNIFICANT
Ancillary benefits
The amount of time the job is
projected to take
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 10 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
pride
one
care
flexibility
easy
quality
full
best
weeks
new
level
quick
people
fact
firm
kind
two
life
base
time
field
schedule
hard
bill
tech
FREELANCERS AND REALTIME
jobs
of freelancers overall, and less than 10 percent do not
offer realtime at all, compared to 13 percent of the
freelancer population. Even at the entry-level
certification, reporters are clearly more confident
writing realtime, particularly for end users, than the
freelance population as a whole.
When it comes to realtime services, half of
freelancers responded that they write realtime for
themselves only. Thirty-seven percent of respondents
offer realtime regularly for clients, and 13 percent
indicate that they do not offer realtime at all. It will be
particularly interesting to watch the trend of these
responses over time. Future iterations of this
freelancer survey may provide insight into the
degree to which realtime continues to grow,
especially in terms of reporters providing realtime
to clients, or whether market penetration has reached
a point of tapering off.
Experience level can also have a marked impact on
a freelancer’s comfort level with providing realtime
services. As highlighted by the Writing realtime by
experience chart on page 12, freelancers are more
comfortable providing realtime for end users as they
gain experience in the profession. About 8 percent of
those with less than five years of experience are
providing realtime to clients, compared to more than
20 percent who provide realtime for clients with a
few additional years of experience. Those who have
16 years or more of experience in the field hit their
stride with realtime, as more than 40 percent offer
The freelancers who hold RPR certification, it should
be noted, are more likely to offer realtime services for
their clients. Among RPRs, 44 percent of respondents
provide realtime to clients, compared to 37 percent
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
turn
appreciates
owner
able
give
work
well
fill
friendly
staff
person
pick
ease
high
support
way
opposed
treat
fast
type
professional
good
pay
fair
law
| 11 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
realtime to their clients, and this continues to be the
case with those who have up to and beyond 25 years
of experience.
While the percentage of reporters who do not offer
any realtime services is generally even among male
and female reporters, there is a significant difference
between men and women who do write realtime.
While only 37 percent of female respondents indicate
that they write realtime for clients, 48 percent of male
clients share that they do so.
Another distinction worth noting pertaining to realtime is that male reporters are more often providing
realtime to clients than their female counterparts.
WRITING REALTIME BY EXPERIENCE
100%
90%
80%
71%
70%
60%
58%
60%
50%
WRITING REALTIME FOR
PERSONAL USE ONLY
40%
30%
48%
46%
44%
42%
41%
43%
35%
20%
24%
WRITING REALTIME FOR CLIENTS
10%
7%
Experience
5 YEARS
10 YEARS
15 YEARS
20 YEARS
25 YEARS
WRITING REALTIME BY GENDER
MEN
WOMEN
51%
FOR MYSELF ONLY
VS
FOR MYSELF ONLY
48% FOR CLIENTS
37% FOR CLIENTS
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
37%
| 12 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
PICK OF THE LITTER
job,” she says, adding that she works hard to maintain
good communication with all of her freelancers.
“We meet quarterly to have either training, or happy
hour, or a team-building event. I remember their
birthdays and have an annual Christmas party.
At Thanksgiving, I give them a gift card to a local
grocery store. If my reporter has had a challenging
case or they are having personal problems, I work
with them. If I have an issue with my reporter’s work,
I sit them down and discuss what has happened and
what changes need to take place to correct the issue.
I have an open door policy. If you need to talk to me,
I’m available. If we get an email complimenting a
reporter, we share it with all of our reporters.”
The firms who have embraced the reporters-areclients mentality have found that there’s a fair amount
of loyalty that is guaranteed when the approach is
one of a symbiotic relationship. Indeed, many firms
see the value in fostering a healthy partnership
throughout the supply chain. “We see the successful servicing of the legal industry as a win-win-win
partnership among the court reporters, staff, and
management,” says Deborah L. Dusseljee, RPR, CBC,
CCP, president of CompuScripts, Inc., a Columbia,
S.C.-based firm.
Freelancers indicate that they understand and recognize that firms sometimes have a difficult task of
covering all of the day’s jobs. Many of the verbatim
responses in the survey on this topic suggest that a
respectful approach is what keeps them loyal to a
particular firm or firms. “They are very considerate
of the reporters as people who have a life outside of
work and are very accommodating to any problems
with health, scheduling conflicts, etc.,” notes one
freelancer, adding that this particular firm is “very appreciative of the work we do, and they let us know it.”
This approach, it seems, resonates with the vast
majority of freelancers in today’s market. “The owner
is a court reporter, so she understands the needs,
limitations, etc., that we have,” one freelancer shares.
“The scheduler is very accommodating and understanding of my schedule, and I always get paid on
time.”
Clearly, much of the firm/reporter relationship boils
down to just that: the quality of the relationship.
“I feel I’m extremely lucky to work with the reporters
that I do. They are talented, hard-working, and smart,”
says Jeffries Peters. “It’s important to be all of those
things, but they are also kind. Frankly, if you’re not
kind, the others don’t matter.”
There are, of course, firms that embrace the reporters’ perspective and see the successful execution of
scheduling as a key component of a healthy relationship between the company and its freelancers.
“I work around their schedules,” says Melody Jeffries
Peters, RDR, CRR, of Jeffries Court Reporting, Inc.,
based in Missoula, Mont. “Some firms would also say
that, but we stand on our head, stack BBs, and gargle
peanut butter to make sure they don’t miss their
child’s concert.”
Jan Schmitt, RPR, of Schmitt Reporting & Video, Inc.,
a firm serving the Oregon and Washington markets,
notes that loyalty is a two-way street and that she has
built a firm with a strong focus on nurturing the firm/
reporter relationship. “If I promise them a job that day,
I do everything in my power to ensure they have a
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 13 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
ADDENDUM A: Freelancer verbatim responses
More than 1,200 freelancers participated in the survey, resulting in thousands of open-ended responses in a variety of
categories. Below is a randomly selected sample of responses submitted in connection with the highlighted questions.
WHAT ATTRIBUTES DOES THE COURT
REPORTING FIRM HAVE THAT YOU
MOST ENJOY WORKING WITH?
“Pays every two weeks, page rate is higher than
most.”
“Flexibility, quick pay, back up the reporter if there is
a problem.”
“Reporter support. Ease of turning in files and
exhibits. Not being treated as a warm body … I
appreciate when a firm is looking for me personally to
work with their clients.”
“Having a local calendar person who knows me and
my schedule and is willing to work with me and not
keep me on standby.”
“Not micromanaging me and letting me be the
professional I am.”
“I am given a lot of opportunity to further my growth.
Great people to work with.”
“Transparency in billing, compared to other firms that
take more than their fair share.”
“They pay every week on billables and offer benefits.”
“Flexibility, guarantee of payment.”
“Having an owner that used to be or is still a reporter.”
“Competent staff, nice offices near my home.”
“Consistency of good assignments and good
communication with the person assigning the jobs.”
“My boss works with my schedule. I have children,
and they come first.”
“The firm stays on top of technology and is always
forward-looking for new or lost opportunities. They
also provide a great amount of support, which allows
me to concentrate solely on reporting.”
“Quality of work, timely payment.”
“Respect for the reporter, pay turnaround, pay rate.”
“Honesty, integrity, and lack of PITA forms to fill out.”
“Getting paid in a reasonable time.”
“A positive, upbeat atmosphere. Fairness in making
job assignments.”
“Organized, freely communicates info about the
client’s preferences, case info, job dictionaries, etc.,
considerate and professional clients, fair dealing.”
“Beautiful offices, great jobs, great clients, immediate
pay, professional office support.”
“Good reputation with reporters (for treating fairly) and
attorneys (for quality work produced by firm reporters).”
“Fast invoice turnaround and pleasant personalities.”
“Number one is a reporter-owned firm. The owners
have deep roots in the local community and the court
reporting community on a national and local level.
They value their reporters and office staff. They take
pride in our work product, treat us respectfully as
equals, and pay us promptly and honestly.”
“It’s owned by working reporters who respect other
reporters.”
“Fair assignment — no priority.”
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 14 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
“My boss started paying us weekly!”
“Lack of willingness to communicate job availability,
slow pay, treating reporters like commodity instead of
valued business partners.”
“Pleasant to work with, little paperwork, easy-to-use
Web portal for job submission.”
WHAT ARE THE GREATEST CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR CAREER?
WHAT WOULD PREVENT YOU FROM
TAKING A JOB WITH A PARTICULAR
FIRM?
“Inexperienced attorneys/judges, fast speakers,
mumblers.”
“Not being paid until the firm gets paid.”
“Developing professional assertiveness and
communication skills with clients (charming, helpful,
professional, but still able to stick up for yourself).”
“Not being paid as agreed, not being treated kindly.”
“Rudeness, short turnaround time, and not being paid
for it.”
“The major challenge I face is the day-to-day speed
talkers who have no regard for the record. A major
challenge is when people continuously speak over
one another, and you try to remedy the situation, and
it persists.”
“If I have difficulty getting paid by them for previous
assignments, I stop taking jobs from that agency.”
“If the firm has a bad reputation among other court
reporters or the legal community.”
“Finding steady work is a huge problem. Sometimes
half of this job is just finding a job for the next day.
It keeps my focus away from the important things,
like my skills and timely turning in of transcripts. It’s
a shame that this industry cannot figure out how to
keep skilled, hard-working reporters busy, or as busy
as they need/can handle.”
“Slow pay, low pay, jobs with a long commute.”
“Difficulty in communication. Lack of courtesy. Late
payment.”
“Did not like/trust those in charge. Firms with bad
reputations in the reporting community.”
“The cost of staying current with technology.”
“Consistently watching our page rates go lower with
all the national firms competing for business. Being
asked to fill out more and more useless paperwork
when handing in assignments.”
“Control freak ownership and management.”
“Waiting to pay me until the attorney pays them. I’ll
never do that again. When a firm you’ve never heard
of contacts you for a very last-minute job — I would
never accept those. There has to be time for some
background.”
“Lowering of pay to reporters, shortening of our
turn-around time without being paid expedited fees,
removal of hourly pay, getting paid in full on a timely
basis, dealing with schedulers putting out email
blasts for jobs instead of personally offering jobs.
Firms not being owned by court reporters, thereby
treating reporters like a commodity instead of valued
business partner necessary to their success.”
“Back track record for payment, low wages, rude support staff, being offered only substandard jobs.”
“Location, frequency of work, pay, politics within the
firm, negative impressions from word of mouth.”
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 15 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
ADDENDUM B: Firm owners weigh in
As part of this project, JCR staff reached out to a selection of court reporting firms for insights. Below are responses to a
series of questions presented to participating firms.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE SURE A
FREELANCER TAKES YOUR JOBS OVER
THE JOBS OFFERED BY THE FIRM
DOWN THE STREET?
WHAT CAN A FREELANCER DO TO
MAKE SURE THAT YOU CALL HIM/
HER OVER AND OVER WITH THE BEST
JOBS?
“I have nine reporters working for me. Some do take
outside work if we are slow. My reporters have been
with me from the beginning and always put my office
first. We have great clients, a very helpful and effective office staff that makes my reporters look good
especially on expedited jobs, and I pay my reporters
every two weeks whether I have been paid by the
clients or not.”
“Be early to jobs, ready to report, flexible, staying
on top of their software updates, realtime capable,
attend NCRA and/or [state] conferences and software
workshops.”
“Complete your work on a timely basis with the accuracy each transcript deserves. Go to a job dressed
appropriately and behave in a professional manner.
Answer your phone when it rings. We get a number of last-minute call-ins. If you don’t answer your
phone, you won’t get the job. Also, be understanding
that you may occasionally have to take a job that isn’t
the ‘best’ job.”
“I treat my reporters with the upmost respect. I am
understanding if a mistake is made and help guide
them to understand how to avoid that mistake in the
future. I treat them as I would want to be treated,
nothing more, nothing less.”
“Always maintain a positive attitude, obtain advanced
certifications, produce quality work, and exhibit excellent customer service skills.”
“Our reputation creates a desire on the part of
reporters to work for our firm. We have a great base
of clients. We are very open and honest with our
reporters, provide quality work, good communication,
needed support, and always pay them on time. We
treat them with respect.”
“It’s all about their availability and capabilities. We
have a scheduling tool … and reporters who work
with us basically write their own meal ticket by stating
their availability to us; their experience and certifications; their ability/willingness to do realtime and
rough drafts; they tell us what technology they’re
using, including whether they have things such as
extra laptops and iPads for client use; they tell us
how far they will travel, both with and without their
mileage being paid; they set any restrictions on the
hours/type of work they will accept; we ask if they
will be on call for us and/or pressed into action at
the last minute — these types of things. Then we use
all of this self-provided data to match the reporter
with the available assignments each day. Of course,
the reporters who are most widely available, most
experienced and competent, and who are willing to
“I offer in-house TRAIN sessions, lunch-and-learns,
and other teaching/learning opportunities for the
reporters affiliated with my firm. I offer social opportunities and look for ways to say thank you to them
(at least once a year but more often if I can), with
gifts/dinners/lunches. I bring up-to-date information
to them and keep them abreast of current trends
through emails. I’m a sounding board and a reference
for them. Reporters in my firm get paid only when I
get paid. If their paychecks are lean for any reason,
I smooth out the paycheck and advance them some
money by paying some invoices ahead (without them
even knowing it so they can keep their dignity and
not have to ask).”
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 16 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden
2015 FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT
take whatever we throw at them are most likely to be
the most highly compensated each year, for obvious
reasons.”
as for those who aspire to higher certifications. So
we’ve created a culture of reporter excellence, which,
when coupled with our well-established dedication to
reporter ethics, has led to an impeccable reputation
within our local reporting community.”
“Be consistent with prompt turnaround and demonstrate exceptional attention to detail.”
“My staff is amazing. They are friendly, efficient, and
they care about our reporters and the work they do.
We are very supportive of our reporters. They are
a part of a team that cares about them and tries to
advance their careers. We provide good work and we
have some very nice clients.”
“Write realtime. Be loyal. Don’t complain. Turn your
accurate work in early. Fill out forms correctly. Arrive
30 minutes early to every job. Stay up to date with
software and education. Pass your RPR. Be available
and certified to take any kind of job we have set up.
Be alert to our clients’ needs. Communicate.”
WHY DO YOU THINK FREELANCERS
LIKE WORKING WITH YOUR FIRM?
“Familiar with our clients, comfortable, knowing we
are fair when assigning jobs. They love my staff, and
it is like an extended family.”
“We are told we are easy to work with. We are fortunate in that freelancers we work with often recommend 1) other freelancers contact us to inquire about
working with us, or 2) give us the names of other
freelancers who might like to work with us. If there
is a transcript formatting or grammatical question,
we assist the court reporter in attaining a solution. If
there is an ethical concern related to an attorney’s
request, we assist the reporter in responding to that
request. We attempt to match reporters with the
types of assignments they prefer to report. Once
we invoice, our reporters receive reports for what is
owed to them for various assignments. When we pay
our reporters, they receive a similar report listing for
what they are being paid.”
“We have spent literally decades building our now
uniquely strong brand of excellence and ethics. Because we so deeply appreciate and honor reporters
with certifications, highly certified reporters want to
be on our team. And because we have so many highly certified reporters on our team, it became a draw
for other highly certified reporters to join us … as well
© 2015, National Court Reporters Association
| 17 |
Reproduction & non-approved distribution strictly forbidden