After many years operating the first digital court reporting in the English Speaking world, the actual measurements of court reporting and court reporters boils down to three concepts.
Cost * Speed of delivery * Accuracy
All other finer nuanced considerations still end up being in one of the three categories.
Thus the inquiry naturally follows as to which is the MOST IMPORTANT, and while some who have not considered the question prior may take a while, experienced court reporters know instantly that really only one thing counts “ACCURACY”
And the analysis is quite simple. What good is a cheap transcript if it’s inaccurate? Or a quickly produced transcript that’s inaccurate? The answer is: WORTH NOTHING.
Because the lawyers can’t rely on it. They might attempt to impeach a wtiness at a trial with a deposition transcript, and the witness says “I did NOT say that at my deposition”
This is part of the reason why Digital Reporting is superior and thus why one noted blogger in the field stresses the obvious, that Digital reporting is VERIFIABLE, a word he likes to use a lot.
But isn’t that PART OF ACCURACY in my broader categories.
Anyway, always find the most accurate reporter you can. Physical appearance, cost and turnaround time really don’t matter at all. You may have a trial where speedy delivery IS required, but the good ACCURATE REPORTERS have used the same resourcefulness they use to be accurate to institute systems to serve lawyers quickly too. That is part of the game for ALL reporters. The lawyer wants it YESTERDAY.