Tag: Atlanta court reporters

Anyone who follows football understands that the National Football League is the king of professional sports leagues in this part of the world.  This is a league that makes headlines for things that happen both on and off the field.  While we’re in the midst of a very exciting season that will most likely lead to a riveting level of competition in the playoffs, we were once again reminded of one of the more appalling stories that broke over the summer during the Thanksgiving weekend.  That story involved running back Ray Rice and his wife Janay.

By now, most if not all of us have seen the horrifying video of Janay Rice (then Janay Palmer) being struck in the elevator of a casino and falling to the ground unconscious.  The NFL claims that it did not see that video until after it had initially suspended Ray Rice for two games based on seeing the video of the aftermath of the blow.  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated after that second video was released it became clear that Ray Rice was not completely honest with him during their initial investigation and therefore he suspended Rice indefinitely.  That decision was taken to an arbitrator by the Rice camp, and late last week that arbitrator ruled that Ray Rice should be reinstated immediately.

An article discussing the arbitrator’s decision can be found here, and neither the article nor the wording of decision is kind to Mr. Goodell.  The arbitrator basically stated that she did not believe the account of the events during the disciplinary process that Goodell had provided for her and ruled in favor of Ray Rice.  While all of this has been happening, the NFL has come forth with a new policy that states that a player involved with domestic violence will be suspended for six games.  A second situation can lead to a lifetime ban from the NFL.  Not only did this policy not apply to Rice since it was not in place at the time, but the arbitrator ruled that the second punishment given to Rice was arbitrary and beyond the powers of the commissioner.

How This Could Have Been Avoided

One of the more overlooked facts of this terrible situation is that the NFL does not have a court reporter or stenographer present during these disciplinary hearings.  No one is sure why that’s the case, but not having a transcript of what was said during the NFL’s meeting with Rice may have led to many of the problems the NFL ultimately encountered.  Having a record will protect those involved and it will protect the process itself.  Failing to have a transcript will only lead to competing verbal statements and uncertainty that can be very costly.

If you are in a position where you handle disciplinary or any other types of hearings, you need to protect yourself and others involved in these processes with a court reporter.  To learn more about how this can be done, contact the Georgia court reporters at Elizabeth Gallo, LLC today.

Anyone who litigates for a living understands that the faster you can access accurate information, the better off you’re going to be most of the time.  As the world of technology continues to advance at a breakneck pace, apps are now the way to go for people who are also on the go.  Apps allow you to get into the files you need without having to sit down and log onto a laptop.  All you need is your handheld device and some sort of wireless connection, whether it’s an Internet connection or through a cell network.  The team at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC, understands this reality.  That’s why we have our own app available for a free download.

Our app has incorporated all of our information into one central location.  We have functionality available for anyone who works with us, including:

• Attorneys
• Legal secretaries
• Paralegals
• Court reporters
• Videographers
• Interpreters

Basically, anyone who has anything to do with a case we are handling as Georgia court reporters can use our app instantly.

Just a few examples of the tasks you can quickly accomplish with our app include:

• Checking your schedule
• Searching for your case files
• Looking through your transcripts
• Updating your contact information
• Checking on your invoices

You deserve to benefit from the investments we continue to make in technology, as we have always believed that you need to focus as much time on the core mission of your profession as possible.  Administrative tasks are sunken costs, and minimizing them will improve your bottom line and perhaps your results.

Why We Invest in Technology

As is the case with any type of massive innovation, there has been some pushback in the legal community with regards to technology’s place in the profession.  We understand that jumping into this world can be daunting in some respects, but rather than fear it, we embrace it.  No one who works with our Atlanta court reporters has to use our app, our online scheduling functionality or any of the other benefits we provide, but those who do have had positive experiences.

We approach our own work from the standpoint of constantly looking to lower our overhead.  Instead of keeping that savings for ourselves, we believe that it’s simply better to pass those lower costs onto our own clients.  If you would like to make use of our app, simply use your handheld device and search for our name.  The app is compatible with iOS, Android and Windows.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact our office at any time for prompt answers.

We have fully entered the Technology Age, and that means that we now do things electronically, remotely and instantaneously that we never would have thought possible 25 or 30 years ago.  It’s gotten to the point where we even take many of those things for granted despite the remarkable advancement that it took to be able to accomplish these tasks in this way.  Those of us who are old enough may remember the days when we would pick a Saturday or Sunday near the end of the month and sit down with our checkbooks, our bills, the envelopes and a stack of stamps to pay our monthly obligations.  That just doesn’t happen anymore for most of us.

Technology has changed every aspect of our lives, and as individuals we can either choose to accept and embrace this reality or run from it at our own peril.  The same choice exists in the business world, and that obviously includes those who work as Georgia court reporters.  Gone are the days when we would keep track of our appointments in our carry-along calendars and walk in to sit down and start typing, only to put together paper transcripts for use by the parties involved in a case.

The team at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC, has always been forward-looking and forward-thinking with regards to how we provide our service for our clients.  Technology is a good thing that only makes what we do better, faster and more efficient.  We incorporate technology into everything that we do, and that includes steps taken before we even get to work on a case.  Specifically, we provide litigators with the opportunity to schedule an Atlanta court reporter for depositions online.  You can find the link to the page that allows you to do this right here.

The ability to schedule depositions online is critically important for litigators for many reasons, including:

1. You have enough to do with preparing for the deposition.
2. You have enough to organize if you’re coming from out of town.
3. You don’t need to spend time trying to answer phone calls.
4. You can easily obtain a username and password from us to use a real-time calendar.
5. You can send all the information you need to provide for us at one time.

The practice of law is much the same as working as Georgia court reporters in that time is money, and the more efficient you are with administrative tasks the more time you’ll have to focus on your core competency.  We understand this necessity and the benefits that it provides.  If you would like to learn more about how we can help you manage your practice in this manner, all you need to do is contact us at any time.

Obviously, Atlanta court reporters compile a lot of documentation in every case they work on.  In the old days, meaning before the Internet, these documents could take up entire rooms and take hours if not longer to sift through if you ever needed information from an old case.  The choice for litigators in this situation was to either burn valuable billable time doing this themselves or to apportion resources such as staff members to do the work for them.  Either way, this was usually a sunken cost and not at all time well-spent.

The arrival of the Internet Age has made things a lot easier for litigators in terms of organizing and later finding evidence.  Despite the added efficiency brought about by the Internet and technology in general, there are still some pitfalls that people in the legal world have fallen into over the years.  One of those involves the use of a word-processing program such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect.  Which one do you use?  How do you protect your files?  How do you transfer them considering their size?

These are all valid concerns, and every problem that arises can do harm to a case’s progress.  That’s why the team at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC is moving to a format whereby all of our transcripts will be available via searchable PDF (Portable Document File) files.  Below are five reasons why we think this is going to provide a huge benefit to our clients.

1. Securable

When something is saved in PDF format, you can secure it such that changes cannot be made to it.  That ensures that the record you see has not been changed and that it’s accurate.

2. Compatible

We alluded to a problem above in that different operating systems tend to depend on different word processing programs.  That is not an issue with the PDF format, as these files will display and function properly in any environment.

3. Compressible

Have you ever tried to download or email a long Word document?  It’s simply not efficient.  You can compress PDF files and move them around easily.

4. Manageable

The newer types of PDF files in particular are extremely powerful.  You can do things like rearrange pages, redact information and make notes in the margins.  This obviously makes research or reviewing a deposition a lot easier.

5. Available

As stated above, it doesn’t matter what type of computer you have or what type of operating system you use, as PDF files will work.  You can also read PDF’s after you complete a simple and free download.

We haven’t even discussed the power of being able to search PDF files yet.  We are going to put this technology to use for our clients because the more time they save, the more overhead they avoid and the more prepared they are going to be for the next steps in their cases.  If you’d like to learn more about how we incorporate technology into our Atlanta court reporting services, contact the team at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC today.