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Court Reporting May Be A Career To Consider

May 5th, 2011

Within the legal system, there are many different careers people can choose to follow that can be both stimulating and satisfying. Court reporting is actually one of those careers that is becoming more popular. There have been so many technology related advancements in the world today that a qualified person needs to be able to record the court proceedings correctly.

Creating a record of all the happenings in the courts such as testimonies and meetings by recording word by word transcripts of the proceedings is the duty of the reporter. They have to work in different environments such as civil and criminal case hearings, record witness accounts, arguments, business meetings etc. They help to communicate with the deaf and also make available recorded versions to judges and attorneys.

Many skills are needed to be successful in this occupation. Recording accuracy and speed is important. Good court reporters should not make spelling mistakes or leave out testimony. They need to have a typing speed of at least 200 words a minute. Thanks to new technology the pressure of the need for 100 percent accuracy has been alleviated.

Exceptional listening and concentration skills are also a requirement. A court reporter can be asked to read back extracts of the proceedings of a hearing or meeting. Therefore a clear and articulate speaking voice is necessary. Staying power is a good quality to have as proceedings can go on for lengthy periods of time.

Going to school and getting a diploma for exactly this career is more likely to help people get a job for this sooner. Some accredited and reputable schools have specific programs geared toward reporters for the courts. The typical amount of schooling for this degree is about one and a half years. Some schools call this career a steno typist and each has a different curriculum and time frame to complete the degree. Voice writers study for less than a year and when using electronics, that is learned through the job.

There are some shortcuts to this job and stenography is one type of doing this. This term refers to a machine that uses characters or symbols to record different things such as sounds, phrases, or words. This allows the person to not have to type out every letter of every word.

In steno typing, a series of keys are pressed at the same time to indicate certain sounds, words or phrases. These are translated to legal terminology later.The stenography course may be completed in eighteen months.

Other reporters may specialize in something called communications access real-time translation. They will use a computer connected to a steno type machine. As the symbols are typed on the machine, the computer transcribes them into text. This enables one to read what is being typed immediately. Electronic reporters learn their skills while doing the job. They do not need to partake in a full time study program.

The court systems are very important in civilization as it protects the people and preserves the rights of all. When thinking about careers, the different types of court reporters could be considered and what is all involved in court reporting. This will help in the decision of which career to choose.

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Court Reporters Are Very Well Trained Personnel

April 27th, 2011

Court reporters are probably an indispensable part of a justice system. Those men and women who might be interested in taking on this type of position would probably do well to delve into its specifics. The position will have to be trained for and for a person to fully understand the work one may need to undergo a particular type of certification.

The justice system has many different types of positions within it. Some are more well-known than others, such as lawyers, judges and officers and many other personnel that are often not seen by the general public. There are likely to be a lot of people in a justice system that many people who are outside of it may not know directly about.

However, there is also the person who is responsible for typing all of the words that are said in the process of a case. This woman or man is generally sitting in a chair at the front of the bench in the room and is usually sitting very still except for the movement of their hands. This person is likely to appear highly focused and may appear to be staring into space or looking down at their hands constantly.

Sometimes, one may notice that the person who is taking down the words of the proceeding may ask a person to repeat what was last said. It is not unusual for the writer to ask for clarity if some words were not heard by them clearly. Sometimes, this is done because more than one person was talking at the same time. During a proceeding participants are sometimes cautioned to speak one at a time and also to speak clearly so that the person writing can easily take down the information being verbalized.

The type that they use in which to take down the information and words of a case is written in a special shorthand. The shorthand is typed on a machine call a stenograph. This information will later have to be transcribed by them into a readable language for official use. These writing are referred to by many people after proceedings have concluded, as well.

The people who are doing the typing have probably learned the magnitude of their job. There is a certain amount of training that someone must sit through in the process of possibly receiving the job. The people who can make it through training probably have the best chance of acquiring a position at some point.

Some people have to pass a certification in order to be selected for a job. Many people hold these jobs for all of their lives and retire from them as well. If a person is good at the job they may find that the position has a lot of job security built into it.

Getting the opportunity to hold a job of this particular type of typist and transcriber is going to likely go to people who are willing to study the materials that pertain to it. If someone is not opposed to, sometimes, working long hours and staying concentrated on many things at one time they may be able to do the job of a stenographer. Within a judicial system there may be processes that are interesting to people who would make good court reporters new york.

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Expert witnesses lose their immunity

April 20th, 2011

Recently, expert witnesses lost their immunity from being sued in the British civil courts. The Supreme Court overturned a 400-year-old principle following a case where motorcyclist Paul Wynne Jones accused an expert witness of negligence after her testimony left him with diminished compensation for being hit by a car.

Mr Wynne Jones was hit by a drunk, uninsured, disqualified driver. His solicitors instructed consultant clinical psychologist Sue Kaney to prepare a report supporting his claim for damages. In her report, Ms Kaney’s stated that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The consultant psychiatrist for the defence team disagreed, claiming that his symptoms had been exaggerated.

As a result of this conflict, the judge ordered the two experts to prepare a joint statement, and Ms Kaney then signed a report which asserted that Mr Wynne Jones didn’t have PTSD and had lied about this. This was so detrimental to his claim that he was forced to accept a considerably lower sum than he was likely to have been awarded otherwise. As a result, he issued proceedings for negligence against Ms Kaney.

His case was dismissed by a High Court judge, citing a 2000 Court of Appeal decision that expert witnesses are entitled to immunity. Following this, the case was referred to a panel of seven Supreme Court justices due to the wider public implications. At this stage, the argument that expert witnesses would be deterred from providing their services if they were liable to be sued for breach of duty was rejected by a majority of 5 to 2.

As a result, expert witnesses can now be sued for breach of duty. However, the immunity of experts in defamation claims has been protected. The dissenters were Lord Hope and Lady Hale – they argued that this was an issue that fell within the remit of the Law Commission and that any reforms should come from Parliament, not the Supreme Court.

Get more information on medical negligence.


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Useful Information About Court Reporting

April 17th, 2011

In the formal context of courtrooms a dedicated individual busying themselves with court reporting is essential. These venues which decide the fates of the accused in society need to keep excellent, detailed records of absolutely every spoken utterance or gesticulations. Sessions are frequently returned to for getting information that was missed.

The stenographer needs to keep awake and steadily concentrate on the task at hand to handle the devices in their care. There can be no place for in-attention despite the tiring nature of court cases. Of top priority, they should have an intimate knowledge of how their tools of trade work.

A student in this field may choose to become expert in one of a few methods of transcribing speech, either live or recorded, into written documents. Once this has been done, they are regarded as an official record of meetings or hearings etc. The transcripts become the enduring records of these important events.

Three major techniques may be used by the reporters to ply their trade: doing voice writing, making digital records or using a machine to take shorthand. A person who makes use of a shorthand machine, they can maintain the speed that the events are unfolding in the courtroom, without skipping any words.

An individual, who opts to use devices to keep a digital record of the trial proceedings, will be able to later use it to confirm the accuracy of the transcript by using actual voice recordings. The last way to record information is by a voice writer that is equipped to play back every word uttered by anyone taking part in the court case verbatim.

Training for this type of work, starts off basically the same for everyone. They must become proficient English primarily, but also in medical and legal language. Having completed this stage, the next is decided by their choice of how to specialize. If they choose stenography, they may take close to four years to meet the required standards. If they decide to do voice writing, the doors will open for them inside of two years.

When the training is completed, individuals who are now official court reporters will be licensed. At this stage they are referred to as Certified Court Reporters (C. C. R.). From here on they will need to stay abreast of the technological developments linked to their careers and attend training courses. Unless they do they stand to lose their license.

There are a variety of official bodies that someone who intends to carry out their occupation may need to be aware of. They will need to join the organization(s) that are relevant to their chosen path within the realm of reporting. The different bodies will have different benchmarks that must be met before they are regarded as suitable. This could be, for example, being able to do a certain number of words per minute during proceedings.

As a general rule, all court reporting personnel have the obligation to be as accurate as possible in their transcriptions, to exclude any chance for double meanings or unclear meanings after the fact. A person who needs access to these records should, at any time, be able to obtain a complete and correct depiction of the courtroom activities.

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What Does A Paralegal Do For A Law Office These Days?

April 17th, 2011

What does a paralegal do? That’s a common question asked by those considering the legal profession as a career. The answer is very straight forward, but it depends on which industry they end up in. The easier question to answer is ‘what doesn’t a paralegal do’? Paralegals have much of the same responsibilities as the lawyers they work for. The scope of the work could be considered equal. There are three very distinct functions that a legal assistant cannot perform in their day to day dealings that deserve attention.

The most important thing to understand regarding paralegal work is that paralegals cannot give legal advice. This is very important and could land a paralegal in some very hot water if mistreated. Lawyers go through an extensive and specialized curriculum in law school designed to prepare them for giving legal advice in the real world. Paralegals do not benefit from this type of education when studying to become a paralegal. No paralegal job description should ever state that a paralegal will be expected to give legal advice as a part of the their responsibilities on the job.

Paralegals can’t represent clients in court under any circumstances. This is the same logic that paralegals cannot give legal advice; they aren’t qualified scholastically to do so. These paralegal limits are specifically imposed to protect the legal profession and the lawyers involved in it just as much as they are to protect the people who might be damaged from unqualified people trying to help them.

Lastly, legal assistants cannot negotiate or set fees of any kind. This is probably the most obvious point from a business perspective. As a lawyer your fees are your business and only you know how to keep your business running profitably. This is way outside the scope of a legal assistants ability.

Outside of these three major points, paralegals can draft documents, draw up certain contracts and perform extensive case research. What does a paralegal do? They do quite a bit of everything else that a lawyer would be expected to do. They play pivotal roles in thriving law offices and should always be considered a key asset to the profession.

What does a paralegal do that is different than a regular assistant? Read a paralegal job description on the web to see just how different or similar the tasks are from industry to industry. You might be surprised at what you find.


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What You Need To Know About A DUI

November 16th, 2010

If you find yourself in a position where you are being charged with a DUI or driving under the influence charge no matter if it is for alcohol or drugs there are things you should know. One thing to remember is that this is a serious offense with serious punishments. The following are the most important things to think about and remember.

One of the main things that has to be proven in any case involving driving under the influence is that you were in deed in a position where you were driving a car while being under the influence. There also has to be a blood alcohol test that is given and you must register above the legal limit for the state in which you are in. Another important fact that often confuses people is that the field sobriety test does not serve as a basis for the problems and that you do not have to take it.

There are many things that you could end up confused about when you are charged with being impaired and unable to drive. There is always the chance that your blood alcohol limit is above the legal limit but that you are not impaired or you could be impaired but have blood alcohol that is not above the limit. These are fine lines that need to be thought about when the tests are taken.

You should be aware of your right to request a blood test. A blood test is the most accurate test and you have the right but are often times not informed of that right. So make sure that you request to use your right if you really want to be able to make sure that you are getting the most accurate results in the tests.

One of the first consequences that you will suffer is a suspension of your drivers license. Keep in mind that there is not really going to be a chance for you to drive while you are awaiting your trial. In some circumstances you will be able to actually use a hardship license.

If you can get one of these special permits to drive then there are going to be a number of options for you to go special places including medical doctor appointments, work, activities for your children, or school. There is not going to be an opportunity to drive other places because if you get caught you could be in even more legal trouble. So it is important to only use the permit as it is stated.

There are many consequences that could be a result of a driving under the influence charge. These include that you might have to go through some type of rehabilitation, having to go to jail, fines, or even community service. Depending on the judge, prior offenses and a number of different things you will find that you could end up with any one of the above or a combination of them.

One way to keep yourself protected when you have been charged with a DUI is to make sure that you immediately hire an attorney to represent you. This is the person who is going to make sure that your personal rights are protected. Plus they will be able to help you get the most reduced sentencing possible.

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Criminal Defense Attorney Irwindale: What Is A Pyramid Scheme

November 15th, 2010

A criminal defense attorney Inglewood is completely critical since these are familiar with juggling the roughest and hard court cases. A pyramid scheme is really a fraudulent investing program that has unfortunately cost a lot of people globally their hard-earned savings. The idea guiding the pyramid system is straightforward and must be easy to identify; however, it is often presented to prospective investors in a disguised or somewhat modified form. For this reason, it is important to not just know how pyramid schemes work, but also to know the various size and shapes they can take. (A lot of investors do not understand how to figure out the level of risk their own individual investment portfolios should carry.)

The criminals guiding a pyramid plan may go to great measures to help make the system appear to be a legitimate multi-level marketing plan. But despite their claims to have legitimate products or services to offer, these fraudsters simply use cash coming in from fresh recruits to repay early stage investors. But eventually the pyramid will collapse. At some point the schemes get too large, the marketer cannot raise enough money from fresh investors to pay for earlier investors, and many people lose their cash.

Pyramid promoters seek out new victims almost anyplace – at work, at places of worship or temples, even by means of social organizations or clubs. They even lie in wait on social network Web sites as well as in online chat rooms. Folks involved in pyramids need to find more people to help keep the pyramid expanding, and they usually solicit family or friends to sign up. Since genuine businesses could also recruit among family and friends, it is important to be able to differentiate from a real and a phony opportunity to join the business.

The criminals who market pyramid schemes usually concentrate on getting newbies into the scheme. Without fail, pyramid schemes will eventually collapse because the gains rely on signing up new members to the scheme and, eventually, each and every scheme runs out of fresh recruits. The only real folks who may profit within a pyramid scheme are the people at the top of the pyramid. Worldwide, pyramid schemes affect millions of people and cause tens of billions of dollars in losses annually.

An illegal “pyramid scheme” is a kind of multi-level marketing in which the service or product is just of secondary value, or there may be no merchandise at all in the case of gifting or blessing frauds. To sign up, you have to pay some sort of initial investment which gives you the right to recruit other people into the company. For each person you bring into the company you get money, or additional bonuses or move nearer to your big pay day Consequently, your earning opportunity depends primarily on how many people you sign up, not simply how much merchandise is sold. Like multi level marketing, pyramid schemes depend on recruiting people to become distributors of a product or service. Like multi level marketing, the pyramid scam offers the opportunity to earn money by enrolling more recruits and by accomplishing certain levels of achievement. Just how to Protect Yourself From Pyramid Schemes? Of course, when you’re examining a possible business prospect, you will want to collect all the details you can regarding the multi level marketing company’s items and operations.

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How To Find A Good Car Accident Lawyer

November 13th, 2010

Accidents are inevitable. They can happen anytime. Either you were not cautious enough or the other person was not alert. Most of the accidents are not intentional. Violation of traffic norms or oversight could be the likely reasons. Whatever be the case, if you are involved in such an accident, then the most important thing in concern is to get out of any legal hassles involved. For this you will need a good car lawyer.

You have to do a lot of groundwork and research before setting out to meet the lawyer. He must have a good track record of dealing with cases involving car accidents. If a lawyer is experienced in the case, then you will also feel more confident. Ultimately you should be given value for your money. Usually one tends to think that the more they spend, they will get better service. This is not always the case. There are lawyers who want to make fast money and may eye wash you into believing them about their capabilities. There are some who are really dedicated and sincere and give value for your money. For them work is worship. Their intention is to assist you. They respect you as their client and want to strive for you good.

The whole idea here is to find a lawyer or a good car accident lawyer who will lead you to victory. Maybe you wan to claim for insurance and compensation. If the lawyer is good, then speedy justice is by your side. All the financial dealings will be completed in systematic manner and you will get back the amount of loss or damage that you incurred.

A good lawyer usually expects some amount of fee for their work initially. If the case is in your favor, only then would they charge the remaining amount as the actual fees. You as a client feel more confident and the lawyer on his side feels more obliged to do his duty well.

Family and friends can help you in finding a good car accident lawyer. A good option is the yellow pages from the telephone directory. One can find information online about lawyers who have dealt with car accident cases, their years of experience, their expertise level and contact details. Also one can find reviews from clients and other people who have worked with the lawyer. This will more or less give you a clear cut picture about the lawyer and his reputation. The next step will be to contact the lawyer and fix up an appointment to discuss your case. When you actually approach the lawyer and interact with him, you can then decide whether he could be the best person to deal with your car accident case.

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Criminal Defense Attorney Northridge: Understanding Securities Fraud

November 12th, 2010

Exactly What Does Securities Fraud Signify? It is a type of serious white-collar offense in which a company or person, such as a stockbroker, brokerage firm, corporation or investment bank, misrepresents data which investors utilize to make decisions. Securities Fraud may also be committed by independent individuals (for example by engaging in insider trading). The kinds of misrepresentation involved with this crime include providing bogus information, withholding crucial details, offering terrible advice, and offering or acting on inside information.

Do you believe you may have been a victim of investments fraud? What are your rights being an investor and just what responsibilities does your broker owe to you? How do you know if you have been defrauded by your stockbroker or investment consultant? Exactly what can you do about this, if you’ve been put through stockbroker scam? You will find information at this web site which could assist you in addressing these concerns as well as others which could happen in connection with improper investments and stockbroker/customer conflicts. Most investment losses are caused by market forces, developments and factors which may have nothing to do with investments scam. Broker agents don’t have a crystal ball and they’re not guarantors of investments. If your deficits have been caused by wrongful action or fraud, you ought to know because you might be able to do something about it and recover your losses.

Find out about your agent. Before you decide to commit learn if your broker or the brokerage firm with whom they’re connected have been the subject of stockbroker fraud claims, disciplinary measures, or regulatory action for securities fraud, investment fraudulence, the breach of the government securities laws. Find out if your broker or their brokerage firm been the subject of customer initiated, investment related stockbroker fraud grievances or securities settlement proceedings. Find out which brokerage firms your broker has been formerly associated, and whether these broker firms have been expelled or disciplined by securities regulators for investment fraud.

There are rules and legal guidelines written to protect investors. Securities regulators “police” the securities business and issue fines as well as suspensions. To recuperate their losses investors must file claims for retrieval. Statistics demonstrate that they’re far more likely to recover if they are represented by experienced attorneys. Since investors sign account papers at broker agent firms which usually contain binding settlement clauses, most claims versus broker agent companies must be resolved in securities arbitration rather than in court. Learn more about securities arbitration.

Some businesses pay the people who write online newsletters cash or investments to “tout” or advocate their stocks. While this isn’t illegal, the government securities laws require the newsletters to disclose who paid them, the total amount, and the type of payment. But many fraudsters fail to do so. Rather, they’ll lie regarding the payments they received, their independence, their so-called investigation, and their track records. Their newsletters masquerade as suppliers of impartial info, when in fact they are in a position to profit handsomely if they convince investors to buy or sell particular stocks.

Los Angeles Criminal defense lawyer from Rollins Law Group reacts to each and every customer’s situation for trial run. A criminal defense attorney Northridge is awfully fundamental simply because these are used to accepting the most difficult and complicated court cases.


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Criminal Defense Attorney Manhattan Beach: Defend Yourself From Identity Theft

November 12th, 2010

Identity theft is a kind of fraud or cheating of another person’s identity by which another person pretends to be someone else by assuming that person’s identity, typically to be able to access resources or obtain credit as well as other benefits in that person’s name. The sufferer of identity theft (here meaning the individual whose identity has been assumed by the actual identity thief) could experience undesirable consequences if he or she is kept responsible for the perpetrator’s actions. Businesses and individuals that are duped or defrauded by the identification thief can also experience adverse consequences and deficits, and to that extent are also victims.

The majority of us realize the risks but how to go about stopping identification theft is yet another issue. Sure we can sign up with among the credit monitoring companies which have sprung up over the last few years but what do they really do for their monthly fee and are we supposed to simply pay it for the rest of our lives? Besides, all credit overseeing does is warn you when somebody is trying to open a new line of credit in your name. They cannot do a thing about the criminal who’s online emptying the savings account you spent your lifetime trying to fill.

For example, identity fraudulence may happen when someone steals private information, opens charge card accounts using your own name without having permission, and charges products to those accounts. Conversely, identity fraud doesn’t happen when a charge card is simply stolen. Stealing a person’s credit card may be consumer fraud, but isn’t identity fraud. Identity fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Based on the Federal Trade Commission, identification fraud is easily the most popular kind of customer fraud. Do not fall prey to identity sham – learn how thieves steal identities, things you can do to reduce your own risk, and the features Identity Restoration (IDR) coverage offer through a lot of Insurance companies.

Identity theft can enter numerous parts of our lives. It calls for any instance where a person uses someone else’s identification documents or other identifiers to be able to impersonate that individual for whatever motive. According to a study, an estimated ten million individuals in America found out they were victims of identity theft in the last year. More properly titled identification fraud, your own identity might be stolen for someone to do these: monetary fraud, criminal actions, Computer as well as cyber crimes, organized crime, drug trafficking, alien smuggling as well as money laundering.

If you think that someone is using your identity dishonestly, report the criminal offense to a law enforcement agency. It isn’t always possible for agencies to investigate every case, but making an official “identity theft report” can enable you to resolve issues caused by the ID theft. The “identity theft report” must be a record that subjects the individual filing it to criminal penalties for providing false information. This is supposed to discourage people from filing fake reports to try and avoid having to pay legitimate debts, not to prevent genuine ID theft victims from reporting the crimes.

Los Angeles Criminal defense lawyer from Rollins Law Group reacts to whatever customer’s predicament for trial run. A criminal defense attorney Manhattan Beach is exceedingly important since they’re used to signing up with the trickiest and difficult cases.


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