Salary, etc

[Janice]

It is very early in CR school for me; however, in thinking ahead I am trying to find out how reporters get paid. I know that there are salaried positions in courts; are there page rates paid on top, and if so what approx. are the rates? Also, for freelancers, I would imagine the agency takes a cut, but would the pay rate be hourly for an appearance plus the page rate for a transcript? And when you say 0-1, what does that mean? I've also seen the terms monthlies/dailies; not sure what this is about either. Thanks very much for your assistance.

[Cathryn Bauer]

Good questions. I have to say, though, that your school instructors should be answering this for you. But wild applause to you for seeking out the info on your own since it apparently isn't being discussed at your school.

What's important is for you to find out what's the norm in the county or other jurisdiction where you work. I suspect the practices vary. I pro tem (work on an as-needed basis) in a county where the reporters are paid separately for the transcripts, e.g., above and beyond the salary. Like the official reporters, I receive a salary. Transcripts ordered by the court are paid at one rate. Transcripts ordered by the parties are charged at a rate that the reporters have agreed upon. We collect the money directly from the parties. Standard operating procedure where I work is that we provide an estimate of the total cost with a statement that transcription (actually editing and assembling the transcript) will begin once the check or money order is received. As far as I know, if a party is in pro per (representing themselves), everyone insists on cash or a money order as payment rather than a check.

As far as depos, the norm here in the SF Bay Area is a half-day or daily fee.

O&1 means "original and one copy." The copy is charged at a lower rate than the original, usually about a third of the price of the original. Normally, the attorney noticing the depo pays the original as well as the appearance fees. Once in a while, though, the parties agree to split the costs of the depo down the middle, at least in these parts.

Dailies are transcripts that are produced before the beginning of the next day. Say you have a trial or depo, and the transcript is needed before the start of the next day of proceedings. That's a daily. The norm is for more than one reporter to report a daily. They are very pressure-filled and very lucrative, usually double the normal page rate. I am not familiar with the term monthlies.

I strongly recommend purchase of Mary H. Knapp's court reporting handbook. It will answer many of these questions. Here's one link; you might be able to get a better deal elsewhere IMO. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Court-Reporters-Handbook-3rd/dp/0135...

[Kyung]

It depends where you are. The rates are all over the board. If you want to know page rates in your area, ask fellow reporters, then call the agencies. I also did a blog on page rates and things that I wish I knew my first year out. Here's the page rate one.

http://www.csrnation.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1736041%3ABlogPost%3...

[Phil Stillerman]

Janice
I can only speak for NYS, altho, from what I understand, the trend is more or less the same in other states that have official reporters. In NYS the officials, in addition to their annual salary are permitted to charge per-page rates. The rates vary, depending on who is ordering the transcript and what the prevelant fees are in the geographic area. If the transcript is ordered by assigned counsel, or an agency counsel (department of social services, district attorney, public defender) the rates are prescribed by OCA directive. (OCA=Office of Court Administration). OCA has recently capped the private rates despite our unions efforts to the contrary. For private (non-agency) for an original (only) it's $4.30 per page; for 1&1 it's $5.30 pp. That's for regular delivery (within 30 days of pre-payment). For expedited (delivery within 7 days) it's $5.40 orig; $6.50 for 1&1. For daily copy it's $6.50 and $7.75. The agency rates are $3.15 and $4.15; $4.25 and $5.35; $5.25 and $6.75.
All that is for officials. For that type of income you're considered self-employed and have to or should file quarterly state and federal incomes taxes. Taxes are not deducted.

Since I've always been an official I can't comment on the free-lance rates.

O & 1 means an original and one copy.

Monthlies and dailies are the turn-around time/delivery times mentioned above. When I get a transcript request I send out an estimated bill that says when I receive the estimate I'll start transcribing. So, the time starts to run from when I get the estimate. I usually over-estimate and refund the difference, if any.

Hope this gives you some direction and answers your questions.

[Janice]

Thanks to all of you who responded. I am learning at home so there are no other students/teachers with whom to interact in person and to ask these questions. I appreciate your time and great information; I wll purchase Mary Knapp's book.