Realtime versus Livenote

[Kyung]

For the longest time, I didn't realize there was a difference between realtime and Livenote. And if you already know the difference, then you can skip this blog and avoid my rantings, ravings, and ramblings.

Realtime is what we do. We provide realtime for ouselves and for the attorney. Realtime is hooking up your writer to your laptop and having the words come up In English. Realtime is hooking up the attorney to your realtime feed somehow via wireless or wire so that they can see the deposition or proceedings come up in English on their laptop.

But isn't Livenote the same? No, it's not. Livenote is the name of the software that the attorneys use to be able to read the feed from your computer. The attorneys could use Bridge or Caseview or any other number of software programs to read that feed. Each software has pros and cons of its own.

Well, why does everyone call it Livenote? In the past, Livenote used to be a separate company called Livenote Technologies. They've been around since 1985 providing this technology to attorneys and litigators in Britain. In 1994, Livenote, Inc., came to the United States. And the rest is history as they say. If you're one of those reporters who rue realtime, well, you can blame Livenote for bringing it to the U.S. So basically Livenote was on the cutting edge of realtime. But this is probably why everybody calles it Livenote bec. they introduced realtime to the U.S.

Well, what's the problem with calling it Livenote? There's not really a problem. But be aware that Livenote is no longer just a copmany that produces the Livenote software for attorneys and litigators. In September 2006, they were bought out by West, a subsidiary of Thomson group of companies, which is also affiliated with RealLegal who they acquired in 2005.

So? This means that any time an attorney calls up Livenote to find out about Livenote, they get routed to West, which is a court reporting firm in their own right. So every time you say Livenote, you're providing free advertisement for West, a potentially competing court reporting firm.

So whether you call it realtime or Livenote, be aware of why you're calling it realtime or Livenote and be knowledgeable about the ramfications.

[Lisa Moskowitz]

LOL, trust me, Bridge definitely works! It is a free software. You can download it from the Advantage Software website. You can carry it on a thumb drive and install it in minutes onto an attorney's computer. If the attorney's computer is locked down by their firm's IT department and they can't load any software, you can insert the thumb drive and run the program from the drive without installing it onto their computer. There is no cost to the attorney at all for any scenario.

[Debbie]

I don't have Eclipse so I don't know, but can you download Bridge onto any computer? Like the person talking about, downloading onto a thumb drive and then loading it onto the attorney's computer and it is no cost for them to run it and to keep it on their computer?

[Judy]

all you do is have the attorneys get online and then you can hook up that way

Kelli,

You can do that with Eclipse's Teleview program. I believe it also autorefreshes.

Judy

[Lisa Moskowitz]

Now, do you know that LiveNote offers that certification? It's offered to, quote, "any realtime reporter." On their website, LiveNote tells you that the CLR designation commands instant respect from attorneys, and increases reporters' professional value to the firms that employ them.

And exactly what is it to be "LiveNote certified"? Does it mean you are an excellent reporter, capable of passing the CRR or any equivalent realtime exam? Does it mean that LiveNote has somehow assessed your realtime skills and deemed you to be an excellent reporter worthy of such a lofty designation? YEAH, RIGHT! LiveNote certified means you have paid a ridiculously overpriced fee to LiveNote to attend an all-day seminar on how to hook up an attorney to the software and how the software works... all of which I already knew before wasting my money to attend the seminar. I was as LiveNote certified before I took the seminar as I was after I attended. It means nothing as far as your skills as a reporter are concerned which I'm sure is a HUGE misconception to any attorney who thinks he's getting something special if he's requesting a reporter solely because of their CLR designation. And don't get me started on the annual fee to keep such a prestigious group of letters after your name.
Scam! Scam! Scam!

[Anthony D. Frisolone]

Bravo, Maryann!!

I know in my court, when we say realtime we mean realtime, not LiveNote, CaseView, etc. It's interesting an interesting perspective from someone in your position. I have never thought of realtime in terms of the various browsers out there, I just thought of realtime as hooking up my judge, attorneys, etc., and going for it. I would ask the attorneys what they use just so I know what I'm looking at in case I have to troubleshoot something but that's as far as it went.

Anyway, my two cents; didn't know things were that contentious with LiveNote out there.

[Anthony D. Frisolone]

Also, there's CaseView II and CaseView Net which is produced by Stenograph. The difference is that CaseView II is free and comes with your Case CATalyst software, but is an older program; still works well, though.

CaseView Net is the newest realtime browser produced by Stenograph where the reporter pays a subscription fee for it (ugh!) but you can also make corrections on your laptop or computer and the transcript on the attorney's end will instantly refresh.

Don't forget about Summation, also. Never used it but have read literature on it and it seems to work well, also.

[Kyung]

Thanks for the comment. It really helps to know what it's like to use Livenote in the real world.

Also, people should be aware that depending on their software, they may be able to give the attorney a better transcript at the end of the day if they have give the attorney the realtime viewer that is compatible with the reporter's software.

Case in point, Bridge which is produced by Advantage Software will always produce a better transcript to the attorney bec. if you are on Eclipse. If you are on Eclipse and you go back in your transcript and make a correction, then it will correct the version on the attorney's laptop as well. So at the end of the day, the attorney will have a cleaner transcript, voila!!