Why do attorneys give reporters a hard time?

[Abda Laurent]

A common peeve among reporters in many forums is attorneys.  Why are attorneys harsh to reporters?  Doesn't law school teach respect and professionalism when requesting readbacks or when asked to slow down or repeat something?  Maybe the topic of court reporters isn't covered much in law school?  And why don't they like giving them breaks?  Aren't they hungry too? 

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

It's certainly a tragedy.  Luckily I work with a lot of high-end professional law firms and I don't have this problem. I think when you deal with the lower end ambulance chasers or not all that high-end work, you come across this problem, or maybe it's the younger attorneys that are the problem.  I demand lunch and there is no argument about it, so that seems to do the trick.

[Kellie Zollars]

Hi.  Wish I knew.  Kelli is right about higher end cases, though I've had my share where they think they will just plow through without any breaks.  
Court reporters are not covered in law school unless they're lucky enough to have a moot court with a reporter present.  
Law firms used to train new attorneys.  Now they just throw them to the wolves because there supposedly isn't the money there once was to spend training them.  
Then there are those attorneys who have always been jerks.  
Luckily there are some reporters who are presenting at bar association meetings and law firms to educate lawyers about what the role of the reporter is and how to take a more effective deposition (without offending the attorneys' sensibilities).   Most reporters speak up, but many don't because their court reporting firms don't back them up when attorneys call to complain.  I hope the current demand for reporters will start to bring back a more civilized workplace.  

[Lindsay Pinkham]

One reason is because we are women (most of us).  It's even harder when you're a very young woman.  I find now that I have gray hair, and looking around the table I see that most of the time the attorneys are young enough to be my children, I automatically command more respect.  But I'd hate to counsel all of you out there to wait 30 years, so figure out a way to project confidence, and be polite, but don't take sh*t!

[Chelsea Adams]

It's so sad to hear about how reporters are treated sometimes! There have been posts here about how to handle when an attorney speaks too quickly because they don't like being told to slow down. But that helps the record come out cleaner, which should be what they want! Craziness.

[Kerry F]

It is not my experience at all that higher end work takes lunch or slow down or are any more respectful of the reporter.  Not at all.  Most all day jobs I take want to go through lunch or order in sandwiches and keep working.  I just always bring my lunch in case I only get 20 minutes to eat.  On that, I do insist upon.