Army of One

[Lisa Migliore Black]

Some of you may have seen reference to my idea about a shared marketing campaign in posts on Depoman. I post it here again to reach the widest audience possible. I want your help.

Army of One, that's a marketing campaign that I've always liked. It is effective. I usually have to stiffle some emotions when it comes across my TV. My father was a Marine, not in the Army, but he taught me well about things such as personal integrity, responsibility, accountability, and taking pride in your work.

A little over a year ago, Army of One came to have a new meaning for me. My Depoman family probably knows of what I speak, but I won't go into detail here again for brevity's sake. If you've read any of my posts, you know my thoughts on gifting, non-competes, etc. I considered myself part of an Army of Two.

The saga has continued on over the last year and a half. I've seen evidence online of other people who were an Army of One--their charity in helping me gain knowledge makes me eternally grateful. It's come from all types of sources--forums, NCRA, individual reporters, firm owners, my state association... This sharing of knowledge empowered me and gave me confidence.

I have been campaigning in my area to educate the bar on the pitfalls to gifting in our legal arena for quite some time now. Problem is, this isn't the only problem I face, WE face. And while my Army of One approach has been successful in small doses, I want an Army of Thousands to tackle our problems. As independent reporters and small business owners, we can't match dollar for dollar the large advertising budgets that the large corporate-owned firms have, but our strength is our numbers. We can outscream the corporations by utilizing our attorney contact to educate the bar.

To this end, I have designed a flyer that touches on a number of topics: unethical gifting, the dangers of ER, illegal contracting, the importance of hiring certified reporters and adherence to a Code of Ethics. This flyer can be easily and economically printed by individual reporters and firms on the equipment we already utilize for our transcripts. It can be printed in color or black and white from a PDF file. Educational pieces that expand on the issues touched on on the graphics page can be printed on the back side, and the messages we choose to include can be changed out very easily. Maybe gifting isn't a problem in your area, but contracting is. Maybe ER is your problem. I think the design has wide appeal to address a number of problems.

As I said in my recent article in the JCR (maybe you missed it, it was short:), the flyer can do the talking for you if you are timid. If you're a big mouth like me, when the attorneys ask questions, I'm grateful for the "face time" and the opportunity to discuss my issues. What's nice about distributing it at a deposition is that it can be placed on the table with your business card, unintrusively. The reality of it is, my clients don't need to hear my message. They've heard it a thousand times already. It's the copy attorney that I want to reach with my message. As I take down the testimony, usually after the very bored defending attorney has read his email on his Blackberry, I will see the attorney pick up my flyer and ACTUALLY READ IT.

If this cause is something that you can lend your good name to, I ask that you contact me at [e-mail]. You can see a sample of my flyer. If you like the design, I can personalize it with your company contact info on it. It is absolutely and totally free!

Help build an Army of Thousands. Share the idea with your local colleagues. Invite them to email me as well. Make me regret this with an overwhelming response!!!!!!!!!

Once you've viewed my sample or distributed a version of your own, let me know your feedback, your constructive criticism, your ideas.

(If you'd like to volunteer your writing talents to an educational piece, I'd love your help. I work free, but I work slow:) The gifting article is the first only because it was already in place and ready to go. I would ask, however, that any submissions be without author bylines. It's not that I don't want to give credit where credit is due, but I can foresee that some who would otherwise embrace the distribution of our combined message would be reluctant to distribute it with a competitor's name on it.)

[Norma Parrott]

Lisa,

I sent you a private e-mail. For some reason I am haing a problem in replying to the the discussions via multiply.

[Jill S. Driscoll]

I did read your article and thought it was terrific. I am very proud of you for what you are attempting to do and doing!!

[Lisa Migliore Black]

Thanks, Jill. Maybe when all of us little guys raise our pitchforks and torches, we can make a change in where our profession is heading. I, for one, think it terribly unfair that corporations can circumvent common sense ethics. Maybe this will add the pressure we need for voluntary compliance.

I'm also excited that NCRA's Ethics First will be hitting up the attorneys in print ads. I believe the more they hear about these kinds of issues, the less likely the attorneys are to believe whatever excuses some firms are offering for their bad behavior.

[Lisa Migliore Black]

Sample PDF of graphics

[Lisa Migliore Black]

Uploading the two PDFs has resulted in some undelivered mail, so I'll include the proposed back side of the graphics here for my ease in getting the information out to those who are interested in reading it. This is not new information as I've posted this same article before.

Additionally, I have volunteers that are editing it for content to make it relevant for the areas of Florida, Mass, Georgia, and Ohio. If your state is not listed, if you will provide the attorney rules and CR rules for your state, I can make those edits and save others that effort.

Look a Gifthorse in the Mouth:
The Pitfalls to Gifting and Ethical Obligations
The advice given in the "Don't look a gifthorse in the mouth" proverb is, when given a present, be grateful for your good fortune and don't look further to assess its value. This may not be sound advice in our legal arena.

Gifts and incentives designed to influence your decision on which firm to use for court reporting work are coming in all forms. You might wonder why your court reporter doesn't offer such incentives. The answer is simple: According to the state and national court reporting associations and the Kentucky Bar Association, Rules of the Supreme Court of Kentucky, such practices can be considered unethical, depending on the value of the gifts and the terms under which they are being offered.

The NCRA and KyCRA Code of Ethics state that court reporters must, "Refrain from giving, directly or indirectly, any gift, incentive, reward or anything of value to attorneys, clients, witnesses, insurance companies or any other persons or entities associated with the litigation, or to the representatives or agents of any of the foregoing, except for items that do not exceed $100 in the aggregate per recipient each year." This guideline has recently been updated to exclude any form of cash or point systems as acceptable gifts and also provides for a fair market valuation of the gifts being offered to further guide court reporters on how to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Justice simply can't be sold to the court reporter with the highest reward, incentive, or kickback for the work.

What's more, since the parties to the case are the ones who are ultimately paying the bills associated with such incentives received by attorneys and their staff, litigants are funding the bill for some vendors' marketing strategies. Whether a violation of our rules as court reporters or the rules governing attorneys, these practices can be detrimental for all involved.

Additionally, you should test how the gifting practices of your firm's vendors (including court reporters) apply to the Kentucky Bar Association Rules of the Supreme Court of Kentucky, Practice of Law, SCR 3.130(1. Conflict of Interest: A lawyer shall not accept compensation for representing a client from one other than the client unless such compensation is in accordance with an agreement between the client and the third
party or the client consents after consultation."

While non-lawyers are not subject to professional discipline, the lawyer for whom they work is responsible for ensuring that their conduct is compatible with their professional obligations. Many of these incentive programs target the staff that book depositions--$100 gift cards, iPods, Wii systems, points redeemable for limousine rides, etc. Some firms and many governmental agencies and state bar associations have a strict
Policy that prohibits gifting from vendors to protect their attorneys and staff.

In summary, examine how your actions may affect all parties involved in litigation: attorneys and their staff and court reporters.
We all need to work together to uphold the integrity of our court records.

[Lisa Migliore Black]

And a version for those reporters without initials behind your names, here is a version of the flyer that can highlight your membership with your state and national associations.

[Lisa Migliore Black]

Another sample flyer

[Lisa Migliore Black]

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