In recent years, the demand for quick and accurate legal transcription services has increased dramatically, especially during court proceedings. If your legal team is still using video or voice recording in court trials, it’s now high time to revolutionize.
Why is there such a prevalence? How can legal transcription help businesses and attorneys with proceedings in the courtroom? Today’s blog post would explain what you may need to know relating to legal transcription services.
What Is The Difference Among Legal Transcription Services, Dictation, and Court Reporting?
Legal transcription services refer to the service of generating written court documentation from film and/or voice files. A legal transcriptionist will need to listen to your audio or video sources and then type down the spoken language, producing a legally prepared document.
And legal transcription is not the same as dictation or court reporting although they are frequently used interchangeably.
Dictation is when you talk into a recorder or to someone who records what you’re speaking. You can revisit a dictation by reviewing the notes or listening to the tape after you’ve finished it.
Meanwhile, the act of translating spoken words into written documents is known as transcription. This task can be done manually (by a specialist) or automatically (by voice-recognition tools).
Similarly, legal transcription, and court reporting also usually confuse “not-in-the-know” people. Though there are numerous similarities between the two, several important variances can be seen. Here are some typical distinctions:
A court reporter often works in a courthouse, first. Transcribing court proceedings, mostly with the use of machines (known as stenographs), is his or her main duty. And whenever a judge is seated, he or she should be there, too.
But within the legal system, those who provide legal transcription services may perform their duty under certain circumstances. Most of the time, they tend to work with video or audio footage.
For example, they may spend their day working on pre-recorded legal meetings, witness interviews, jury instructions, 911 calls, and wiretaps, to name but a few.
5 Reasons Why Legal Transcription Services Are Important
#1. Best Format for The Lawyers
Undoubtedly, attorneys are the first ones to benefit from legal transcription. But in what ways?
First, once the legal transcribed script is properly done, it can help lawyers manage their information flow and timing effortlessly. Imagine you don’t have to check who’s talking at a specific time with the aid of timestamps and speaker recognition.
At the end of the day, the process of developing a case or spotting discrepancies in witness testimony will be smoother and more effective.
Also, as lawyers, it’s common for you to use several video or audio clips as evidence. Yet you may also be sick of unclear messages or misunderstandings when the tapes are played in court. But this will no longer be an issue with the aid of legal transcription services.
To ensure that everyone understands the same content from the testimony and lower the chance of misinterpretation, you could also give a transcription to jurors and other participants in a trial or hearing in addition to the tape. Amazing, right?
#2. Great Layout for Law Students
Legal transcription services can be useful for lawyers-to-be, too.
Studying legal transcribed scripts can benefit those unable to participate in actual trials in real life. Thanks to transcriptions, they can still know what has been said or done as well as the outcome despite not being there. Unlike the boring examples given in classes or manuals, this allows them to observe real-life cases.
By enabling law students to engage with the topic more deeply, transcriptions aid them in their research and practice. They can use transcribed scripts to review before tests, learn how to design queries, and get ready for courtroom proceedings.
#3. Precision, Clarity, and Structured Organization
Court hearings, witness statements, and other legal events can be accurately and precisely transcribed using professional legal transcription services.
Lawyers can be better equipped to present their claims when they have an accurate account of the events and witness testimony.
For lawyers working on challenging cases, like those involving many eyewitnesses or conflicting police statements, legal transcriptions are extremely useful. Using legal transcription services, lawyers and their clients can gain a comprehensive understanding of the facts and supporting documentation. This way, they can have a higher chance of succeeding in court trials.
#4. Easier Access and Shareable
Legal transcription will help create timestamps and allow for the creation of annotations in transcribed scripts. This way, you can locate and highlight the piece of information or part of speech you need more quickly than with an audio tape.
Also, while a video or audio footage may be hard to access or share across platforms, a written legal transcript can be kept using various file types and devices. Therefore, tracking and storing information is easier. You can refer to the digital copy on your laptop or cloud database. Or if you need the paper version, it’s possible to print it and then keep it in your filing cabinet.
Another advantage is that you can share the information with your coworkers, the judges, other lawyers, and even your clients’ family members. Hearings are frequently stressful for the accused’s family members. Not everyone is permitted to attend the trial, but they can still know what occurred or was said during the trial by reading legal transcriptions.
Finally, a written legal transcription does not require speakers, earphones, or a silent setting.
#5. Defendant Appeals
Here’s a thing: a court may not give the judgment that the lawyers and their clients expect.
But you know what, legal transcription can significantly impact the outcome of a defendant’s appeal. A lawyer can do research and come up with new approaches for an appeal with the use of written documentation and court transcripts from the initial trial.
To be more specific, lawyers would be able to keep track of all the information presented in court, highlight key ideas, and easily find them later on. In this way, they can raise inquiries and get through all of the most crucial information in a case.
Work With GTE Media for Professional Legal Transcript Services
Legal transcription services can undoubtedly confer numerous benefits to legal firms, lawyers, and your clients.
Looking for a partner to help you deal with transcribing legal footage? Here at GTE Media, we offer high-quality transcription, fast turnaround time, and budget-saving pricing.
Talk to our experts in the industry today for free 1-1 consultancy!
