There’s a classic puzzle in philosophy that you probably have heard before: if a tree falls in the forest but there’s nobody around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Let’s look at a modern retelling of that conundrum that may be a little more relevant to the life of an attorney today: If you score a spectacular win for your law firm, but you’re unable to publicize your triumph, will it help in getting you future clients and cases?
Professional success is personally rewarding for a lawyer, just as for any other professional; but there’s no advantage to career success if no one knows about your victories. Sure, your client will be happy, and you’ll have your own sense of achievement, but your success can and should be put to much better use: public acknowledgement.
As an attorney, you want to announce your successes widely and immediately, by:
- Posting case results on your website.
- Blogging about them.
- Sharing them on social media.
- Issuing a press release with a hope that it’ll be picked up by local (or even national) news media.
However, showcasing your success can be extremely difficult without an accurate, timely transcript of the case results. This is where the need for a skilled court reporter comes into play.
If You Don’t Have the Transcript, Did It Really Happen?
News reporters are professional doubters. Even your hometown newspaper and local television station will have a fact-checker on staff to verify the details that reporters get from their sources. Your successful case will be overlooked if you can’t substantiate the details—or, worse, if some of the details are incomplete or false.
In order to accurately spread news about your case’s outcome, you need access to the court record, and that record needs to be precise. The court reporter responsible for that record must be able to provide the following:
- Accuracy. When advertising your achievements in a case, it’s essential to get your facts straight—otherwise, it may seem you’re untrustworthy or that you’re embellishing the facts for your own gain. Neither of these is a good selling point for an attorney. Unfortunately, if the court reporter recorded information erroneously, you are the person who will appear deceitful when you quote the record for your own purposes. This is why a highly skilled court reporter is essential to guarantee accuracy and case facts.
- Efficiency. Accuracy is indeed essential to avoid embarrassment, but efficiency is what will guarantee the speed required to promote the case results (“Striking while the iron is hot,” as it were). Time is not your friend when it comes to publicizing a successful case. The more time that goes by, the less interest news reporters or potential clients will have. Information on how you won a case last week will be much more compelling than “breaking news” on a case you won two months ago. So, in addition to being accurate, your court reporter must also be able to file the case transcript quickly. The faster she completes it, the more time you have to get it out there while it’s still relevant enough to be engaging.
- Dependability. Whether you have high hopes for the outcome of a case or are hoping for a success story, you need to be able to depend on your court reporter to provide the information you need to promote the outcome. In fact, the dependability of your reporter will ultimately decide whether your success will attract new clients and enhance your reputation or whether your marketing (and your public visibility) will become a joke.
Don’t allow your success to fall to the wayside as a result of a poor transcript. Contact us today for more information on how to secure the information you need when you need it to get the most out of promoting your achievements. After all, this isn’t only your livelihood but also your reputation on the line.
