How to Choose a Neutral Meeting Venue

So how do you choose a neutral meeting venue that is perfect for your case discussion or
other types of litigation? Think about these questions when selecting the venue for your
upcoming meeting:

● Is the venue big enough to fit all your participants?
● Is there a provision of food at the venue?
● Does the venue fully support your technological requirements?
● Is the location of the venue conveniently accessible?
● Is there a provision for logistics storage?
● Will your meeting materials be prepared beforehand or at the location?
The following details are just a few of the benefits of selecting a neutral meeting space
for a case discussion or other types of litigation.

● Minimal Accommodation Distractions
Hosting a meeting comes with a variety of tasks such as preparing a room and
putting together snacks and drinks. You will have fewer of these responsibilities
when you meet somewhere else, enabling you to put more attention towards the
litigation itself.

● Fewer Interruptions

The breaks that you have during a case discussion should allow you to clear your
head and take a few minutes to regroup. If you’re meeting at your home, there is
a greater likelihood of having family members trying to talk to you during these
breaks about topics that may have nothing to do with the litigation at hand. While
it is possible to get interrupted at any location, there will be fewer interruptions
from staff when you’re away from the office.

● No Expectation to Provide Copy Services

Many people agree to host a meeting without realizing that it will mean providing
copy services to the attending counsel. This may not seem like a big deal, but
secretaries and assistants have better things to do with their time. Having the
meeting in a neutral location minimizes these expectations.

● Ease of Commuting

The meeting venue, when conveniently located for your participants and within a
fair distance helps avoid excessive travel and saves the attendance from the
undue pains of commuting.

● Good Customer Service

It helps to make sure that the venue is responsive to your needs before the event.
Having sufficient support staffs on location when the event is taking place will
ensure that you and your attendees’ demands will be responded in a timely
manner.

The post Professional Meeting Venues Add Value to Case Discussion appeared first on Select Court Reporters.

A unique way to incorporate low-impact physical activity into your workday is to hold meetings on the go. A number of employers are encouraging this (when it’s feasible). If you’re part of a small meeting that consists of three or four people, recommend a “walking meeting.” Not only is this creative, different and fun, but it gets you and your co-workers out of your chairs and away from your desks. Walking meetings are a great way to encourage camaraderie while getting some extra steps in and refreshing your brain for the rest of the day. Good blood flow leads to good ideas!

If getting away from your desk is nearly impossible, we all understand time crunches and managing multiple projects, same with tight deadlines, consider investing in a standing desk. Standing desks have become a rising trend in office settings. It is a way to get you or your employees up on your feet without sacrificing productivity. Many are easily adjustable, so that you can alternate sitting and standing throughout the day. If standing while working is not an option or you are in a long deposition, you can get physical activity in while remaining seated. Simply lift your leg, straighten it out, hold for 5-10 seconds, and then lower it back down without letting your foot touch the floor. Do this simple exercise at least 15 times per leg, a few times per day.

When it comes to physical activity, it is easy to forget about your hands and your wrists. They are one of the most common workplace ailments – especially if you’re typing for 8+ hours like many court reporters. The best thing you can do for your hands and wrists is stretching them out regularly. This improves range of motion, and reduces the risk of carpal tunnel and can even protect you from breaks if you fall. An effective and easy stretching exercise is to make a gentle fist, wrapping your thumb across your fingers. Hold the fist for 30 – 60 seconds, and then release and spread your fingers. Repeat with both hands at least four times per day.

We understand that being active when you have a demanding desk job can be challenging. However, there are many ways to implement simple exercises into your daily work routine. Once you start the habit of being more active during your work day, your body and mind will thank you.

The post How To Stay Active While Working From Home appeared first on Select Court Reporters.

How Serious Are You About Data Security?
Your court reporting firm should be able to provide you with peace of mind when it comes to ensuring that your vital information is fully protected. When it comes to procedures and protocols, make sure that everything is in place, and their programs are effective.

Are You Serious About Meeting Your Client’s Needs?
Court reporting firms must be dedicated not only to data security but also to finding solutions that meet each client’s unique needs. Talk to your court reporting firm to determine what they deliver, and ask for a personalized plan to make sure you get everything you need.

How Do You Manage Quality?
It’s essential that your court reporting firm informs you about how they effectively organize and manage every facet, from your billing to your data security. This quality assurance will make sure that all of your confidential information is completely protected.

How Do You Manage Your Confidential Information?
The court reporting firm should follow the highest standards of confidentiality, and should never allow that your confidential information is stored in local work areas. They should use data encryption and store information in certified data-centers to protect it from hacks and breaches.

Is Your Data Security Program Trustworthy?
Make sure that the firm uses secure technology at every possible level. Data encryption protects information and allows it to be stored and distributed safely without fear of it being leaked or corrupted during any of the processes. From deposition to client retrieval, your information should remain safe.

It is vital for the court reporting firms to reassure the clients that their information is a top priority. You should know that the information your court reporting firm provides is secure and fully protected at all times. It’s their responsibility to give you that peace of mind and reassurance.

At Select Court Reporters, we take care of all of these aspects to ensure the highest standards of confidentiality for all our clients. We work hard every day to earn your trust and to make sure that all your confidential information is protected.

The post 5 Questions Your Court Reporting Firm Should Answer appeared first on Select Court Reporters.

The legal industry is no exception to the time = money concept. In fact, it is one of the most time sensitive industries. Court reporters must produce accurate transcripts of depositions and trials in a timely manner. More often than not, they are producing a transcript with a very quick turn around time. Their ability to do this depends on their ability to know who is speaking, read lips of soft spoken talkers, mark key sections of the transcript, highlight code text, and make notes to reference later all while the trial or deposition is happening. Some reporters provide real time, which allows legal parties to have instant access to a live transcript feed as the reporter is writing it. However, this is not 100% cleaned up, and may not include punctuation that the reporter goes in and adds later. Individuals who are not on site utilize real time reporting to stream from their location, which saves them both time and money on traveling.

The misconception that court reporters will soon be replaced stems from the notion that voice-recording technologies would cost less than having to hire a court reporter. However, this is simply not accurate. Law firms would not only have to pay for the software, but they would also have to have it hardwired and purchase storage for large digital files. This could cost anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000. When you utilize voice recording technology, you must also have an IT professional available to resolve any malfunctions that may occur. When you add up all the costs associated with the voice recording system, it is more accurate, affordable, and feasible to simply hire a professional court reporter.

The post Can and Will Technology Replace Court Reporters? appeared first on Select Court Reporters.

Every attorney needs a blog.

We bet you’ve heard this phrase before…

While it may seem like a frivolous addition to a crowded weekly schedule, blogging is an important element for your firm. Blogs allow attorneys to connect with potential clients in important ways.

For example, if you are a construction litigator and you blog about things like latent defects or other construction items that homeowners should keep an eye out for, you not only provide vital information to an unsuspecting public, you also give them something much greater: peace of mind.

This should be a big goal on your list of marketing milestones.

Creating peace of mind for clients is an attorney’s job. They want to know that you are on their side and that you’ll protect them from potential legal fallout. If you can provide this service before a person becomes your client, you get a giant head start on your competitors.  By giving your prospects advice via your firm’s blog, you place yourself in that highly coveted column labeled TRUSTWORTHY.

That is the ultimate point of a blog. It’s not just about networking with clients and colleagues, it’s about building trust.

If you’re feeling lost on how to go about establishing a blog for your firm, check out this great post on building a blog in 2018!

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Select Court Reporters provides exemplary court reporting services to attorneys and law firms throughout Central Florida, including but not limited to Winter Springs, Oviedo, Winter Park, Maitland, Orlando, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Longwood, and Kissimmee. We are currently expanding our client base in Seminole and Orange Counties and would love to connect with you. Contact us today to discuss your needs.
Phone: (407) 977 – 7725
Email: selectcourtreporters@gmail.com
“Select Court Reporters you can count on!”

The post Here’s Why Every Attorney Needs a Blog appeared first on Select Court Reporters.

Here in Florida, attorneys are required to meet certain requirements where it concerns their continuing legal education.  The Florida Bar sets hourly obligations that attorneys must meet.  Specifically, over a 3-year period, each member of the Florida Bar must complete 33 hours of continuing legal education, five of which must be in the area of ethics, professionalism, substance abuse, mental illness awareness, or bias elimination, and three hours in technology.

While this might seem like an easy feat, there are times that attorneys fall behind, especially if they have a heavy caseload.  That’s why putting together a schedule for your continuing educational pursuits is a good way to stay on top of your obligations.

Begin by prioritizing your CLE requirements.  Which will take longest and be the most intensive?  Make a list of those items first.  From there, you can move on to the less intensive items, and so on, and so forth.

Second, compare your CLE list with your daily or weekly task list.  Find ways to implement your required educational hours into your task list by scheduling them as a part of your day.  Get your staff involved—have them set you up the same way they would for your regular tasks and appointments.

Third, keep a record of all your required CLE obligations.  Mark off items as you complete them and have your assistant or a staff member submit them to the Florida Bar.  Be sure to save all of your receipts and certificates of completion to a file.  Back it up along with your other confidential legal documents so you always have proof that you have met your obligations.

Finally, stay positive!  Continuing legal education requirements often overwhelm attorneys, particularly if they are already inundated with a busy work schedule.  Keeping an open mind, setting up an easy and productive schedule, and maintaining a positive outlook can help diminish overwhelming feelings.  It will also increase focus and help familiarize you with your limitations.

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The post Continuing Legal Education: Schedule It! appeared first on Select Court Reporters.

Ever walk into your law firm and notice a lull has overtaken the room?  Your employees seem almost lackadaisical and uninterested, their motivation at an all-time low?

Employee motivation can be a difficult hurdle to overcome.  Making someone interested in their job is not something you should have to do, but it is something you should try to cultivate.  It’s like caring for a garden.  While you might not be in charge of how your plants will grow or when, you can motivate growth through watering, fertilizing, pruning, and aerating their soil.

Apply the same metaphor to how you manage your legal staff:

• Work closely with them every day—learn to understand how they operate and how it can be utilized to promote change for the better;

• Encourage them—let them know that you are always available if they should have questions or if they need assistance with a particular duty. Also, keep them apprised of their abilities to bolster their growth;

• Help them find ways to improve their job performance—by being honest with your employees and pointing out areas where they could improve in a constructive way, you can help them work through areas of difficulty and better themselves as an employee and a person;

• Praise them for their good work! Anytime an employee or staff member receives praise, it boosts their confidence and helps establish a strong and steady sense of self.  You want poised and self-assured employees who can perform their duties well.  Praise is a great way to continually reinforce their abilities and talents!

This process will not only promote motivation and productivity, it will also help you become a more understanding and empathetic attorney, a talent that will improve how you work with clients and how you manage yourself in the courtroom.

Bottom line, showing an interest in your firm and its operation is the first step towards motivating your staff.  It is also a wonderful way to inspire unity, a key ingredient to a successful law firm.  When everyone is on the same page, they all know what their duties are and work together to get them done!

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The post Employee Motivation: A Formula for Success! appeared first on Select Court Reporters.

If you are a busy litigator in the Orlando area, specifically located in downtown Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Clermont, Kissimmee, Altamonte Springs, Winter Springs, Oviedo, or Apopka, and you’re looking for a quick and easy way to discover exemplary legal solutions and services, Select Court Reporters has got you covered!  We have compiled a list of links to Central Florida’s top support businesses and firms that will help you make beneficial connections in your industry while eliminating the time spent searching for answers.

Add the links below to your legal toolkit.  Be sure to bookmark this page and return whenever you need any of the services listed here!

Happy hunting!

Court Reporting / Court Reporters / Court Reporting Firms

Select Court Reporters

390 N. Orange Avenue

Ste. 2300

Orlando, FL 32801

407- 977- 7725

selectcourtreporters@gmail.com

Select Court Reporters, Inc. was established by Susan M. Katz in Orlando, Florida in 1981. Over the years Select has developed a loyal clientele based on our reputation for excellence while catering to each client’s individual needs and requirements. Customer service and satisfaction is our number one priority.

Contact us today to discuss your legal support needs and to establish a relationship that will benefit the both of us!

Copying / Legal Document Solutions

Orlando Legal Document Services

745 N. Thornton Avenue

Orlando, FL 32803

407- 244- 5521

olc@orlandolegalcopies.com

Orlando Legal Document Services’ core focus is to simplify your document management needs. They have spent decades perfecting their services and continue to improve today. The team balances speed with accuracy to complete jobs quickly and with no rush charges. OLDS prides themselves on their ability to meet impossible deadlines without sacrificing quality or increasing cost.

Give them a call!

Legal Research Solutions / Caselaw Support

Westlaw Edge

1-844-209-1086

Powered by state-of-the-art artificial intelligence built upon more than 100 years of attorney-edited annotations, Westlaw Edge allows you to deliver the fastest answers and gain the most valuable insights, providing a clear strategic advantage.  Get superior predictive research suggestions as you start typing your legal query in the global search bar.

WestSearch Plus applies state-of-the-art AI technologies to help you quickly address legal questions for thousands of legal topics without needing to drill into a results list.

Contact them today!

Business Courier / Delivery

Business Express

2435 Lee Road

Winter Park, FL 32789

4707- 622 -5228

augie@businessexpresscourier.com

Since 1995, Business Express has provided professional time-sensitive delivery service for all your pickup and delivery needs. Whether it’s for rush messenger service, urgent parts delivery, or statewide distribution, they have the resources and experience to deliver on time.

Business Express offers on-demand courier service, scheduled delivery, route service, and programs that are tailored to meet our customers’ individual delivery requirements. Their drivers are professional & courteous, and they will carefully deliver your shipment in the same condition they received it.

Business Express serves all industries including Legal, Pharmaceutical, Auto Parts, Construction, Product Distribution, Critical Part Delivery, Printing, Paper and Freight.

Contact them for a trust-worthy courier who will treat your documents and packages with care.

Web-Based Document Solutions / Legal Document Hosting

JURIS LTS

1950 Lee Rd, Suite 125
Winter Park, FL 32789

1.800.227.9708
407.960.7995

JURIS LTS will provide you with repository services for those large cases in which there are voluminous documents to be stored. Cases that require large amounts of space and can cause system problems for your IT to handle are best managed by an external database.

With JURIS LTS, it is now possible to store and manage your documents in The Cloud.  JURIS LTS will load, host, and back up all of your data, so that your documents are readily available to you and your legal team anywhere. These documents will be secured and stored using the highest encryption available. In the same manner, at JURIS LTS, the confidentiality of your documents is our main priority. They have got you covered.

At JURIS LTS, they offer various platforms for the review and management of your case document. Some of these platforms include, but are not limited to, Summation, Catalyst, and Relativity.

Need these types of solutions?  Give them a call!

We at Select Court Reporters truly hope that this list of legal solutions will help you and your staff in your casework.  Remember, we are always available to assist you with hearings, depositions, or discovery matters.

Simply give us a call—we’d love to discuss how we can help you!

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Select Court Reporters provides exemplary court reporting services to attorneys and law firms throughout Central Florida, including but not limited to Winter Springs, Oviedo, Winter Park, Maitland, Orlando, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, and Kissimmee. We are currently expanding our client base in Seminole and Orange Counties and would love to connect with you. Contact us today to discuss your needs.

Phone: (407) 977 – 7725

Email: selectcourtreporters@gmail.com

“Select Court Reporters you can count on!”

The post One Stop Shop: Legal Solutions for Busy Attorneys appeared first on Select Court Reporters.

Like the world, there are seasons in business that will affect your law firm and how it operates.

As the Autumnal Equinox approaches, we at Select Court Reporters got to thinking about seasonal change and how you can use it to create and manage a business strategy that serves your firm and its clientele.

Each season can represent a particular phase in your business strategy:

• Spring is all about new projects and new beginnings.

• Summer is about activity, networking, and promoting projects and ideas.

• Fall is all about harvesting the benefits of your work and stockpiling ideas for next year.

• Winter is a time to focus on internal operations and developing plans for the year to come.

Nature, it seems, can provide you with great inspiration.

If you align your business strategies with the “reason for the season,” you will develop an easy cycle that will serve your business in a natural and effortless way.

Select Court Reporters has included a cheatsheet to help you get started. Use it to create an outline focused on what you can do during each season to develop a strategy that serves you, your firm, your employees, and most importantly, your clients.

Download Your Free Cheatsheets

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Select Court Reporters provides exemplary court reporting services to attorneys and law firms throughout Central Florida, including but not limited to Winter Springs, Oviedo, Winter Park, Maitland, Orlando, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, and Kissimmee. We are currently expanding our client base in Seminole and Orange Counties and would love to connect with you. Contact us today to discuss your needs.

Phone: (407) 977 – 7725

Email: selectcourtreporters@gmail.com

“Select Court Reporters you can count on!”

The post Changing Seasons: Preparing Your Business for Harvest appeared first on Select Court Reporters.

Budgeting is not easy.

Neither is managing a law firm.

Yet, both are integral to maintaining a successful legal business with a healthy bottom line.  If you ever find yourself struggling with budgets and management, Select Court Reporters has some good news for you: we did the research and found 3 systems you can use today to keep your finances and your logistics under control.

Ready to learn??

Here’s what we dug up for you:

1.  SCORO

Scoro helps to plan your team’s time and projects, manage your clients, send invoices, and keep track of your business results.

• Manage everything about a project on one page, including time spent and billed, planned tasks and meetings, invoices and expenses, comments and files.
• Allocate billable and non-billable work and see how your team is doing, in real time.
• Create budgets for projects and compare these against actual results.
• Manage your project portfolio by configurable statuses (e.g. in progress, completed) and tags (e.g. type, department, market, etc).

2.  CENTAGE

Driver-based, collaborative budgets and plans have never been easier to build and manipulate. Intuitive ‘self-serve’ reports and dashboards show you how well your business is currently performing, while automated forecasts help you accurately predict future financial health.

• Get Up and Running in Days. Budget Maestro by Centage guides you through loading the essential data that describes your business – all based on real language prompts, wizards, preformatted templates and menus. No programming or formulas are necessary.
• Deliver Accurate Plans & Financial Forecasts. Budget Maestro utilizes built-in financial intelligence and business rules – based on your assumptions and workflow – to ensure continuous accuracy. Working from a centralized database eliminates data disparities and any changes to estimates or assumptions are automatically updated, so you are always working with a single version of the truth.
• Automatically Generate Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statements. Budget Maestro synchronizes accurate forward-looking Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statements to your actuals and your underlying budget. Drilling down into the data lets you understand risks, variances and opportunities, and initiate faster changes in response to actual and predicted results.
• Test Unlimited “What If” Scenarios. Budget Maestro effortlessly handles business changes – large or small. Unlimited versions of the budget let you quickly test the impact of different scenarios. Seeing the resulting future revenue and cash flow takes the guesswork out of crucial decisions.
• Collaboration with the Entire Team. With Budget Maestro, all your budget contributors are involved from the start. Business managers can work on their own role-based view of the budget, and everything rolls up to a consolidated model. Individual teams get to test the impact of any potential action, while your business budget remains accurate and up-to-date.

3.  TAGETIK

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Companies trust CCH Tagetik corporate performance management software to lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Its corporate budgeting software streamlines and modernizes budgeting & planning processes, shortening close and consolidation cycles. And, its corporate finance software and corporate management software solutions offer automated reporting, analytics & disclosure reporting from a single source. Available on the cloud for more cost savings and flexibility, it’s Cloud Without Compromise.

• Budgeting and Software. CCH Tagetik enterprise budgeting software gives you the ease of Excel, the flexibility of the cloud, and the power of built-in financial intelligence. Get more from your budget planning software with CCH Tagetik.
• Modeling and Forecasting. Using CCH Tagetik software, you can easily assess different business scenarios, instantly see the impact on financial performance, and generate rolling forecasts.
• Financial Management Reporting. Tagetik’s unique collaboration compatibility with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint connects the narrative to numbers across your Annual Reports, Budget Books, Board Books, Earnings Presentations, and more.
• Technology and Integrations. Unified CCH Tagetik software solution has built-in-tools such as CCH Tagetik Excel add in or CCH Tagetik SAP – which connect to underlying systems or applications to simplify operations and processes.  You spend less time managing systems and more time having them work for

There are so many great budgeting and management options out there!  Simplify your work life and start managing your finances now.  Not only will it make the actual process easier, it will bring you peace of mind, and that, my friend, is truly priceless…

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The post Balanced Budget: 3 Tools to Help You Manage Your Finances appeared first on Select Court Reporters.