With the amount of work law firms handle each day, lawyers and other legal professionals need help, especially in transcribing audio and video files. They need legal transcription services, where professional transcribers specialize in legal transcription, which requires a different set of terminology that other transcription projects do not use.
What is legal transcription?
Legal transcription is a service where transcribers convert oral files, whether video or audio, into text format. Of course, most information today is in oral form. But for a legal firm, text documents are essential because paper files are easier to reproduce and distribute. Moreover, lawyers must present specific evidence, quotes, statements, etc., that are easier to locate in text format than in recordings.
Who needs legal transcription services?
As the term implies, the legal profession needs legal transcription services for clients, individuals, businesses, or organizations.
Specifically, legal transcription services are for law firms, attorneys, paralegals, court reporters, and other people who work in the legal profession. For the legal industry, it is vital to have word-for-word legal transcription to ensure that lawyers are presenting accurate information without any corrections, paraphrasing, or editing. The transcription is the precise representation of video or audio footage submitted as witness statements or evidence. Almost all legal activities are transcribed to be available to judges, juries, and lawyers. The transcription often becomes the means to ensure no room for misinterpretation when the video or audio file is played out in court.
Various types of legal transcription
The legal transcription services provider can specialize in one type of service or handle the different types of legal transcription.
- These documents are submitted when the case is still in its early stages. A pleading should be a formal written statement. The plaintiff or the defendant can submit it, or both to present the defense of their claim. The pleadings become the basis of the case.
- Summons and subpoenas. A summons is a legal document informing an individual that a case has been filed against them, and they need to appear in court at a given date and time. A subpoena is also a legal document requiring a person to testify or to appear in court to bring physical evidence that can be used in the case. Because of the hectic schedule of lawyers, summons and subpoenas are now often given to transcription services to perform note-taking services.
- Sworn statements. A sworn statement is a vital document that contains the facts the legal proceeding needs. Sworn statements are made instead of testimonies. Testimonies are fairer and can help in getting the truth. However, they are time-consuming, difficult to arrange, and expensive. On the other hand, a sworn statement can be created without a notary public present. A transcript is required when handling sworn statements and can be used as evidence in court if there are no testimonies.
Law firms also need transcription services for depositions that help in getting the facts about the case. They also transcribe interrogations (which are often recorded), court hearings, wiretaps and phone calls, and memorandums.
The legal profession handles various types of materials that often require legal transcription. In addition, law firms and law enforcement agencies require transcripts they can file and access quickly, as it is a challenge to find the exact video or audio clip without spending time looking for it.