Court Reporting's Biggest Problem Isn't Lack of Work... It's Lack of Reporters.
The number of U.S. court reporters has fallen approximately 21% over the past decade, while California says it needs 458 additional reporters.
Today's key developments
National shortage: The decline in reporters is increasingly affecting access to a reliable record of court proceedings.
California: The state's reporter shortage has contributed to courts turning toward electronic recording in certain civil proceedings. (CalMatters)
Texas: Denton County is recruiting a district court reporter at $158,126 annually. (GovernmentJobs)
Federal work: A new DOJ solicitation seeks grand-jury and deposition court-reporting services in Kentucky. (HigherGov)
AI technology: A legal CLE in Atlanta this week focused specifically on court reporting, digital reporting, advanced technology and AI. (Lexology)
Today's takeaway
The court-reporting profession isn't facing a demand problem.
It's facing a supply problem.
That shortage is accelerating the adoption of digital recording, digital reporting and AI-assisted workflows, but qualified human reporters remain highly valuable.