Victoria Simonyak | Digital Court Reporter, EchoNote Software Developer

Tell us a little about your company or service.
EchoNote is a Mac and Windows court reporting and transcription platform offering live and offline transcription, audio-synced editing, Smart Summaries, and transcript production tools. Created by a mother-daughter team with firsthand experience across the legal industry, EchoNote was built to simplify workflows and provide a better alternative to existing reporting software.

How did you get into this field?
First, I was a legal transcriptionist, I worked with steno and voice reporters to produce their transcripts. While I was doing that, I was in college. I then became an in-house criminal defense paralegal. I later moved to litigation. A friend of mine suggested looking into digital court reporting, and I was immediately sold. 

What cities do you service?
Remote - Surrounding South Dakota areas

Do you wish others would join this industry? Do you want to encourage the next generation to get into this field?
YES! This field is booming. There is a major shortage of court reporters, which means there is enough work to go around.

When you're not working, what matters most to you? What keeps you grounded outside of the business?
My family. I know that probably sounds cliché, but for me, it means so much more than that.

I left an abusive marriage with nothing but my children, and together, we started over. We rebuilt our lives, and we've never looked back.

Today, I'm remarried to an amazing man who has shown me what determination, hard work, and pursuing something you love can accomplish. I have three incredible children, two phenomenal stepchildren, two beautiful granddaughters, and another grandbaby on the way.

My family is my greatest accomplishment and the reason behind everything I do. At the end of the day, no matter what happens with my career or my business, they're what matters most. They're my motivation, my happiness, and what keeps me grounded.

What's your favorite local restaurant? 
Chili's. No joke. Those fajitas! Rapid City, SD

Coffee, tea, or energy drink?
Energy drink

What do you think has been the biggest factor in you or your company's success?
We are finally getting users, and it has been their ability to conform to using another software outside of what they are used to. Their input has been invaluable in creating growth with this software.

What is something you or your company does differently that you think has made a real difference?
We aren't out to charge the highest amount possible for the bare minimum. EchoNote offers everything an agency, reporter, scopist, and transcriptionist can want, at one of the lowest costs for software. And we will always keep it that way.

What's something you know now about your career or running a business that you wish you knew when you started?
How much time is devoted to taking the product from an idea and into production!

What do you think separates a really great company or professional from an average one?
I absolutely care about each and every user that has signed on to the software. I always give personalized responses because the attention that each person needs, they deserve.

What's a 'small' detail in your work that actually matters, that nobody outside the industry realizes is important?
The attention to detail. Everyone knows that a transcript looks like, but no one knows the work that goes in to it, from the beginning of the proceeding to the end, it's so much work.

What's one piece of advice you wish you had ignored?
Take everyone's advice! You really don't need to do that, your road to success is your own, and it comes with a lot of forks. Go with your gut.

What's the best marketing idea you've ever tried?
Tik Tok!

What's a totally random skill that makes you good at your job?
I have ADHD, so my brain is usually juggling about ten things at once! In this industry, being able to multitask, think quickly, and adapt to whatever gets thrown your way definitely comes in handy.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry right now?
In digital court reporting, one of the biggest challenges is the misinformation surrounding what we do and the value we bring to the industry. There's room for stenographic, voice, and digital reporters, and I wish we could spend more time supporting each other instead of debating which method is better.

On the software side, there are so many new platforms entering the market. I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. Different reporters have different needs, and everyone should be able to choose the software that works best for them.

AI is changing just about everything. Are you excited about AI, worried about it, or somewhere in between?
I'm somewhere in between! AI has the potential to make our jobs easier, and I obviously believe in using technology to improve the way we work. But I also think we need to be mindful of the bigger picture, especially the environmental impact. Technology is advancing so quickly, and I think it's important to ask what that progress is costing our planet.

There are new laws, regulations, technologies, and changes being introduced that could affect how people in your industry work. What changes are you watching most closely, and are there any that concern you?
Environmental - I want to know what it's doing to the planet. We only have one, and it is so important to use the resources wisely.

What do you think your job and/or industry is going to look like five or ten years from now?
I'm almost afraid to predict that far ahead! Technology is changing so quickly that it's hard to know what next year will look like, let alone ten years from now. I think we'll continue seeing new tools and new ways of working, but I hope the importance of having a qualified professional responsible for the record never changes.

Where do you think your profession is headed? Do you think technology and AI will replace parts of the profession, or will they ultimately make professionals more valuable?
I think AI will continue taking over some of the repetitive tasks, and I'm okay with that. What concerns me is the idea that technology could completely replace the person responsible for the record. I hope the laws and safeguards protecting the integrity of the legal record remain in place. At the end of the day, a human being should always be the last set of eyes on that record.

What do you think makes someone great at what they do? And what do you wish more people understood about your profession?
Personality! You have to know how to read a room, communicate with people, and adapt to different situations. You can be incredibly skilled at your job, but if you can't work well with people, you're going to have a hard time.

I also wish more people understood how much responsibility comes with court reporting. We're not just sitting there pushing buttons. We're responsible for helping preserve an accurate legal record, and that deserves respect regardless of the reporting method.

What's one mistake you see people early in their careers making that they could easily avoid?
Not taking deadlines seriously. In this industry, deadlines should be non-negotiable. Attorneys, law firms, and sometimes entire cases are depending on you to deliver what you promised. If you commit to a deadline, do everything you can to meet it. Your reputation is built on reliability just as much as the quality of your work.

What's your secret to building great relationships with clients and keeping them coming back?
Honesty and kindness. It really is that simple. Treat people with respect, communicate openly, and do what you say you're going to do. If there's one thing I could encourage everyone in this industry to do, it's to be kind. It costs nothing, and it goes a long way.

What's the part of your job that you genuinely enjoy the most?
The flexibility! I've worked overnights, swing shifts, and the traditional 8-to-5 schedule. Being able to choose the jobs I take and have more control over my schedule gives me the freedom to actually enjoy life outside the four walls of an office. That's something I don't take for granted.

What's the biggest goal you have for your company or career over the next few years?
For EchoNote, I want to continue building relationships with people who genuinely love what they do and want to make the industry better. I want the software to grow because it actually helps people, not just because we're good at marketing it.

For my reporting career, I'd love to see my state recognize digital court reporters. I want the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with others who might be interested in pursuing this career. There are so many people who don't even know digital court reporting is an option.

If you could go back to the beginning of your career and give yourself one piece of advice, what would you tell yourself?
Nothing happens overnight. Sometimes it feels like every step forward comes with two steps backward, but then something happens that moves you further ahead than you ever expected. Be patient, keep going, and don't let the setbacks convince you that you're headed in the wrong direction.

What's something about your industry that you believe strongly about that you think most people would disagree with?
I don't believe one method of court reporting has to be considered superior to another. Stenographic, voice, and digital reporters all have a place in this industry. What matters most is the quality and accuracy of the record and the professionalism of the person responsible for it. I think we would accomplish a lot more if we stopped fighting over methods and started supporting the profession as a whole.

What's a moment on the job that reminded you why the work actually matters?
For me, it's realizing how much people depend on the record we create. Having worked as a legal transcriptionist, a litigation paralegal, and now a court reporter, I've seen how important those transcripts are from different sides of the process. What might seem like just another day of testimony to us can have a tremendous impact on someone's life. That's something I try not to forget.

Who was the most memorable person you've ever worked with or for — and why?
I've worked with some incredible people throughout my career, and the one person that is most memorable is a good friend of mine still. Tori Lawton, Willow Transcription. She and I built ourselves up from the bottom.

What's the proudest 'nobody will ever know I did this, but I did' moment of your career?
Probably all the hours my daughter and I have spent behind the scenes building EchoNote. People see the finished software, but they don't see the late nights, the things that didn't work, the problems we had to figure out, or the number of times we started something over because we knew it could be better. There's a lot of work that nobody will ever see, but we know what went into it, and I'm proud of that.

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