In surveys conducted last Fall and Spring, many of you mentioned that a key element in ensuring that your transcripts were done on time was to have a good scopist and proofreader. A common question that also came up, however, was "How do I find a scopist?" Even reporters who normally do their own scoping like to have the security of a competent backup for when things get busy.

From our viewpoint, we are always working to keep you busy, and the most important thing in attracting and keeping a client is an accurate transcript delivered on time. If you went to a restaurant and they told you that you would have to wait to be served because there were other customers who were more important than you, you would probably leave right then or at least never come back.

It is the same thing telling an attorney that his transcript will be late because the reporter is too busy handling transcripts for other clients. Even if he "doesn't need it right away," it does inform him that he is not considered as important as other clients and you can easily lose a lifetime of business from that client. Everyone – from your kids, to your spouse, to your clients to yourself – wants to be considered important and be given attention and good service. So, to help you help us keep the clients happy, and so get more work for yourselves, following are some places you can look on line for scopists.

CAT System Companies

Major CAT system companies who have current listings of scopists who work with their systems:
Eclipse ProCat AristoCat Gigatron (Steno-CAT) does not have a scopist listing at this time. Cheetah/Turbocat does not appear to have a listing on their webpage any longer.

Other Scopist Listings and Resources

ReporterSupport.com – Looking for a scopist who is available NOW? This valuable FREE service is the perfect way to find the help you need. Freelance reporters simply fill out a request and scopists who are available for work will respond directly.

www.mazco.org – A sister site to ReporterSupport.com above, this page has a listing of over 400 listings including email, phone and websites for scopists that work with the following systems: Aristocat, Case Catalyst, Cheetah/Turbocat/Smartcat, Digital Cat, Eclipse, Maestro, Oz, Premier Power, ProCat, StenoCat, XEC-5 and Xscribe.

Scopists.com – This website contains free listings of over 500 scopists, organized by state and city. The listings include the scopist's training, experience and equipment. Most of them contain e-mail and street addresses as well as a phone number. A reporter can also prepare a confidential query for a scopist, proofreader or audio transcriptionist which gets sent to all site subscribers, and can place a free classified ad.

Stenograph.com – Over 200 listings by state.

Depoman.com – This site has a section of free ads for scopists. To access that section go to the "Marketplace" button at the top of the screen and a menu will appear. Click on "Free Scopist Classifieds."

NCRA Job Bank – There are several ways to access the job bank. You can call the NCRA at 1-800-272-6272 and ask them to mail or fax you the listings. This service is free for members but there is a $10 charge for non-members. The listings are also published every month in the classifieds section at the back of the Journal of Court Reporting. Most of the listings there are under the "Services" category. Additionally, listings are available in the members area of the NCRA website, www.verbatimreporters.com.

What To Do Next

The last thing you'll want to do is wait until you have three all-day expedites, on top of your regular load, before you go looking for a backup scopist. Rather, the next time a deposition runs short, take a little time to see who is available as a backup and line up a couple you are comfortable with. That way, when the need arises, you will just be a quick phone call or two away from getting the help you need.