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05 August 2010 / Richard Michie
Issue: 7429 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
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A fine art

Richard Michie describes the art of legal transcription

The legal profession is one of the oldest users of transcription, but gone are the days of the shorthand typist. Legal professionals need a much more accurate, timely and modern transcription service.

Legal transcription records cover such historic events as the Gun Fight at the OK Corral and the trial of Dick Turpin. So as well as a record for the courts, transcripts help to preserve history for generations to come. Over the years we have produced transcriptions for some of the most controversial and high-profile trials and inquests, including those concerning the deaths of Baha Mousa and Jean Charles de Menezes, as well as HR grievance cases, arbitration meetings, corporate negotiations and summaries of court proceedings.

Transcriptions for legal proceedings can’t have ambiguities and all the details must be exact, but there are a few problems.

  • First, the transcribers often have only limited information. Some names are concealed, some place names omitted and some context not provided by the client. This is a necessary precaution where, for instance, the armed services, children or other
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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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