Fixing the Broken Court Reporting Compensation Model: A FairSplit™ Proposal

Posted bystenoimperiumPosted inCourt ReportingTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Court reporting is a cornerstone of the legal system. These professionals deliver accurate, real-time transcripts that become part of official records and influence major decisions in litigation, depositions, and trials. Despite this critical role and the high level of skill required, court reporters today are facing an increasingly inequitable economic landscape.

In many markets, the compensation model for court reporters has shifted from a once-standard 70/30 split (reporter/agency) to an even 50/50 divide, with some agencies taking even more. Worse, reporters are expected to cover all costs—equipment, software, certification, and training—while being treated as independent contractors with no benefits or legal protections.

This article outlines the problem, analyzes how similar industries operate, and presents a new model: FairSplit™, a framework for a more equitable, sustainable approach to court reporting compensation.

The Current Model: Why It Fails Court Reporters

1. Inadequate Pay Splits
Many agencies now claim 50% or more of the total transcript fee. This means a reporter producing a 100-page transcript billed at $4.00/page to the client may only see $2.00/page—or less, if extra fees are added on by the agency.

2. No Benefits, No Safety Net
Reporters are almost universally treated as 1099 contractors. They receive no health insurance, retirement contributions, sick leave, or workers’ comp.

3. Exploitation of Reporter Products
Agencies often upcharge for services like condensed transcripts, keyword indexes, or concordance pages without sharing the revenue. These derivative products are created from the reporter’s work but generate additional profit for the agency alone.

4. Per Diem Splits
Some agencies now take 50% of per diem fees, which are intended to compensate the reporter for simply showing up—something the agency does not do.

The Better Way: Introducing FairSplit™

FairSplit™ is a modern agency model designed to realign incentives, respect the reporter’s contributions, and restore balance to the profession.

Core Components of the FairSplit™ Model

1. Revenue Sharing That Reflects Work

  • Standard transcript jobs: 70% to reporter, 30% to agency.
  • Premium services (realtime, rough drafts, expedites): 80% to reporter.
  • Agencies that provide true value through scheduling, billing, and customer service can still be profitable within this structure.

2. Reporter Ownership of Transcripts

  • The transcript remains the intellectual property of the reporter.
  • The agency receives a non-exclusive license to distribute the transcript to clients.

3. Derivative Product Compensation
Agencies that offer extras derived from the transcript (e.g., keyword indexes, condensed formats, rough draft copies) must either:

  • Share 50% of revenue with the reporter, or
  • Pay a $0.50/page flat royalty to the reporter for the derivative use.

4. Per Diem Integrity

  • All per diem or appearance fees go 100% to the reporter.
  • Agencies do not incur any burden related to physical presence, so this fee should not be split.

5. Full Transparency

  • Reporters have the right to view client invoices for any job they performed.
  • This ensures accurate and fair application of revenue splits.

6. Optional Subscription Model
For high-volume reporters or those seeking more independence:

  • Pay a flat monthly fee (e.g., $500) to the agency for support services.
  • Retain 100% of revenue on transcripts and per diems.
  • Encourages entrepreneurial ownership of one’s career.

Industry Comparison: How Court Reporting Stacks Up

Let’s compare current practices in court reporting to other industries that use similar dispatch agency models:

IndustryCommon SplitNotes
Nursing (travel/per diem)70/30 or 60/40Some receive benefits
Legal Interpreting50/50 to 60/40Often little back-end support
IT/Tech Contracting65/35 to 80/20High-skill roles command better rates
Creative (e.g. designers)70/30 to 85/15Platforms like Upwork take 10–20%
Transportation (gig)70/30 to 80/20Uber/Lyft-style models

Court reporters are on par with the most skilled and certified professionals on this list. Yet their share of total compensation is among the lowest when factoring in ownership loss, derivative sales, and per diem cuts.

Sample Clauses to Embed in Reporter Contracts

1. Compensation Split Clause

Section X: Compensation and Revenue Sharing

The Reporter shall receive no less than seventy percent (70%) of gross transcript revenue for all standard transcript production. For premium services including rough drafts, realtime feeds, and expedited delivery, the Reporter shall receive eighty percent (80%) of revenue generated from such services. The Agency shall disclose client billing rates to the Reporter upon request.

2. Ownership and Derivative Use Clause

Section Y: Transcript Ownership and Derivative Products

The Reporter retains intellectual property rights to any transcript produced, granting the Agency a limited, non-exclusive license for the purpose of distribution to the client. Any derivative products derived from the transcript—including but not limited to condensed transcripts, keyword indexes, or concordance pages—shall either:

  • (a) Be subject to a fifty percent (50%) revenue share with the Reporter, or
  • (b) Compensate the Reporter at a flat rate of $0.50 per page derived from the original transcript.

The Agency shall not reproduce, resell, or modify transcripts outside the licensed use without written consent from the Reporter.

3. Per Diem Clause

Section Z: Per Diem and Appearance Fees

All per diem or appearance fees billed for a Reporter’s time or presence shall be paid in full (100%) to the Reporter. These fees compensate physical time and presence, and are not subject to agency split unless mutually agreed in writing and for clearly defined additional services.

4. Transparency Clause

Section AA: Transparency of Billing

The Agency shall make available, upon reasonable request, client invoice amounts related to any job the Reporter performed. This is to ensure fair enforcement of agreed-upon percentage splits and compensation.

5. Flat-Fee Subscription Option

For court reporters seeking maximum control over their work and revenue, FairSplit™ offers a flat-fee subscription model. Under this arrangement:

  • Reporters pay a fixed monthly fee (e.g., $500) to the agency for administrative services such as scheduling, billing, and client coordination.
  • In return, reporters retain 100% of all revenue, including transcript production, premium services, and per diem fees.
  • This model is ideal for experienced, high-volume reporters who want to minimize percentage-based fees and scale their income.
  • It also incentivizes agencies to improve service efficiency and focus on value-added support rather than skimming off reporter labor.

The FairSplit™ Mission

FairSplit™ is not just a compensation model—it’s a movement to:

  • Protect the intellectual property of court reporters
  • Restore fair revenue distribution
  • Offer modern, flexible alternatives to rigid agency control
  • Champion transparency and ethical labor practices

Conclusion: A Call for Equity and Respect

Court reporters are indispensable to the legal system, yet the current agency model undervalues their skill and labor. The FairSplit™ model offers a better way—one rooted in respect, transparency, and sustainability.

If you’re a reporter, agency owner, or legal professional who values fairness, it’s time to start the conversation. Adopt or advocate for FairSplit™ and help build a future where court reporters are compensated not only fairly, but honorably.

Join the FairSplit™ Movement Today

Fair pay. Fair rights. Fair future.

Business Pitch: “FairSplit™ Court Reporting Network”

Elevator Pitch:

FairSplit™ is a modern agency alternative that respects the craft of court reporting. We believe the professionals who produce the work deserve the majority of the pay — not the middlemen. Our model offers transparent billing, 70/30 splits (minimum), 100% per diem pay, and revenue sharing on all transcript derivatives. We’re restoring dignity and sustainability to the court reporting profession.

Published by stenoimperium

We exist to facilitate the fortifying of the Stenography profession and ensure its survival for the next hundred years! As court reporters, we've handed the relationship role with our customers, or attorneys, over to the agencies and their sales reps.  This has done a lot of damage to our industry.  It has taken away our ability to have those relationships, the ability to be humanized and valued.  We've become a replaceable commodity. Merely saying we are the “Gold Standard” tells them that we’re the best, but there are alternatives.  Who we are though, is much, much more powerful than that!  We are the Responsible Charge.  “Responsible Charge” means responsibility for the direction, control, supervision, and possession of stenographic & transcription work, as the case may be, to assure that the work product has been critically examined and evaluated for compliance with appropriate professional standards by a licensee in the profession, and by sealing and signing the documents, the professional stenographer accepts responsibility for the stenographic or transcription work, respectively, represented by the documents and that applicable stenographic and professional standards have been met.  This designation exists in other professions, such as engineering, land surveying, public water works, landscape architects, land surveyors, fire preventionists, geologists, architects, and more.  In the case of professional engineers, the engineering association adopted a Responsible Charge position statement that says, “A professional engineer is only considered to be in responsible charge of an engineering work if the professional engineer makes independent professional decisions regarding the engineering work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional engineer’s physical presence at the location where the engineering work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the engineering work.” If we were to adopt a Responsible Charge position statement for our industry, we could start with a draft that looks something like this: "A professional court reporter, or stenographer, is only considered to be in responsible charge of court reporting work if the professional court reporter makes independent professional decisions regarding the court reporting work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional court reporter’s physical presence at the location where the court reporting work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the court reporting work.” Shared purpose The cornerstone of a strategic narrative is a shared purpose. This shared purpose is the outcome that you and your customer are working toward together. It’s more than a value proposition of what you deliver to them. Or a mission of what you do for the world. It’s the journey that you are on with them. By having a shared purpose, the relationship shifts from consumer to co-creator. In court reporting, our mission is “to bring justice to every litigant in the U.S.”  That purpose is shared by all involved in the litigation process – judges, attorneys, everyone.  Who we are is the Responsible Charge.  How we do that is by Protecting the Record.

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