The image of a gleaming modern city floating above a boiling cauldron of financial volatility is more than symbolic—it’s a mirror of the court reporting industry today. On the surface, everything appears orderly: depositions are scheduled, transcripts are produced, and the wheels of litigation continue to turn. But just beneath, a financial crisis is bubbling—one that has been quietly building for a decade, fueled by private equity speculation, agency consolidation, and a widening disconnect between those who certify the record and those who sell it.
And like any bubble, the collapse is not a matter of if—but when.
The Fed Raised Rates. Private Equity Got Nervous. The Pressure Is Now Visible.
Nationally, the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle has triggered shockwaves across lending markets. Banking stress, as the FDIC reported, includes $517 billion in unrealized losses in the U.S. banking system. Those unrealized losses were enough to topple Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic—not because the money was gone, but because the margins had evaporated.
Now look at court reporting:
The same thing is happening.
Over the last 10 years, Wall Street-backed court reporting agencies have been:
- Consolidating mid-sized and boutique firms
- Absorbing independent books of business
- Leveraging debt to finance acquisition growth
- Treating transcripts like commodities rather than certified legal evidence
This model only works in a low-interest environment—when money is cheap and debt is easy to refinance.
Those days are over.
As borrowing costs rise, private equity must do what private equity always does:
Increase revenue and cut costs.
And that’s exactly what we’re seeing:
- Higher page rates charged to attorneys
- Lower take-home rates for reporters
- Aggressive bundling of ancillary fees
- Attempted substitution of stenographic record with digital/ASR “alternatives”
This isn’t cost innovation—it’s margin extraction.
Agency Markups Are Driving Attorneys Toward “Alternatives”
Attorneys have begun asking why the rough draft of a transcript costs less than the certified final. They have begun questioning why realtime fees skyrocketed. They notice when the same deposition costs $3,500 with one agency and $1,800 with another.
For years, large agencies have followed the same formula:
- Mark up the labor (the court reporter)
- Mark up the product (the transcript)
- Reduce the reporter’s percentage
- Own the client relationship—not the reporter
The problem is that attorneys are now feeling the pain.
Some respond by seeking cheaper methods of record creation:
- Digital audio recording with uncertified notetakers
- Automatic speech recognition (ASR)
- Outsourced foreign transcript typing
And because Wall Street has sunk millions into building this “alternative market,” the pitch is well-funded and loud.
But there is a flaw—a legal flaw—big enough to collapse the bubble:
These alternatives do not produce admissible evidence under existing rules of court.
Evidence Still Requires Human Certification
Under the rules of professional responsibility, hearsay exceptions, and authentication, transcripts must be:
- Accurate
- Certifiable
- Traceable
- Authenticated by the person who took the record
A machine cannot certify accuracy.
A notetaker cannot certify accuracy.
A tech contractor cannot certify accuracy.
Only a working court reporter—licensed or certified depending on jurisdiction—can attest that the record is true and complete.
The legal system is built on this trust.
Chain of custody matters.
This is why ASR transcripts are already being:
- Rejected by courts
- Challenged on authenticity grounds
- Excluded under evidentiary rules
What we are watching is not “innovation”—it is regression.
Artificial intelligence does not eliminate the need for human responsibility—it magnifies it.
A Revolt Is Not Coming. It Has Already Started.
Court reporters are not passive participants in their own professional displacement. Across the country, we are seeing:
- Reporters declining low-paying agency assignments
- Reporters moving into direct-to-attorney business models
- State and local bars being educated on the evidentiary risks of ASR material
- Judges reinforcing certification requirements
- Attorneys filing motions to challenge uncertified transcripts
The market is correcting itself.
The more agencies squeeze, the more court reporters leave them.
And when the labor leaves, the business model collapses.
Not gradually—suddenly.
So How Big Is the Bubble? We Don’t Know—Yet.
There is no public reporting of how much private equity has poured into this industry. But we know the signatures:
- Roll-ups
- Debt-backed consolidation
- Investor-led “efficiency innovation”
- Outsourcing
- Product substitution
This is exactly how bubbles are engineered in:
- Healthcare staffing
- Pharmacy benefit management
- Ambulance billing
- Continuing legal education consolidators
- and Documentary services
When the product is a legal necessity—and that product becomes distorted or unstable—collapse is inevitable.
Because the courts cannot function without certified transcripts.
The Boiling Cauldron Under the City
The image of the city floating above fire is chillingly accurate:
Above the surface:
Modern litigation. Depositions. Normalcy.
Below the surface:
Debt, speculation, labor exploitation, legal risk, evidentiary instability.
The bubble bursts when three pressures converge:
| Trigger | Status |
|---|---|
| Reporters refuse below-market work | Already happening |
| Attorneys recognize ASR transcripts are inadmissible | Beginning now |
| Legislatures refuse to rewrite certification laws | Nearly certain |
Private equity bet on being able to change the law.
They won’t.
Because the law exists to prevent tampering, distortion, and fraud in the administration of justice.
This bubble was always destined to fail.
The Way Forward: Return to Direct Relationships
The solution is not nostalgia—it’s structure.
Reporters and attorneys are beginning to re-establish direct working relationships:
- Direct scheduling
- Transparent pricing
- Shared professional standards
- Mutual trust
The record is strongest when the attorney knows the reporter and the reporter knows the case.
This was not an outdated model—
It was the correct model.
Conclusion
We are entering the correction phase.
The financial pressure is visible.
The legal instability is undeniable.
The labor resistance is growing.
The city above the water will look stable—until it doesn’t.
The boiling has already started.
And when the cauldron breaks, the profession will still be standing—not because of Wall Street—but because of the reporter who certifies the record.
The record cannot be replaced.
And it will outlast the bubble.
StenoImperium
Court Reporting. Unfiltered. Unafraid.
Disclaimer
This article reflects my perspective and analysis as a court reporter and eyewitness. It is not legal advice, nor is it intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney.
This article includes analysis and commentary based on observed events, public records, and legal statutes.
The content of this post is intended for informational and discussion purposes only. All opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are based on publicly available information, industry standards, and good-faith concerns about nonprofit governance and professional ethics. No part of this article is intended to defame, accuse, or misrepresent any individual or organization. Readers are encouraged to verify facts independently and to engage constructively in dialogue about leadership, transparency, and accountability in the court reporting profession.
- The content on this blog represents the personal opinions, observations, and commentary of the author. It is intended for editorial and journalistic purposes and is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
- Nothing here constitutes legal advice. Readers are encouraged to review the facts and form independent conclusions.
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Bravo! This needs saying and repeating! It’s crazy, the way the nonreporter agency owners, through their hired salespeople, have the direct client contact, not the reporters. The agency owners don’t know their reporters (and couldn’t care less), the salespeople don’t know us either, and resent us if we won’t go along with their proposals to sell our services cheap, or to require of us things we cannot really do well. The clients know their “account executive,” not the reporter who is taking their record! It used to be that agency owners were reporters. They understood us. They were there taking jobs, too. They got to know the clients, and so did we. It was much more personal.
I used to love reporting. After 48 years in this profession, I have started to hate it! The stress level has gotten much worse, the demands on the reporter are much worse, and the reporter has to do EVERYTHING alone, and there’s no time for a life! (in the old days, the agency would scope your jobs and give you a rough to read. You’d mark in your corections and give them back and the agency would make the corrections and produce the final for delivery. Meanwhile, you could be out on another job. Law schools used to teach aspiring lawyers how to work with court reporters, and you thus didn’t have these speed demons out there who think we’re part of the furniture. I’d go back to that model in a freaking minute!
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