When Two Depositions Are Scheduled but Only One Goes Forward – The Growing Fight Over Same-Day Cancellation Fees

Posted bystenoimperiumPosted inAI and the Legal System, Court Reporting, Judicial Ethics Watch, Legal ServicesTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In freelance court reporting, time is not merely a backdrop to the work — it is the work. Reporters sell availability in discrete blocks, often committing entire days around assignments that may or may not ultimately proceed. Yet compensation for that reserved time is frequently governed less by uniform industry standards than by the internal policies of the agencies that broker the work. This tension has become increasingly visible as scheduling practices grow more fragmented and remote.

That friction came into focus when a reporter was scheduled for multiple proceedings on the same day, each treated as a separate assignment. One portion of the day moved forward and was completed as expected. Another, scheduled later, did not. Despite having reserved time and remained available, the reporter was left waiting while the proceeding failed to materialize.

A dispute followed over whether the later assignment qualified for a same-day cancellation fee. The firm took the position that because part of the day had proceeded, no additional compensation was owed. The reporter, by contrast, viewed the unused assignment as a distinct booking — one that consumed time, foreclosed other work, and ultimately produced no record.

This interpretation, while self-serving, runs counter to nearly every established norm in professional services — and to the basic economic structure of freelance work.

Two Job Numbers Mean Two Jobs — Not One Long Day

Separate job numbers reflect separate bookings, distinct commitments, and separate economic reliance. Reporters reserve their day around those windows, often declining or accepting other assignments accordingly. When the afternoon slot evaporates, the reporter is left with an unfillable gap. When a firm says, in effect, “We’re only paying for the morning — the afternoon doesn’t count because the morning happened,” they collapse two assignments into one, but only for the purpose of not paying the reporter.

This reasoning would not survive scrutiny in virtually any other service industry.

How Other Professions Handle Same-Day Cancellations

Court reporting is hardly the only field where time is the core billable asset. But it is one of the few where firms occasionally insist on redefining obvious economic losses as “non-compensable.” Consider how similar industries operate:

Interpreters

Interpreters — including legal and medical interpreters — have firm cancellation structures:

  • Full fee for same-day cancellations
  • Each witness or session is billed separately
  • One proceeding has no bearing on another

If an interpreter is booked for a morning session and an afternoon session, and the afternoon witness no-shows, the full cancellation fee applies. No agency would argue that the morning appearance cancels the afternoon compensation.

Electricians, Plumbers, HVAC Technicians

Service technicians operate under strict trip fees and cancellation policies. If two appointments are booked and the second is canceled last minute, the client is charged for that appointment — not forgiven because the technician happened to be nearby earlier.

Their reasoning is simple:

The technician’s time block was reserved. That time cannot be resold.

Therapists, Coaches, Tutors

Miss a scheduled afternoon session after attending a morning session? The afternoon is charged in full. The earlier appointment does not absolve the later obligation.

Medical Providers

If you have a 9:00 a.m. appointment and a 2:00 p.m. appointment with the same doctor, and you fail to appear at 2:00, you are billed for the missed session. The fact that you attended your morning appointment is irrelevant.

Attorneys

Even attorneys — the ultimate end-clients in depositions — treat each scheduled meeting or task as its own billable event. If a client books two preparation sessions and cancels one, the canceled session is billed. Lawyers do not merge the two into a single billing event.

In short: Across nearly all service-based professions, two bookings are two obligations.
Only in court reporting do some firms attempt to merge them retroactively when it benefits their bottom line.

Why This Matters: Time Is the Product

For freelance reporters, time is not merely the medium through which work is performed — it is the work. Once a slot is reserved, the income potential from that block of time is locked. If the assignment dissolves the same day, the reporter cannot fill that time with another job. The same-day cancellation fee is not a convenience. It is compensation for a real loss.

In this case, the reporter not only reserved the time but actively waited online for more than an hour at the firm’s instruction. That waiting period underscores that the second deposition was live, scheduled, and expected to begin at any moment. When the witness ultimately failed to appear, the event became a no-show — the very scenario cancellation fees exist to address.

Why the Firm’s Argument Fails

The firm’s position relies on a premise that contradicts basic logic:

  • Morning deposition = compensated
  • Afternoon deposition = canceled
  • But because the morning deposition occurred, the afternoon cancellation “does not count”

This reasoning is arbitrary, economically incoherent, and inconsistent with industry norms in every parallel profession.

If the afternoon deposition had been scheduled for a different day, the cancellation fee would be unquestioned. The only difference here is that it occurred later on the same day — a distinction that has no relevance to the reporter’s lost time.

How Reporters Can Protect Themselves: Policies, Contracts, and Clarity

Given the increasing pressure on reporters to absorb uncompensated losses, it is crucial to proactively define billing terms in writing. Reporters can safeguard themselves through three mechanisms:

1. Include Clear Language on Your Rate Sheet

A rate sheet is a binding business document, especially when attached to job confirmations.

Suggested language:

Each scheduled deposition, witness, or proceeding constitutes a separate booking and is billed independently. Same-day cancellations, postponements, and no-shows are billed in full, regardless of whether other depositions in the same matter proceed.

Reporters wait 30 minutes past the scheduled start time unless instructed otherwise. Waiting beyond 30 minutes is billed at the hourly rate.

This eliminates ambiguity and blocks agencies from claiming ignorance.

2. Use a Strong Cancellation Clause in Your Service Agreement

This clause creates a contractual entitlement.

Suggested clause:

The Agency agrees that each confirmed deposition, witness, or proceeding is a separate assignment. Any assignment that cancels, postpones, or results in a no-show on the same calendar day shall incur a same-day cancellation fee, independent of whether any other assignment that day proceeds.

3. Add a Dedicated Section to Your Reporter–Agency Agreement

Codify the structure:

  • Separate assignments
  • Cancellation fees
  • Waiting policies
  • Economic reliance principles

This transforms an informal expectation into a contractual right.

Rebalancing a Lopsided Industry

The stakes in this debate are not limited to a single afternoon deposition. They reflect a broader issue within the court-reporting profession: a chronic power imbalance between large national firms and the freelancers who enable their business model.

When firms attempt to avoid paying established cancellation fees by redefining what constitutes a “job,” they shift economic risk onto reporters — the very professionals who shoulder the responsibility of capturing the legal record with skill and accuracy.

For the profession to remain viable, reporters must standardize and enforce protections that other industries already take for granted.

Two job numbers. Two depositions. One canceled.
In every other profession, this would be an easy answer.
In court reporting, it is an overdue opportunity to reset expectations — and reclaim fairness.

StenoImperium
Court Reporting. Unfiltered. Unafraid.

Disclaimer

I’m not a CPA or financial planner — I’m sharing what I’ve learned as a working reporter navigating these same decisions. Everyone’s financial situation is different, so please talk with your accountant or tax professional before making changes based on this guide.

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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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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