Accurate transcription for the courts can make or break a case. When done correctly, it puts you in possession of flawless transcripts of research and evidence. But when done poorly, it can omit important information or include incorrect details.
Oral testimonies, dictated notes, and audio evidence — these represent just some of the things we transcribe and translate here at LingArch. As a language translation agency that specialises in legal transcription, we can prepare a flawless written record of any audio or visual content you have — whether it’s live or recorded.
Keep scrolling to find out more about the different kinds of transcription services available, and why it’s critical you find the right language service.
What is Legal Transcription services?
Legal transcription is a process that converts the spoken word into the written word.
A successful transcriptionist does this by listening to recorded audio, video, or live speech and noting down what they hear. Later, they prepare a document using these notes, following confidentiality guidelines and proper legal formatting.
In some cases, legal transcription services may include timestamps and speaker identification. While these are additional details, they can be helpful organisational tools for your team.
For added convenience, we sync our transcriptions with the audio file, so you can click on a specific word to play that part of your recording. This can save time and frustration, as you won’t have to hunt down particular quotations.
What Kinds of Legal Audio Do We Transcribe?
Much like a lawyer, a transcriptionist has to be flexible to meet a fluctuating workload. On any given day, they may be transcribing the following things:
- Arbitration proceedings
- Audio/Visual evidence
- Conference calls and proceedings
- Court proceedings
- Depositions
- Dictated notes
- Hearings
- Interviews and statements
- Interrogations
- Meetings
Legal Transcription Vs. Court Reporting
Court reporting is a specialised transcription service wherein the stenographer (or court reporter) covers live court proceedings.
Comparatively, general legal transcription services may transcribe recorded audio and video days, weeks, or even months after they happen. Or they may record live legal events outside the courts.
As its name suggests, court reporting occurs in a court of law at every phase of the proceedings, including opening statements, witness testimony, cross-examinations, closing argument, jury instruction, deliberations, and verdict.
Court reporting may also be a necessary step of arbitration. Our court reporters provide a transcript of the proceedings for the tribunal and involved parties.
Court reporters are considered guardians of the record, as they’re known for an impartial role in the judicial process. They capture every word spoken during court proceedings and prepare verbatim transcripts for later review.
Here at LingArch, we can provide real-time access to our reporters’ computers, as well as expedited daily copies if you need your transcript by the end of the day.
What if the Audio Contains Another Language?
As one of the most meticulous legal translation services in London, LingArch employs highly specialised language specialists.
That means our legal translators can translate any content into more than 120 languages once our transcriptionists have created a record of the event. We provide legal documents translation to legal professionals in London and all over the world.
Why is Legal Transcription for Court Reporting Important?
The work of a transcriptionist is important and legal transcription bring many benefits for several reasons. Let’s explore them below:
1. Accurate Results
Transcriptionists and court reporters play a critical role in the chain of information, and the quality of their work can have an enormous impact on arbitration and court proceedings.
A simple error or minor delay can cause devastating setbacks if you base your arguments on incorrect information or submit paperwork filled with mistakes. These common transcription issues can increase legal costs, damage your reputation, or affect the case itself.
That’s why the importance of accurate transcription services cannot be overstated. A meticulous transcriptionist produces a faithful text document of any real-time speech or recorded A/V file, so you can trust you’re working with the most detailed accounts.
2. Reliable Turnaround
Next to accuracy, urgency is the next priority. The legal industry works on tight timelines that can change at a moment’s notice. You may find yourself in possession of new evidence that must be translated and transcribed last minute.
Seemingly impossible deadlines are normal for us here at LingArch. That’s why we’ve developed a system that allows us to flourish under such short time constraints without sacrificing quality.
Rather than putting the pressure on one team to meet an accelerated due date — a misinformed technique that can cause the team in question to make errors — we increase the number of professionals on the project. We have a huge roster of professionals at our disposal available in an emergency for this very reason.
The nature of our enterprise means we can easily handle rush or expedited turnaround times for urgent projects, delivering documents up to four times faster while maintaining our 99.8% accuracy rating.
3. Workload Relief
Some legal professionals transcribe audio files on their own. However, for the vast majority of practices, transcription is a job better outsourced.
Lawyers have their hands full collecting evidence, reviewing documents, and building a case. They often don’t have the time that legal transcription requires, especially if the audio in question is collected in another language.
While our transcriptionists convert audio, our busy clients can focus on what they do best.
4. Additional Translation Services
Translation adds another layer to transcription. Multi-language transcription takes greater time, care, and expertise.
So even if a legal professional has the time on their hands, they may not have the fluency necessary to make faithful translations. In fact, one study shows just 15% of partners at the UK’s biggest law firms can speak another language.
Important details can get lost in translation if your team doesn’t have the right level of fluency and experience in a language, its specific dialect, and legal nuances.
As one of the top certified translation services in London, LingArch assigns the right professionals who understand your project’s source and target languages. More still, as native speakers, they also know how cultural context and nuances may influence accurate transcription.
Speak with LingArch for Super-Fast, Accurate Transcription
If you need to convert audio and video content into text, finding a certified agency that provides urgent, accurate legal transcription benefits and translation services is crucial for your legal practice.
Luckily, legal transcription and translation happen to be two of our specialties. Our experienced teams can convert key administrative records, evidence, and court reports with 99.8% accuracy.
To learn more about how we meet these elevated standards, get in touch today. Let’s discuss how our team can support your next language project.