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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
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

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Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

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Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

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NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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