LiveLitigation Certified Reporter Spotlight
Name: Rebecca Romano
Title: Freelance Deposition Realtime Reporter – California/Nevada
Certifications: RPR, CCR
What is your background? I started out captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing students while in qualifiers. I’ve been realtime now for the past 10 years. I love the opportunities of this career, the flexibility, the challenges and the “unknowns” each day brings. The sense of accomplishment makes the job fulfilling as a career.
When did you begin your court reporting career? 2002
What sparked your interest in choosing court reporting as a profession?
Oh, this is a great one – I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do – as an ex-salesperson with Nordstrom for close to 7 years I knew I did not want to work 40 hours a week or be scheduled long hours, nights and weekends! So I chose CR school for the flexibility. And while it’s true, I do have a great deal of flexibility, the weekends/nights and those long hours are still there. However, it’s a great career and we have the option to work as little or as much as we chose.
What advice would you give students or those just entering the field of Court Reporting?
brief, brief, brief!! I am still learning everyday on briefing and re-training myself. When it gets tough out there, keep going and stick with it. We all hit plateaus but the rewards for continuing until you succeed are fantastic!
What is your favorite thing about being a court reporter?
The flexibility, being my own boss – going new places, meeting new people – you never know who might be sitting down in that deponent’s seat! My days are always different and the challenge of what a new day brings is so exciting.
As a Court Reporter, what is your worst nightmare or biggest pet peeve?
A wardrobe malfunction, which happened to me already! I had a skirt split on the seam all the way up as I was exiting my car for my deposition. But luckily I had a blazer that day with me that I tied around my waist.
Where is the strangest place you have taken a deposition?
I’ll pick my most recent one – I had to go to a mechanical engineer’s office. But his office was a warehouse with crash test dummies hanging all over place – it was right next to the train tracks, so every 15 minutes the train went by and we had to leave the warehouse rollup door open for air! We had a folding table as our workspace (which made me very nervous when anyone leaned on it) and folding chairs with an extension cord running all the way across the warehouse to the kitchen.
When not court reporting, how do you spend your free time?
I enjoy working out, my leisure time relaxing poolside quality time with loved ones and friends.
What do you like most about LiveDeposition?
It’s great! As soon as we were able to go to iPads – I made the switch. It’s so reliable, easy – so easy and if there’s any issues, their support rocks!!
Anything else you would like to share?
This is a wonderful profession – it is such a great skill to have and can take you in so many different directions.