LiveDeposition Certified Reporter Spotlight

 

Name: Marla Sharp

Title:  Freelance Court Reporter

Certifications:
RPR, CLR, CCRR, CSR

Self-summary in three words:
Experienced realtime reporter

When did you begin your court reporting career?
1994

What sparked your interest in choosing court reporting as a profession?
Senior year of high school, I changed my mind about going to law school. I didn’t know what to do. I stopped at a small college that offered an associate degree in court reporting. After hearing that you needed to be good with English, medical, and legal, I figured it was right up my alley and that three years of high school Latin wouldn’t go to waste then. I thought it would be a smart thing to get a skill under my belt that I could always fall back on until I figured out what I wanted to do for a living. Turned out that I loved it. Twenty years later, I’m still glad I changed my mind about law school.

What advice would you give students or those just entering the field of Court Reporting?
This is not an easy career; but it’s an honorable, interesting, and at times an entertaining one with the possibility for a very good income depending on how hard you work. It’s all up to you.

What is your favorite thing about being a reporter?
I really love the creative aspect of making up briefs both on the fly during a deposition and later when editing. They’re such time savers, and remembering them all is a challenge and keeps me on my toes.

As a Court Reporter, what is your worst nightmare or biggest pet peeve?
Not being able to hear is my worst nightmare. Biggest pet peeves are fast talkers and people who talk at the same time.

Where is the strangest place you have taken a deposition?
In the bedroom of a woman who was bedridden.

What is the funniest thing you have heard during a deposition or in the courtroom?
Hard to remember them all over 20 years. One that stands out is this older gentleman who kept hitting on me throughout the deposition while on the record. That was hysterical and really embarrassing.

When not court reporting, how do you spend your free time?
Trying to avoid the computer at all costs. Movies, dinners, shopping, museums, hanging out with the love of my life and my friends (who all seem to be court reporters, so it’s hard to avoid the topic).

What do you like most about LiveDeposition?
24-hour tech support

Is there anything else you would like to share?
Punctuation can make or break your transcript. Take the time to look up the rules because what we do reflects on us all as a profession.

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