After the deposition of a plaintiff in 2021, a client asked us for a price comparison after he ordered a COPY of his client’s deposition from a large national court reporting company with local offices. Along with the transcript, the client also produced an itemized invoice they received. With both in hand, we were able to prepare a detailed comparison of our services and fees.
There were 310 transcript pages, and the invoice included the following fees:
Pages billed:
370 pages billed at $2.50/pg
Exhibits fees:
572 pages of B&W scans at .25/pg
Administrative fees:
$32.50 Litigation Package-Secure File Suite
$28.00 Electronic Delivery and Handling
HOW MUCH MORE WAS THE CLIENT BILLED?
The national firm billed for 25 percent more pages than we would bill at an effective page rate for a video-recorded deposition that was 30 percent higher than ours at that time. Their exhibit fees came in lower by $28.60, but their administrative fees were 3.46x higher.
Overall, the bill was 25 percent more than we would have charged in 2021.
Their total fees:
$1128.50
Our total fees:
$899.50
In November 2024, a client asked us for a price comparison after he ordered a COPY of his client’s deposition from a large U.S. firm. There were 238 transcript pages, and the invoice included the following fees:
Pages billed:
290 pages billed at $3.95/pg, 240 pages with a video surcharge of .85/pg
Exhibits fees:
32 pages of B&W scans at .55/pg
12 color scans at .75/pg
Administrative fees:
$35 Condensed Transcript
$75 Transcript Handling & Processing
$55.50 Litigation Technology, Support and Security Management
$30 read and sign service (This one was a little unusual since read and sign fees are typically taxed to the taking attorney, not to the party ordering a copy.)
HOW MUCH MORE WAS THE CLIENT BILLED?
The large U.S. firm billed for 22 percent more pages than we would bill at an effective page rate for a video-recorded deposition that was 189 percent higher than ours as of January 2025. Their exhibit fees were 20.9 percent higher, and their administrative fees were more than 6.5x ours as of January 2025.
Overall, the bill was over twice what we would have charged beginning January 2025.
Their total fees:
$1571.60
Our total fees:
$766.00
The table below includes a good sampling of transcripts from two national court reporting firms with local offices. The transcripts were encountered during the regular course of business, most commonly because they were marked as deposition exhibits.
For each deposition, it shows the number of index pages added to the transcript.
HOURLY RATES
“What about hourly rates?”
Two national firms with offices in Kansas City – both of which charge transcript page rates for word index pages – also charge up to $20 more per hour for attendance than we charge. If you only take one or two depositions a year, it’s not a big deal, but it can add up when you need to take several lengthy depositions in a case.
5 hours x $35/hr: $175.00
5 hours x $40/hr: $200.00
5 hours x $45/hr: $225.00
5 hours x $50/hr: $250.00
5 hours x $55/hr: $275.00
5 hours x $65/hr: $325.00
ADMINISTRATIVE FEES
“What about administrative fees?”
As outlined on our Pricing page, reasonable administrative fees are customary, but many national firms have taken admin fees to extraordinary levels, as shown in the comparisons above. When cost is a deciding factor, be sure to ask the court reporting services provider for details and confirm the rates in writing when scheduling.
CONCLUSION
“How does this information help me?”
You can better determine whether the costs you are paying are appropriate and chose a court reporting company that offers a better value.
“I don’t have a choice of what reporter to use. I used to be able to choose, but now the client I work for tells me which court reporting company to call. I don’t like it because I never know who I’m going to get for a reporter or if my transcript will even be usable, but I don’t see any other option.”
Just like when you go shopping for a product or service, your client wants the best value for their money. Using this information, you can show your client how they may actually be paying more when they engage a court reporting company that has a per-page fee for the word index.
Furthermore, if you are not receiving a readable, accurate transcript to rely on, let them know that it can affect the outcome of their case. Ask to use a court reporting company you can trust.
“My favorite court reporter works with a company that started charging for the word index. I would like to still have her cover my depositions, but I don’t want to pay the high rates.”
Ask your reporter to consider working with us. We can take care of the admin side that most reporters don’t want to do, they can get paid the same or likely even more, and you pay less since you aren’t subject to the billing practices that so many national firms have adopted. Or your court reporter may want to consider partnering with Court Reporters Exchange, a local company which provides administrative support for successful court reporters wanting to start their own business.
