As a wrap-up of Court Reporting and Captioning Week, we released a new awareness video as part of an overall package of resources to help inspire the next generation of stenographic court reporters.
The company asked court reporters to submit a video of themselves talking about why they love their profession and then created a montage to help attract new talent to the field. Other resources include flyers, social media posts, email signatures and more. All that the current reporter community can use to promote and create awareness of the profession.
“Helping to drive the next generation is very important to us and we will continue to do what we can to assist the community in showcasing this profession to new potential members,” states Nancy Josephs, CEO of Veritext. “Court reporters are critical to the legal process. In addition to the many scholarships and educational programs provided by Veritext, we are continually looking for new ways to support this community, and this video does a great job of featuring real court reporters sharing what they love about their jobs.”
https://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/iStock-1058773236.jpg8361254Kerry Sauriolhttps://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/logo-veritext-canada-300x138.pngKerry Sauriol2023-03-02 11:17:122023-03-02 11:17:14VERITEXT LEGAL SOLUTIONS RELEASES VIDEO TO PROMOTE THE COURT REPORTING COMMUNITY
https://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/outside-offices-NW.png12801280Kerry Sauriolhttps://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/logo-veritext-canada-300x138.pngKerry Sauriol2023-01-17 16:57:342023-01-17 16:57:36We are excited to announce Mainland Reporting is now part of Veritext.
Alyssa is a Client Services Associate at our Vancouver office. She hasn’t been with us very long but has already become a great asset to the office and we all love her cheerful and can-do spirit. So it was our great honour to ask her to join some of us at the 10th annual Dress for Success Luncheon on Wednesday, November 2nd. Why was it an honour? Read on to find out.
Can you tell us what led you to your current role here at Veritext?
I recently moved to Vancouver from Ottawa in May 2022. After passing along my resume to everyone I knew in the city, Kris Bergado got back to me and referred me to Veritext for a Client Services Associate role. Kris is a family friend who currently works as Litigation & Mediation Support Coordinator.
… and what do you love about working here?
I love working with my team and having supportive managers. Liking my colleagues makes a huge difference in my disposition in the workplace. I also enjoy coming into the office every day as I get to interact with the staff, management, couriers, etc. After two years of working from home, I had missed the daily in-person interactions that I used to have in school and at work.
Leading up to the Dress for Success Luncheon, we did a call out for donations and got a great response. We hear you have a close connection to the organization, and we would love to hear this story.
My mom, Lynette, is on the Board of Directors at Dress for Success Ottawa. She was a client of Dress for Success when she moved to Canada in 2010. After finding a job, my mom decided to volunteer for the organization as she felt that they do important work in helping women start and develop their careers. She was a dedicated volunteer for a few years, and eventually Dress for Success invited her to be on the Board of Directors.
Lastly, Veritext’s corporate values are respect, ethics, collaboration, accountability, and professionalism. Can you tell us which of these values resonates most strongly with you and why?
I highly value accountability both in my professional and personal life. It is important to know what you are responsible for and take ownership of the impact of your actions. I have noticed that open communication and having clear expectations of each member leads to a high performance from the team. Luckily, I belong to a team that practices accountability every day.
It always helps to hear first-hand how an organization like Dress for Success truly helps women from all walks of life and situations.
We are still accepting donations at the Vancouver office for Dress for Success until November 9th! Please consider dropping off some gently used business attire next time you’re in the area!
And thank you, Alyssa for sharing your story with us.
Strengthening the profession through advocacy and mentorship.
This past year, as we’ve expanded to become a Canadian national enterprise, we’ve truly enjoyed fostering new relationships in our various communities while continuing to strengthen others.
For our team at Veritext Canada, supporting the Advocates Society is a natural fit.
With their focus on facilitating mentorship in the coming term, the AS is working to provide an environment that “fosters creativity and provides support” within the legal community.
Recently, we had the pleasure of attending the Advocates Society gala in Calgary and last night we were able to connect once again in Toronto. It was a much-needed chance to celebrate together, and to honour successful careers, and, most importantly, begin to reconnect.
Connection. Isn’t that what it’s really all about?
Clearly, over the past many months our industry has shifted how (and where) we work and like many other professions, our systems and structures have been shaken to the core. Fortunately, our collective passion for justice has remained firmly intact, driving courts to utilize leading-edge solutions and adapt to virtual and hybrid practices to stay productive and connected.
As we emerge from this period of transformation, we also know that the repercussions of this pandemic will be felt for months, even years to come – and so, it becomes a meaningful exercise to hold on to the progress we’ve made and to look for the silver linings in the process.
One such glimmer of hope is the absolute joy of reconnecting with colleagues and friends in the real world, knowing how far we’ve all come!
Thank you to the Advocates Society for inviting our team to these important events and for the part they play in providing mentorship and actively supporting the development of young lawyers across Canada.
As a growing company, we will continue to align with others whose main goal is to shape the future of our industry in all its facets in a collaborative way. We often mention our focus on community over competition because despite the challenges and hurdles we all face, what remains is the strong foundation upon which our work thrives. Shaky foundations make for precarious futures, so finding the fortitude that remains is not only necessary but absolutely essential.
https://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/june-24.jpg8201980veritextcanada_48bzhlhttps://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/logo-veritext-canada-300x138.pngveritextcanada_48bzhl2022-06-24 09:55:562022-07-23 13:10:04The Advocates Society
As you know,Richards Reporting is now part of our Veritext Canada team. Led by Diane Richards, they were in operation for over 30 years in the Fraser Valley, servicing clients throughout the mainland of British Columbia with the utmost excellence. We took a brief moment out of Diane’s busy schedule and asked her a few questions about her experience as a Court Reporter.
Can you tell us how you became a court reporter and if there wasa trial or experience that made an impact on you and how you view the role of a court reporter?
I was taking several courses and one was a legal assistant. We went on a tour of the courthouse and the court reporter was pointed out. I signed up for the program and it was love at first sight haha.
My very first job was two weeks in court: chambers, pre-trials, Supreme Court. Jumped right into it, although probably not a good idea for new reporters. I loved court ever since. I have worked in a lot of different places. Free-lance, Official Court Reporter in Manitoba, contract reporter in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago High Court, and Senate. Then worked overseas a few times a year: Asia, Emirates, and Europe.
Veritext’s corporate values are respect, ethics, collaboration, accountability, and professionalism. Can you tell us which of these values resonates most strongly with you and why?
To be a court reporter I believe all those values apply. Court reporters are unique creatures, I think, perfectionists, self-motivated. We must be neutral and juggle our relationships with counsel, despite their antagonism to each other. We are referees when we need to be and know when to keep silent.
Lastly, wellness and self-care are important to our team. Do you have a favourite way to recharge, or can you share any tips for staying healthy mentally and physically, both at work and at home?
I work out a lot. Outside whenever I can (hiking and snowshoeing are my go-to’s) and I have a gym trainer. Trainers are beneficial because there is no thinking, can decompress, and simply follow instructions. They also are a good ear for venting. I go to the gym, even for 30 minutes, when I am stressed or upset about something. Works every time. Traveling is important to me also.
We love getting to know our new teammates from across the country. Dayna is the scheduling associate at Ace Reporting Services in Edmonton, and we asked her to tell us more about herself and her life with Veritext Canada.
Can you tell us what led you to your current role and what you love about working there?
I went to NAIT for the Captioning and Court Reporting program; however, it was not in the cards. The mum of one of my fellow classmates suggested to me that I apply for the job. To assist in my future success, my background also includes eight months as a QB court clerk and ten months as a legal assistant.
I love that moment when a client calls in a panic, and you can come through with a reporter. Knowing that you have just relieved a huge amount of stress — words cannot express how satisfying it is. Above all, I really love working with the reporters. They are the job, and without them I would not have this opportunity.
How do you think this new unified national team will help better service the legal industry across Canada?
Veritext has survived a pandemic and has come out even stronger. Since joining forces with British Columbia, Veritext Canada is now a company that can provide services for any matter, regardless of the province. We have adapted to a situation no one thought would happen in their lifetime. Everyone’s efforts are leading to a seamless experience, whether it be booking a matter or ordering transcripts.
Veritext’s mission and corporate values aim to be respectful, ethical, collaborative, accountable and professional. Can you tell us which of these values resonates most strongly with you and why?
The two values that I see exemplified the most are accountability and collaboration.
We all work together to help each other. It could be from scheduling demands that arise, to training new associates, to finding new ways to do things. If it was not collaborated on, we would not be where we are now.
Speaking from experience, we are accountable to each other and to our clients. Our associates leave no stone unturned. We must work together so we can continue to have happy clients.
Wellness and self-care are important to our team. Do you have a favourite way to recharge or any tips for staying healthy mentally and physically, both at work and at home?
Working from home was a challenge that I did not anticipate for my career, ever. Going from an office every day to working at my kitchen table was not something I had ever considered. I found it is helpful to have a specific workspace where you can close the door at the end of the day and leave work in the room. It is key to separate your work life and your home life — something that took a long time to achieve for me, personally. I also found it helpful to have a supportive partner. I started making it a rule to ask them if they have the mental space to listen to me. If all else fails, cats and corny movies are also important parts of my self-care.
What’s better than a cold Abbotsford cider on a hot sunny day?
Joining forces with another incredible team!
In the spirit of continuing to build a strong, sustainable court reporting community across Canada, we are thrilled to announce that Richards Reporting is now part of our Veritext Canada team!
As you know, Richards Reporting, led by Diane Richards, has been operating for over 30 years in the Fraser Valley, servicing clients throughout the mainland of British Columbia with the utmost excellence and we’re thrilled to partner with them.
Access to an extended team
Rest assured, you will still be working with the same exceptional team of reporters that you know and love and will have access to more boardrooms, integrated legal technology and efficiencies to enhance your litigation practice.
Our focus is always to provide an incomparable experience for clients and this collaboration is incredibly exciting. We look forward to continuing to shape the future of court reporting in Canada, together.
We love connecting and learning about our new-found team across the country. Victoria Joosten is the operations manager at Neesons and our connection to the east side of our operations. She has her finger firmly on the pulse of the needs for legal services in Ontario, and we value her insight and are excited to be working with her as part of the Veritext Canada team.
Can you tell us what led you to your current role and what you love about working there?
I started in the scheduling department at Neesons back in 2016 and had the pleasure of building that role into more of a client/marketing-focused position for four years. I was lucky enough to work closely with Kim Neeson and Dani McCoy to learn the ebbs and flows of the business, preparing me to step into the operations role that I am in today. I love that every single day is different — new problems to solve and a huge team to support, collaborate with and lead. I am learning something new every single day, and I could not imagine working for a more supportive company.
How do you see this new unified national team will help better service the legal industry across Canada?
We have a really great opportunity to become the undeniable leaders in the legal support industry in Canada right now. Our reach is far and wide, led by a team of hard-working, driven and like-minded individuals across the country. We now have access to court reporters and transcriptionists in almost every province nationwide and a support team that is available 24 hours a day. There is nothing we can’t do!
Veritext’s mission and corporate values aim to be respectful, ethical, collaborative, accountable and professional. Can you tell us which of these values resonates most strongly with you and why?
I would be lying if I said I thought one of those values is more important than the others, but I do have to say working collaboratively and holding people accountable resonate with me the most. I strongly believe in collaborative leadership, focusing on open conversation and organic solutions that will benefit and grow the business. Veritext is full of individuals with creative, innovative ideas, and it is important that we not only hold our team accountable to drive results but also hold ourselves accountable as well. Be the leader you would follow.
Wellness and self-care are important to our team. Do you have a favourite way to recharge or any tips for staying healthy mentally and physically or any tips for staying healthy mentally and physically both at work and home?
I am a huge health nut! I love the standing desk option for both the office and my home, and I keep a huge water bottle by my side. I also make it a priority to take a break from the screen every half hour or so to readjust my eyes for a few minutes. I do intense HIIT workouts every day after work to de-stress, and I am a strong believer that connecting with people will always boost your mood. My tips would include drinking at least 2 litres of water every day, getting your 10K steps in and going outside in the sun! Vitamin D is everything.
https://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/for-Victoria-post.jpg8201980veritextcanada_48bzhlhttps://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/logo-veritext-canada-300x138.pngveritextcanada_48bzhl2022-03-11 10:38:142022-07-23 13:16:38Connect Series: Meet Victoria Joosten, Operations Manager
March 8 is International Women’s Day, and the Government of Canada’s theme for 2022 is Women Inspiring Women.
It also marks my one-year anniversary with the company. There have been massive changes since then — Reportex is now Veritext Canada — but the one constant has remained: each of our offices across Canada (Reportex, Ace, Royal, Amicus and Neesons) is run by an empowered and largely female-led team, and it is always exciting to see such strong roles continuing to develop and influence this industry for everyone involved.
Over the last few decades the job market has seen drastic changes to the types of employment available. According to Statistics Canada over 2.6 million people describe themselves as self-employed, and approximately 40 percent of them are women. 95 percent of court reporters and transcriptionists in Canada are female.
Born in 1860, Georgina Alexandrina Fraser was Canada’s first female journalistic stenographer. She also taught young women to do the same. However, it took a lot longer for women to enter the legal services in Canada, and their struggle is aptly described in this Maclean’s article from 1954:
“SEVEN years ago, two energetic but penniless young women freshly out of His Majesty’s services were suddenly faced with the sobering [a]nd dismaying realization that they were once [a]gain living in a man’s world.
Ethel Zatyko and Rena Pettypiece had taken a twelve-month course in the hope of becoming court stenographers. They decided to pursue their chosen vocation in Alberta, which they regarded as a province of oil booms and millionaires. They wrote letters of application to court officials. But when the answers came, their hopes were dashed: the RCAF might recruit women wireless operators, but Alberta doesn’t allow women court reporters.
The girls were stunned and indignant, but never tearful.
They decided to go to Alberta anyway and show what women can do.”
Things have changed in Alberta and the rest of Canada.
The passion and belief in what we do has not changed. It is what pushes the people here to evolve and continue to look to the future of court reporting in Canada as we connect with like-minded people and organizations across the country.
The passion and belief in what we do also drives us to encourage and support court reporters to be the best in their field. We are excited to be planning more workshops and continuing education opportunities across Canada.
The passion and belief in what we do drives us to ensure the best technologically relevant services for our clients. Legal services are evolving quickly, thanks to many outside forces, and we are here to make sure you are ready to face them all.
Our name and logo may have changed, but our core values and commitment to this industry have not changed. Today we support many women-focused initiatives across Canada, including West Coast LEAF, Dress for Success, TLABC Women Lawyers Retreat and ACTLA Women’s Legal Forum. Our commitment to the future is to continue to inspire and support women (and men) to be the best they can be and to always dream big.
https://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/for-womens-day-post-scaled.jpg11482560veritextcanada_48bzhlhttps://veritext.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/logo-veritext-canada-300x138.pngveritextcanada_48bzhl2022-03-04 09:40:002022-07-23 13:17:05Welcome to International Women’s Day 2022
One of our key service areas that is not related to court reporting is independent medical examination (IME) transcription. This is a rather large umbrella term that covers the many aspects of medicolegal transcription services that are required by the medical and legal fields. We are proud of the experts we retain to review these transcripts to the exacting standards of quality and accuracy that we expect in all our work.
Britney Rumbaugh is one of our editors and proofers with a passion and interest in medicolegal documentation. She took some time to share why she loves this field of work.
Could you tell us in your own words what a medicolegal editor/proofer does?
The medicolegal editor/proofer is amedical language specialist and skilled researcher with the ability to analyze lengthy, complex medicolegal documentation while checking for ambiguities, inflammatory language (as seen in the court), conflicting information, incongruency of facts, false information, missing information, grammatical errors, formatting errors, spelling/typos, etc.
I edit and/or proof reports that have been received straight from an expert or have gone through our in-house transcription services. These types of reports include (but are not limited to) independent medical examinations (IMEs), supplementation reports, cost of future care (COFC) reports, functional ability assessments (FAAs), future cost of care (FCC) reports, functional capacity evaluations (FCEs), medicolegal reports and addendums.
Did you find this career, or did it find you?
I have always had a passion for biology and a thirst for knowledge. I feel that the position I have found myself in is exactly where I need to be, and I feel that the decisions I have made along the way have put me here. I enjoy what I do as well as enjoy the flexibility to be able to work from home — something that is not easily obtained in the medical world.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
There is a great sense of pride in being able to continually expand one’s knowledge while simultaneously helping experts in the field.
What has surprised you the most?
How passionate I am about helping deliver high-quality reports.
As technology continues to change how we all work, can you look into your crystal ball and tell us your vision of the future of the medicolegal transcription/editing industry?
As I have been in this industry for over a decade now, I have been able to watch the major shift in technology. There are many programs on the market that will attempt to do the job of a medical transcriptionist, but in my opinion they fall short. Most often these programs are “trained” to the speaker, and after time (and usually much frustration) they are eventually able to produce a document of subpar standards. Unfortunately, most experts will need to edit the produced document to some degree after it is churned out — and many professionals do not have the extra time to do this.
I feel that good medicolegal transcriptionists and medicolegal editors are irreplaceable, and the demand for our services will only increase as we see a transition into more multidisciplinary approaches to care and recovery (occupational therapy combined with physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage, psychology, etc.).
Veritext’s corporate values are respect, ethics, collaboration, accountability and professionalism. Can you tell us which of these values resonates most strongly with you and why?
I feel that all of Veritext’s listed values resonate strongly with me. They seem to work in unison — but if I have to choose one, I think respect should be foremost. I feel that respect is a key component in a healthy workplace culture and would allow for strong values across the board.
We talk quite a bit about wellness and self-care on our blog and internally through our Teams channels. Do you have a favourite way to recharge or any tips for staying healthy mentally and physically?
I love to “make old new again.” I enjoy refinishing old furniture. The before and after is always a big driver for me, and the whole process is very therapeutic.
I think the biggest thing for our mental health is to remember to make time for those closest to us as well as for ourselves! Find something that motivates you outside. My family and I enjoy many outside activities and are always on the go. Do what makes you happy!
