How to Build a Sustainable Court Reporting Practice From Day One

New reporters are often told to scope their own work for years before bringing in help. The advice comes from a good place, but it can mean six-hour turnarounds on transcripts an experienced reporter with the right support team would finish overnight.

Kristie Wood, CVR, has spent 24 years in the profession and mentored more than 150 court reporting students. She's built her career on one idea: new reporters can work like experienced reporters from day one, if they build the right support system early instead of waiting years to earn it.

In this candid, practical session, Kristie covered how to set up scopists and proofreaders from your first job, set rates with confidence, communicate professionally with agencies and attorneys, and treat mentorship as infrastructure, not an afterthought.

Watch to learn:

• A framework for building professional workflow support from day one
• Guidance on setting and presenting your rates
• Best practices for agency and attorney communication
• A mentorship roadmap for the early years of your career

Meet Your Host

Kristie Wood, CVR, is a court reporter with 24 years of experience who earned her Certified Voice Reporter credential after returning to school to add voice writing to her practice. What began when she invited five students to her hotel room after a CVR exam has grown into a mentorship network of more than 150 court reporting students and newer reporters. Through her program, Phase 2, she shares rate sheet templates, workflow guidance, and honest advice on the business side of the profession that school doesn't always teach. Known for her transparency about money and real career decisions, Kristie posts practical encouragement daily on TikTok at @getreadysetreport.