Saturday 16 January 2010

Legal Transcription


Today finds me working on legal transcription.

I have been transcribing immigration determinations for an Immigration Judge since 2001.  As it turned out, this line of work was a very lucky break for me; for once I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, knew the right person and had the skills which they were looking for.

For the most part, typing assignments and transcription projects arrive via word of mouth and repeat business, although I do continue to work hard canvassing, networking and advertising.  As a self-employed transcriptionist I can never rely on work simply materialising out of the blue - even though sometimes it does!  But despite the occasional period of uncertainty, as far as I'm concerned the advantages of autonomy and independence far outweigh any disadvantages.

As well as legal immigration work, transcription of legal documents for solicitors and barristers is now an important part of my portfolio and over the years I have carefully built a valuable list of referees along with the reputation for being trustworthy, reliable, completely confidential and of course efficient.

Life is so much easier now that most of my clients dictate and record on to digital media.  Gone are the times when bundles of tapes arrived at my door in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  These days virtually all my work arrives electronically, either as an email attachment or a digital file, securely uploaded via the internet.

Once I've finished my current legal obligations I shall be typing out research material for a UK academic.  Well, as the old saying goes - variety is the spice of life and I can't argue with that!


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