Should You Outsource Legal Transcription Work?
Legal transcription is the process by which a document is transcribed from audio or video recordings to a digital text format. The time necessary for this process varies depending on the quality of the recording and the complexity of the document being transcribed.
Legal transcription is one of the most beneficial services that law professionals have to offer but they are also one of the most time-consuming. How do you know if you want legal transcription services? This article will give an overview of what legal transcription entails, how it can be used, and the pros and cons of using this service.
Why Legal Transcription is Important?
Legal transcription is the process of converting the spoken word into written form for use as evidence in a court of law. Transcription is necessary because some legal proceedings take place without a video camera and recordings are not reliable as evidence.
Legal transcription offers lawyers, judges, litigators, and those involved in creating court proceedings an accurate account of what happened during a trial. Lawyers can also use transcriptions to verify important points they may have missed during trial sessions.
What is Legal Transcription Outsourcing?
Outsourcing legal transcription tasks means that you pay an individual or company to convert legal dictations and recordings into reports for you.
Legal transcription tasks can be a time-consuming, tedious process. Your legal staff may spend a significant amount of time transcribing legal notes from audio to text format. As the volume of court records continues to increase, so too does the need for efficient methods of data collection and management.
In the past decade, the number of freelance transcriptionists has surged in recent years due to a sharp increase in outsourcing needs from attorneys and other legal professionals.
Should you outsource legal transcription work?
Outsourcing legal transcription work is an affordable solution that will provide immediate relief for legal professionals, allowing them to focus on their main jobs.
It’s understandable that you’ll have reservations about outsourcing work that involves sensitive information. But legal transcription work is not only a time-consuming task but can also be expensive if performed in-house.
If you outsource to a company that specializes in legal transcription and you'll find that it simplifies this process and eliminates the need for you to purchase costly legal transcription software and equipment.
What to consider when deciding to outsource your legal transcription work
Outsourcing legal transcription work can save time and money for busy attorneys and legal professionals. But outsourcing legal transcription work has some challenges, so it's important to consider the following factors before deciding to outsource this type of work to a legal transcription service company: cost, expertise, efficiency, time commitment, data security, and quality assurance.
1. Legal transcription cost
Outsourcing legal transcription can be a cost-effective alternative to having an in-house transcription team. The amount of money spent on outsourcing will depend on the number of hours transcribed per month, the speed at which you want to get your transcripts back, and the language.
Some companies offer clients the ability to pay per audio minute rather than per word or page, which can save money in certain circumstances.
2. Expertise and preparedness of legal transcription transcribers
It’s important to ascertain that the legal transcribers have an excellent command of English and grammar, combined with a good understanding of legal terminology. Aside from their skills and expertise in transcription, seasoned transcribers have the mental and emotional preparedness to deal with the task.
Legal transcription work is not only physically taxing, but it can also be emotionally draining. This is because they listen to confidential conversations without understanding the content. They are often exposed to potentially offensive language or vernacular that they have never heard before, which can be mentally taxing.
Legal transcriptionists and experts have developed the ability to detach themselves from these factors and can work efficiently.
3. Efficiency and Time Commitment
Legal transcriptionists are in high demand these days, but not everyone is suited for this job. It requires a specific skill set that needs to be learned in order for the individual to become proficient in the field.
Make sure that the legal transcription service company that you’re hiring have a team of legal transcribers who can work efficiently within deadline and they have the proper software and tools to do their job.
Typically, a high volume of transcription work must be done within 24-48 hours. The outsourcing company must be able to deliver based on your required time.
4. Legal Transcription Data Security
Tasks that have been traditionally performed by the in-house staff are being outsourced to outside vendors. The confidentiality of data, such as sensitive personal information, can be compromised during this process if companies do not take proper precautions.
5. Legal Transcription Quality Assurance
Quality assurance is vital for any transcription work. Legal transcripts require accuracy, efficiency, and time management skills. Quality assurance is the process of checking the quality of work done by others. This process determines if the work is good enough to be accepted or not
Some transcription projects may be low-quality and require many hours of editing, which can lead to frustration. Make sure that the transcription service company has a quality assurance team that ensures the final work is free from errors and the format follows your requirements to a T.
Quality assurance ensures that these mistakes are corrected before they are presented to you and that you receive accurate transcripts.
Implications of Outsourcing Legal Transcription Work to a Third Party
Legal transcription work has a number of implications for your company. You may choose to outsource the work because of differences in language or culture, or because it is not a core business. Other companies might consider outsourcing their legal transcription work because they have too many transcription jobs to keep up with.
With the high volume of work, you’re probably considering outsourcing legal transcription work. It’s definitely a big decision to make. In order to make an informed decision, ask yourself the following questions:
Is outsourcing legal transcription work cost-effective for your company?
Can you find a reliable legal transcription service provider who can keep up with your workload and deadlines?
Will you have complete control of the transcription process?
If you need help answering these questions, contact us and we’ll help guide you in making the right decision on whether to outsource legal transcription or not.
