Guidelines for Reporters and Attorneys

Adherence to these guidelines will be required by volunteer reporters and participating attorneys.

• It is the responsibility of the scheduling attorney to contact, communicate with, and schedule a volunteer reporter. A list of volunteer reporters will be maintained, and the scheduling attorney can find volunteers from such list.
• Pro bono court reporting services are to be provided only if the attorney is providing pro bono services. Should payment be received through any means, the attorney will provide compensation to the reporter. Should the indigent status of the parties change, the volunteer reporter will be notified, and the scheduling attorney can choose to reschedule the deposition through his/her regular reporting service or expect to be billed at the reporter's regular rates.
• Flexibility in scheduling the date and time of the pro bono deposition is expected. We request that the volunteer reporter be given at least 30 days' notice prior to the need of their services. A minimum notice of 24 hours shall be given for cancellation of services. The scheduling attorney shall provide case information and appearances to the volunteer reporter at the time the services are requested.
• The volunteer reporter shall disclose in advance to all parties that he/she is providing reporting services on a pro bono basis to the scheduling party. All other parties will be expected to pay full and normal transcript copy prices.
• The amount of time one volunteer reporter shall report a pro bono deposition is limited to two hours/80 pages of transcript. If the proceedings are expected to extend beyond two hours, at the time of scheduling the assignment the scheduling attorney will so advise the volunteer reporter and agree to change volunteer reporters at the end of the first two-hour segment. If the assignment lasts longer than two hours, the volunteer reporter may elect to remain. If it is necessary to continue on with another volunteer reporter, the responsibility for scheduling the additional reporter lies with the scheduling attorney.
• If the scheduling attorney requests an expedited transcript and the volunteer reporter agrees to such, the attorney will pay the difference between the regular rate and the rush rate of the transcript. The transcript will only be delivered on a C.O.D. basis.
• The volunteer reporter will provide 80 pages of transcript and two hours appearance in one setting at no charge. All subsequent time and pages will be billed at the reporter's regular rates, unless the reporter waives their fee or negotiates a discounted rate. The format of transcripts shall follow the format guidelines recommended by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA).
• The scheduling attorney shall be responsible for production of exhibits, unless an agreement is reached in advance with the volunteer reporter regarding such services.
• Delivery of the pro bono transcript will occur in a timely manner; however, it should be understood that the reporter may have to give priority to other transcripts reported by him/her. As such, the delivery time for pro bono transcripts may be as long as four weeks.
• Volunteer reporters are not required to provide rough drafts or realtime services on a pro bono basis. Ancillary services, such as video services or deposition on written questions, will not be provided on a pro bono basis by the volunteer reporter unless agreed to in advance.
• A volunteer reporter may elect, at their own discretion, to provide services beyond what is required per the Pro Bono Guidelines.
• The volunteer reporter is required to comply with the Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure or other applicable rules when providing court reporting services. They are also required to comply with the Code of Ethics as outlined by NCRA.
• Any complaints by the parties regarding the pro bono assignment should be made in writing to the Chair of the Pro Bono Committee.

Pro Bono Directory

Below is a directory of members who will accept pro bono work.  Volunteer reporters and participating attorneys are required to adhere to the guidelines set out by the Virginia Court Reporters Association (VCRA) Pro Bono Program.