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legal transcription - thinking of trying - thinking about it

Posted: Jul 21, 2013

I'm thinking of trying legal transcription if there are no MTSOs worth sticking around for. My current company is losing accounts to EPIC. These sure aren't the old days when you could take your pick of MTSOs. It's slim pickins' now. I don't have any legal experience, but think I could pick up the terminology and formatting easily enough. Anyone else tried it? Are there law offices that will hire us to work at home? What kind of transcription do you use? I still have my old Lanier cassette transcribing machines.

Legal transcription - Realistic

[ In Reply To ..]
I learned legal transcription years ago when I was taking my MT course. You might pick up the terminology but as I recall there was a lot of formatting to learn. It will probably be just as it is with any job, they want experienced employees. No one uses cassettes any more and many law offices outsource, similar to medical. I rarely see ads for legal transcriptionists. Perhaps if you went to school and studied to be a paralegal there might be more job opportunities. If you are an IC, you may be able to get a few legal accounts in addition to your MT job. You could call the law firms in your city to see if they need a transcriptionist. Good luck.

Well... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Legal transcription is usually nestled in with basic legal secretarial work. As far as I know (I have a friend who does it), you need to be in the office to take calls, bounce things around with the attorney in terms of this and that, patch through phone calls to him or her, take care of clients in person, etc. It's more of an office sectretarial job than strictly a transcription job.

I haven't done it recently, but nowadays, they have legal software and things. Best you could do there is to send a resume to a local law firm and see where it takes you. Somehow work in that you have the transcription experience, you are just transitioning to a different type. There is definitely legalese, but it's not as "complex" as medical transcription. If nothing else, you don't have 100s of dictators--likely just 1 or 2.

People do go to legal secretary school. You may have to do that. It's different from if you had worked for a lawyer years and years ago, then just sort of picked everythinng up.

You would probably need to get some training - xx

[ In Reply To ..]
before being competitive for a job in legal transcription. Some states have very specific requirements with regard to the formatting and presentation of documents that include details such as font type and size, spacing and placement of paragraphs, even the type of paper that must be used. These requirements may vary for different documents and different court systems within a state. An employer is going to expect a transcriptionist to be familiar with all the requirements for legal documents in the state(s) where they practice.

and they don't really make that much. I think you would be - disappointed to find out.

[ In Reply To ..]
maybe a little over minimum wage?

it is not something you can just "pickup" just like - mtr

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medical is something you cannot just pickup.

Picking up terminology - Realistic

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Yes, it is possible to "pick up" terminology. I had my first job out of school as an MT in acute care and had taken terminology and anatomy, but had very little exposure to "real world" hospital transcription. I picked things up all the time by studying and learning. At every job following that, I "picked up" new terminology as I went along. Anyone with a strong background in medicine and good language skills can learn legal terminology without formal training. As for the rest of the job, it may be necessary to take some classes.

Legal Transcription--need to know all the different forms and documents - PetesSake

[ In Reply To ..]
I worked for a while doing this but in an office for a team of attorneys, not from home. Legal documents have very specific formatting for the courts, etc., and really you need to become familiar with all of those.

legal transcription - thinking about it

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you, everyone, for your input. I can take some legal terminology classes at our local community college if I decide to invest that much time and money into it. I'd rather just keep doing MT work like I've done for 32 years....but we all know how rosy this industry's future looks.

legal transcription - Tammie

[ In Reply To ..]
I am in a similar boat. Haven't tried yet but my thought is why not medical malpractice lawyers? Or any type of lawyer that deals in medical issues, disability, etc. It is a thought.

medical malpractice lawsuits - thinking about it

[ In Reply To ..]
That's what I was thinking, Tammie, that medical malpractice would definitely utilize our medical terminology.

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nm ...

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