Ethical and Professional Behavior
What the exam tests
Ethics questions ask what a competent, impartial professional does when pressure, ambiguity, or error appears. Core duties: accuracy and completeness, impartiality, confidentiality, integrity of the record, and scope of competence - knowing when to decline or refer work you cannot do well.
Concepts to know
- Impartiality: transcribe what was said, not what a party wishes had been said. No favoring either side, no editorializing.
- Confidentiality: proceedings may be sealed or sensitive; discuss case content only with those authorized, and follow retention/destruction rules.
- Integrity of the record: never alter a completed transcript to change meaning; corrections follow a documented process, with a record of who changed what and why.
- Conflicts and pressure: if asked to omit, soften, or "clean up" damaging testimony, refuse and escalate through proper channels.
- Competence and honesty: state limitations, flag genuinely unintelligible audio rather than guessing, and disclose errors promptly.
- Professional conduct: punctuality, prepared equipment, respectful interaction with counsel and the court.
Traps
Distractors often sound helpful - "just fix the grammar," "leave out the sidebar," "mark it inaudible so it looks cleaner." Each violates a duty. Another trap is treating confidentiality as ending when the job ends; it typically persists. Some questions test that you should not give legal advice or interpret testimony, only transcribe it.
Rule of thumb
Apply the front-page test: if your handling of the file were described in open court, would it look defensible? If not, don't do it.