The Sister Paralegal and the Firm's Holiday Gift
You are an independent contractor court reporter in Honolulu. A defense law firm books you for a six-hour deposition. The firm's paralegal, who assigns reporters, is your sister. After the deposition, she asks you to bill eight hours because 'the partner already approved it,' even though the reporting time was six hours and fifteen minutes. She also gives you a $150 gift card and says, 'Don't worry, everyone gets one.' During the deposition, the lead attorney asked you to go off record, then said, 'My client didn't really see the invoice; don't put that in.' You did not hear all parties agree to go off record. The firm is a major source of repeat business, and your sister says a refusal will hurt her at work.
1. What ethical issues arise from your sister's role and the gift card?
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Your sister's role as the person who assigns work creates at least an appearance of favoritism, and the gift card compounds it. You should disclose the relationship to the firm and, if the firm does not reassign the job, to the other parties or their counsel so they can assess the neutrality of the reporter. A $150 gift from a client that regularly sends you work is not a trivial courtesy; it can reasonably be seen as an attempt to influence future billing or transcription decisions. The safest course is to decline the gift and explain why. Your sister's fear about her job does not change your ethical duty; you can suggest that the firm use a different scheduler for your assignments. Document the disclosure and the gift refusal. If you cannot remain impartial, withdraw from the assignment rather than let the relationship affect the record.
2. How should you handle the billing request?
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Bill the actual time spent reporting, plus any permitted ancillary charges such as travel or exhibit handling under your written rate agreement. Six hours and fifteen minutes is not eight hours. Inflating the bill because the partner 'already approved it' is dishonest and can constitute fraud; the fact that the client invites it does not make it proper. Send an itemized invoice showing start and end times, breaks, and any charges, and be prepared to explain the difference. If the firm insists on the inflated figure, refuse and preserve the correspondence. You may lose the account, but you should not trade your certification and professional reputation for repeat business. If there was genuine additional work, such as a long post-deposition audio cleanup, document it separately and bill only for work actually performed.
3. What should you do about the attorney's 'don't put that in' statement?
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The statement 'My client didn't really see the invoice; don't put that in' was made during the deposition. Because you did not hear all parties agree to go off the record, the default is to keep recording and to transcribe what was said. You may not delete it at the attorney's request. If the remark is later claimed to be privileged or made during a properly agreed off-record conference, the remedy is a court order or a stipulation, not private editing by the reporter. Note the request in your log, preserve the original audio, and do not create an altered official transcript. If all parties later agree on the record to strike or seal the statement, follow the court's procedure and document it. Do not advise the attorney on privilege; your role is to preserve an accurate record.