Court reporters – also referred to as short hand reporters – are responsible for keeping written records of legal proceedings, whether in government, court, or private settings. The verbatim documentation in criminal, civil and other court proceedings requires professionals who are highly skilled and trained in court reporting, which usually involves stenography.

Court reporters may also find a wealth of professional opportunities in the fields of closed and real time captioning services, webcasting, and Communications Access Realtime Reporting (CART) reporting, all of which require expert stenographic skills. Voice writing, which involves speaking into a computer that then translates the words into written transcripts, is also another important field within court reporting.