Daily transcription is—and I say this from experience—not an easy job. Under the best of circumstances, it takes three to four times as long to transcribe an audio file. While different industries have long known the multiple benefits of having a reputable legal transcription service on their team, some might question if it’s worth the cost. This is particularly true when clients need their transcripts as fast as possible, even within the day, in cases like legal transcription.
So, can accurate transcription work be upheld in the face of a ticking clock? Can professional transcribers produce several high-quality transcripts within tight deadlines?
In this article, you’ll learn how:
- Fast and accurate transcription is non-negotiable in high-pressure industries like legal and medical, where deadlines and details are both mission-critical.
- AI transcription falls short on accuracy, especially with legal jargon, making human transcription a smarter choice for legally admissible documents.
- Outsourcing to expert providers like Ditto Transcripts ensures fast turnaround times (as quick as 24 hours), 99%+ accuracy, and secure, court-ready documents.
The Daily Transcription Process
Many people mistake transcription work for simply “typing out what you hear.” It’s like saying a quick phone call and a day-long meeting are the same. Technically accurate, though grossly out of proportion.
Transcription is the complex process of transcribing every sound and dialogue from an audio or video recording to create a faithful representation of said recording in digital or hard-copy format. It requires patience, skill, and expertise, which come with years of working in the field.
Here’s a brief description of the process, at least as Ditto does it — an approach trusted across industries, especially in court transcription services, where precision and accuracy are absolutely essential.
- Obtain Recordings: Clients record legal proceedings such as hearings, depositions, and trials using any device—ideally, high-quality. Files are sent to an in-house transcriptionist, an automatic program, or a manual service provider like Ditto Transcripts, which is preferred for accuracy. This is especially true for trial transcription services, where every word must be captured precisely to ensure a complete, legally admissible record.
- Transcribe Recordings: The recording is assigned to one or more legal transcriptionists, who turn it into a digital or written document per the client’s requirements. Legal offices often request verbatim transcription, which includes filler words, false starts, and grammatical errors.
- Quality Checks: The transcript undergoes several rounds of proofreading and editing, ensuring that all words, including legal terminology, are correct.
- Return Transcripts: Proofread and polished transcripts are sent to clients and certified as legal documents for court use.
Daily Transcription Requirements In The Legal Industry
One critical component of the job is how fast transcripts can be delivered, and this is ever so true in the legal industry. Here are some examples of circumstances that require fast transcripts.
| Instances | Description |
| Emergency Court Orders | In situations requiring immediate legal action, such as emergency custody or restraining orders, transcripts of previous hearings or depositions may be needed quickly. |
| High-Profile Cases | During high-profile cases, media outlets and legal teams may demand rapid access to transcripts to prepare statements, analyze testimonies, or provide updates. |
| Appeals and Motions | When a case is on appeal or if there’s an urgent motion, legal teams might need transcripts of the original proceedings to prepare their arguments effectively. |
| Last-Minute Evidence Submission | Sometimes, new evidence surfaces shortly before a court date, and lawyers might require quick transcription of interviews or depositions to include in their evidence submission. |
| Pre-Trial Preparations | In the days before a trial, attorneys may need expedited transcripts of depositions or previous hearings to refine their strategy, cross-examination questions, or closing arguments. |
| Witness Unavailability | If a key witness becomes unavailable, having a transcript of their prior deposition or testimony on hand can be crucial for the ongoing trial. |
| Judge’s Request | A judge may request immediate transcripts of a day’s proceedings to review testimonies or evidence before ruling or issuing instructions to the jury. |
| Government Investigations | Rapid transcription of interviews, testimonies, or hearings might be needed during governmental or regulatory investigations to proceed with the investigation or enforcement actions. In such cases, government transcription services ensure that every statement is documented accurately and securely to support transparency, compliance, and due process. |
Why Outsource Transcription For Faster Turnaround Times?
One of the primary benefits of outsourcing any business task or process is the increased speed and efficiency it provides. When experts like Ditto Transcripts focus solely on your transcription needs, you tend to get faster results.
However, the emergence of AI-powered transcription has some people wondering if that’s the way to go. After all, automated transcription is often cheap and lightning-fast.
Unfortunately, AI transcription is also inaccurate. By the best estimates, it can only achieve 61.92% accuracy, whereas a human transcriber can achieve more than 99% accuracy with the same audio file.
This is a crucial consideration, given that you, the client, must correct inaccurate transcripts before they are ready for use. Honestly, editing AI transcripts, given their free-flowing, punctuation-free format and many untagged errors — is not something I’d wish on anyone. The combined tedium and frustration will likely result in more time being spent on transcription, rather than less.
So, outsourcing to experts like Ditto Transcripts is the best way to meet your daily transcription requirements. Work with us, and your transcripts can be delivered in 24 hours or less with more than 99% accuracy.
Other Benefits Of Outsourcing Transcription
The benefits of outsourced transcription are not limited to speedy deliveries. Here are some of the advantages of getting expert, reliable legal transcription:
| Category | Human / Outsourced Legal Transcription (e.g., Ditto Transcripts) | AI Transcription Services |
| Accuracy | Provides up to 99% accuracy. Human transcribers capture tone, pauses, and nonverbal cues essential for verbatim transcription services, ensuring transcripts are legally admissible and true to the original recording. | Typically around 61.92% accuracy, depending on audio quality. Struggles with accents, overlapping speech, background noise, and legal jargon. |
| Expertise & Focus | Performed by professional transcribers with extensive legal knowledge. Frees up law firms and attorneys to focus on casework instead of manual transcription. | No true understanding of legal context or nuance. Produces literal text without verifying meaning or terminology accuracy. |
| Cost Savings | More cost-effective than hiring full-time court reporters or paralegals. Offers high-quality transcripts at rates as low as $2.25 per audio minute for rush jobs. | Usually cheaper per minute, but poor accuracy often leads to time-consuming manual corrections—increasing overall costs. |
| Improved Documentation | Provides well-organized, downloadable digital transcripts. Reduces physical paperwork and ensures easy document retrieval and storage security. | Generates unformatted text that may require heavy editing or reformatting for legal use. |
| Affordability | Balances high quality and reasonable pricing, with flexible turnaround times depending on urgency. You may also check out our legal transcription prices to find out more. | Lower upfront cost but lower quality; not ideal for official or legally binding records. |
| Security | CJIS-compliant systems with secure servers, VPN integration, SSL 256-bit encryption, user access controls, and NDAs. Ensures confidentiality of sensitive legal data. | Security varies by provider; most AI tools are cloud-based and not compliant with CJIS or strict legal confidentiality standards. |
| Legal Admissibility | Transcripts are court-ready and legally admissible, suitable for trials, hearings, and depositions. | AI-generated transcripts are not legally admissible in court due to a lack of human verification and certification. |
| Turnaround Time | Offers rush services (1–2 business days) and flexible delivery options without sacrificing accuracy. | Instant output, but requires extensive post-editing for professional or legal use. |
| Government & Trial Transcription | Specialized government and trial transcription services ensure verbatim accuracy for investigations, hearings, and courtroom use. | AI struggles with multi-speaker settings and regulatory or courtroom acoustics. |
Choose Ditto For Your Daily Transcription Needs
Get the best outsourced legal transcription service daily, courtesy of the best in the business. Don’t believe us? Our client testimonials speak for us.
Call Ditto now and experience the difference.
Ditto Transcripts is a Denver, Colorado-based FINRA, HIPAA, and CJIS-compliant transcription services company that provides fast, accurate, and affordable transcripts for individuals and companies of all sizes. Call (720) 287-3710 today for a free quote.