Legal transcription is the process of typing any type of legal document or proceeding from the spoken word (including audio files) into a written text document that’s been carefully formatted so you can easily find the information you need.
Lawyers and everyone who works alongside them typically have a lot on their plates, no matter what legal field or specialty they’re working in. Many end up working long hours reviewing essential documents, conducting interviews, and even transcribing court audio and video recordings.
Finding ways to streamline that process is essential, especially if you want to scale and potentially take on more clients.
Transcription companies can help with this, letting you hand over audio files of interviews and court hearings while getting an easy-to-read and fast-to-scan text document back in return. And if you’re worried that transcriptionists wouldn’t have the experience needed to do the job well because you’ve always worked with court reporters. We’ve got good news: legal transcriptionists can offer top-tier, accurate transcriptions.
Already know you’re in need of legal transcription services and want to get started?
How a Legal Transcriptionist Makes it Happen
Today, the legal transcription industry is experiencing rapid growth. Services can include transcription of depositions, testimonies, official court hearings, interrogations, client letters, legal briefs, and general legal correspondence. Deposition transcription services are one of the most commonly used services by law firms for all types of legal proceedings, from pre-trial up to everything that happens in a courtroom. Audio recordings – including physical tapes, digital files, and video – are converted into perfectly formatted documents.
Deposition transcripts can be a game changer for lawyers, especially since they have such a large scope of information to review and document that occurs at different points in time.
What Makes Legal Transcription Different from Court Reporting?
Many lawyers in the past have relied exclusively on court reporters and the transcriptions they provide without realizing that there are more options available to them beyond these specific services.
Traditionally, court reporters (also called stenographers) are certified and licensed workers who will attend a court proceeding in person and create a transcript of what occurs during the session. This happens live and in real-time, necessitating a fast-paced work environment. Fortunately, stenographers are able to type in shorthand, which they later convert into full words and sentences before it’s proofread, and then the entire document is sent to the court and attorneys involved.
Legal transcriptionists are different from court reporters and stenographers. Most aren’t able to certify a transcript (though here at Ditto Transcripts we can certify your transcripts because we carry the necessary insurance), and transcriptionists don’t have the ability to swear someone in. Our legal transcriptionists are also 100% remote, which ultimately saves our clients a significant amount of time and money. We’ll talk about this more in a minute.
The Importance of Legal Transcription
The legal transcription industry is booming, and that’s because it’s a solid time and financial investment for law firms of all shapes and sizes.
One of the biggest and most obvious reasons to use legal transcription services, of course, is that it will save you an incredible amount of time. Instead of trying to listen through audio files for snippets of information that you need or hiring someone else to do so, you’ll get a single easy-to-scan document containing everything you need. And since you’re outsourcing this instead of having a paralegal or an assistant handling this task for you, the transcriptions will come faster, be more accurate, and improve your overall office’s workflow since your team can tackle more important tasks that require their immediate attention.
In addition to saving time, you’ll also be trimming overhead costs along the way. The average cost of a legal secretary may be around $20-25 per hour, and the cost for a paralegal is around $25-32 per hour. They’re undeniably valuable members of your team, and you pay accordingly, so it makes sense to get the most value out of their work possible by working on tasks that you can’t outsource. Since law firms are always busy, these team members can work on more crucial day-to-day administrative tasks that you’d have to handle yourself otherwise (or hire someone else to do).
Since transcription costs are much cheaper than hiring a new employee to handle it (costing between $1.50 and $5.00 per minute of recorded audio), you’ll be saving significantly along the way.
Experienced transcriptionists will also be fast. They’re used to transcribing documents quickly, and have the right tools in place to help them do so accurately. Agencies like ours offer particularly quick returns on your files, offering turnaround times of as little as four hours if needed.
And since legal transcriptionists are specialized (many of our people have a background in law giving them an understanding of the source material), they’ll be as familiar with what you need as in-office assistants or paralegals, and can even format the documents according to your firm’s personal preferences.
Simply put, legal transcription services will save you money and time while guaranteeing accuracy, allowing you to focus on the most important parts of your job. You and your team members have specialized skill sets, so don’t waste time doing anything else during the workday.
Top 8 Questions Law Firms and Lawyers Ask About Legal Transcription?
| # | Question | Answer |
| 1 | Can you certify transcripts? | Yes— Ditto Transcripts is fully insured and are willing to certify our transcripts for future use. |
| 2 | How fast is your turnaround? | Rush service is available in as little as 4 hours; standard turnaround is 24–48 hours. |
| 3 | Do you handle sensitive material like juvenile cases or sealed evidence? | Absolutely. We’re CJIS-compliant, trusted for handling sensitive law enforcement data, and adhere to HIPAA to ensure confidentiality. |
| 4 | Can I send in low-quality audio? | Yes, our highly trained transcribers listen and transcribe the submitted audio with no skips, regardless of the quality. |
| 5 | What types of legal documents can you transcribe? | We handle different legal documents, including depositions, court hearings, client letters, wiretaps, panel discussions, and more. |
| 6 | What file formats do you accept? | Most common formats: MP3, MP4, WAV, M4A, and dictated records upon request. |
| 7 | How do you ensure accuracy? | All transcripts go through multiple reviews. We guarantee 99%+ accuracy, often achieving rates. |
| 8 | How do you protect my data? | Ditto Transcripts uses AES-256 encryption with strict access control and is backed by cyber liability insurance. |
What Makes a Legal Transcription a Smart Investment?
More than a convenient option, legal transcription is gaining in popularity as a strategic choice as law firms shift to digital documentation and workflows. Moreover, industry analysts and legal tech publications recognize transcription outsourcing as one of the most cost-effective methods to reduce workload while maintaining the highest standards of efficiency and compliance.
Firms that integrate legal transcription into their workflow gain some of the following benefits:
- Legal transcription services provide faster case prep with professionally formatted transcripts
- Internal labor costs are reduced as legal professionals focus on higher-value tasks
- Overall improvement in the documentation accuracy
Accuracy and Speed in Numbers
At Ditto, we guarantee 99% accuracy. While you might want to try cheaper or faster AI transcription services, it only offers an accuracy rate of 61.92%. Putting it differently, a 2000-word recording transcribed by AI will likely have over 700 words written incorrectly.
In terms of speed, Ditto offers flexible turnover times depending on the client’s budget. Rush projects can be completed as early as 4 hours, but customers have the option to choose a standard or extended timeframe, which takes 3-5 or 6-10 days, respectively. It may not be as fast as AI transcription, but the time it takes to fix the mistakes, and the potential consequences will surely negate any benefits of its use. Ditto’s legal transcription services are so professionally tailor-fitted that it’ll be the last transcription service you will ever need.
Work with an Agency That Has Specialized Legal Transcriptionists
When law firms and other legal professionals are looking to find a transcriptionist, it’s essential to choose an agency that actually specializes in legal transcription and offers it as a unique service instead of simply hiring the first company you find online. The same applies to the government. Government legal transcriptions include a wide range of agencies, including education and health departments, as well as legislative bodies, which could greatly benefit from an accurate and professionally formatted transcript.
Someone with specialized experience will be familiar with your industry, leading to significant increases in accuracy. They’ll understand exactly how you want your documents to be formatted, they’ll know the legal jargon that’s being used, and they’ll be able to get your legal transcripts to you quickly.
Agencies with this specialized service are also going to have more protective measures in place to keep the files they’re working on confidential. Since many lawyers regularly handle sensitive information that is required by law to be kept confidential, this is a major factor to consider.
You need an agency that can be discreet and protect your information. They’ll do this by hiring trusted agents, and they’ll also have measures in place to keep the files and documents safe from breaches and security risks.
At Ditto Transcripts, for example, we’re CJIS compliant, following all practices currently recommended to keep the audio and text files we’re working on secure as they travel to and from your firm. This isn’t something that all agencies do, which could potentially leave you (and your clients) open to major security risks.
The Legal Transcription Process
Legal transcription is a straightforward process, broken down into three key steps. This is your “How to transcribe a legal document” cheat sheet.
We Receive & Transcribe Your Audio File(s)
Once you’ve found the agency that you want to work with, you send them an audio or video file. Agencies like ours will accept the majority of file types available, allowing you to work flexibly.
Please let us know upfront what turnaround time you need, and we’ll ensure that we can guarantee it.
The first thing the legal transcriptionist will do is to carefully listen to the source material. They’ll copy it verbatim into a written document, formatted exactly as you’ve specified in the initial call and taking into account what source material they’re transcribing. Verbatim transcription services ensure everything in the audio is heard and transcribed (including the “ums and ahs,” free from omissions of any word or stutters.
If, for example, the audio file is of an interrogation or court hearing, nuances of speech patterns and grammatical inconsistencies will remain. If, however, the end product is a legal document or letter, grammar, syntax, and correct wording and phrasing will be used to create the professional documentation.
The Document is Reviewed
After the transcription is complete, it will be reviewed and proofread by at least one additional person to ensure that both accuracy and grammatical integrity guarantees are met. Here at Ditto Transcripts, we guarantee a minimum of a 99% accuracy rate, and we strive for (and regularly reach) that perfect 100%.
We Send the Transcription Back to You
Once everything has been proofread and double-checked, we return the document to you in the format you prefer. If requested, we can send the transcription in multiple digital formats as well as (or instead of) a printed version. We securely archive the transcription so that it will be available if your files are ever lost or damaged for whatever reason.
Legal Transcription Rates?
We previously discussed legal transcription costs.
Here at Ditto Transcripts, you can expect to pay $1.50-5.00 per minute of the audio recording, and costs will vary depending on the type of transcription you need and what turnaround times you want.
Rush rates, for example, will cost more if you need the file within one to two business days, while extended rates will earn you a discount if you can wait up to six to ten business days.
You’ll also pay more for more or less depending on how complicated the audio file is.
Single-person interviews or standard one-on-one interviews, for example, both fall under “category A” in the chart above and will come in at the cheapest rates. Audio with four or more speakers, however, or those that deal with scientific terminology, thick accepts, focus groups, or panel discussions often fall into “category C,” and will come with the highest per-minute rate.
Ditto’s legal transcription pricing is very competitive. For reference, here’s a cost comparison for professional legal transcription by different providers:
| Method | Avg. Cost (Per Hour) | Notes |
| Paralegal (In-House) | $25–$32 | Expensive, often inefficient (Rates according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2023) |
| Legal Secretary (In-House) | $20–$25 | Expensive, often inefficient (Rates according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2023) |
| Transcription Service | $1.50–$5.00 per audio min | Cost-effective, dependent on the client’s preferred turnover rate |
| AI Transcription (Raw) | ~$0.25–$1.00 per min | Needs extensive human editing (~3x time invested) |
How to Find The Right Transcription Agency
When you’re hiring an agency for legal transcription services, there will be a few things that you want to look for to ensure that they can meet your expectations.
Here’s what you need to look for:
- A high guarantee of accuracy. If they won’t guarantee at least a 99% accuracy rate, you don’t want to hire them.
- They have turnaround times that work for you. While you likely won’t need or even want most files turned around in one or two days, it’s good to find an agency that can do so if you think you may ever need them.
- They’re an American-based company. American companies tend to follow stricter protocols when it comes to legal transcription and working with American clients. They’re also typically only going to hire experts and native English speakers who know and understand legal terminology. Critical when you need 99% accuracy.
- They have high security standards. Look for agencies who are CJIS compliant and can inform you about their encryption and security practices. If they won’t answer any questions about how they can protect you, move on to someone else.
- They have clear contracts and insurance. They should have insurance that protects both them and you, and clear contracts that detail the scope of the work and what’s expected from both parties. Do they have cyber liability and general liability insurance policies?
They’re established. Look for reviews, testimonials, and signs that they’ve been around for a while (like a long-standing business license). You don’t want to take a risk on a new agency that may not be able to live up to what they say they can deliver.
Types of Legal Transcription Offered
We offer a variety of legal transcription services. A few of the specific options we offer include (and are definitely not limited to) the following:
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Conclusion
Law firms have a multitude of tasks to manage, so outsourcing time-consuming tasks can save you time, money, and a significant amount of energy. Legal transcription services are fast, cost-efficient, and so reliable. We understand that a single mistake could derail an entire case in certain situations, and we take this very seriously. Hiring a reliable agency with specialized services and high-security standards is the way to go, and we’re happy to offer that to all of our clients.
Interested in learning more about how our legal transcription services can benefit your firm? Get in touch for a no-obligation call and see what we can do for you (720) 287-3710.