Last July members at the 2021 NCRA Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nev., voted on Amendment #7, which asked for greater membership privileges for those holding the NCRA Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS) credential. (CLVS members currently hold Associate membership, and the amendment would have offered them Participating membership.) While the amendment failed last year, the CLVS Council proposed a change in the Bylaws again this year regarding their membership status.
“NCRA has had the CLVS program for over 15 years. It was started to ensure that videographers worked hand-in-hand with court reporters while producing usable and quality video services for lawyers,” said Donna L. Linton, RDR, a freelance court reporter from Ashburn, Va., and a supporter of the proposed amendment.
“Sometimes this means having video playing while the court reporter’s transcript is streaming right beside it. Our industry is a service that encompasses all litigation support to give to the legal and hearing-impaired community what they need. Allowing this amendment for videographers is a win-win for our industry and membership,” she added.
Andrea Kreutz, CLVS, a freelance videographer and agency owner from Des Moines, Iowa, who serves as Chair of NCRA’s CLVS Council, has said that the inclusivity the proposed amendment would provide would ensure equal access for CLVS members to the opportunities that NCRA provides.
Kreutz attributes too many abstained votes as the reason why the amendment was not passed in 2021. According to Kreutz, other amendments voted on had at least 200 more votes. This year, she added, the Council has been dedicating additional work to educate and persuade the voting population to vote “yes” in support of the amendment. It has also been working to address misinformation, of which the most common assumption is that CLVSs could replace court reporters. “CLVSs will not replace stenographic reporters. Ever!” Kreutz has previously stated. “CLVSs have been partners with stenographers within NCRA for decades.”
The role of a CLVS member is to capture the visual and audio record in support of the stenographic record. Together they create a holistic picture of what takes place during proceedings. Full membership would afford CLVS members the opportunity to vote on who serves on the Board and to have a voice in the governance of the Association and in turn strengthen it.
The CLVS Council remains dedicated to ensuring that highly qualified legal videographers are complementary to, rather than competitive with, verbatim stenographic reporters. The Council invites you to join their effort to deliver membership equality by supporting their efforts at the 2022 NCRA Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla., this July. You can also request to join the NCRA CLVS certified Facebook group here.
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