Lisa Migliore Black, a firm owner and NCRA member from Louisville, Ky., has been gaining traction in the court reporting, captioning, and legal videography circles on various social media platforms with videos she and a handful of other NCRA members have recorded focusing on AI, digital reporting, and more.
The first of three videos in an ongoing series was published Feb. 18 on her YouTube channel and shared across Facebook through various pages, groups, and even personal accounts quickly approaching a combined tens of thousands of views. “Social media has been a great way to spread information, but unless our members are sharing the information with contacts within their sphere of influence, more effort needs to be undertaken to ensure decision-makers are receiving our collective message,” she said. “I will fight for this profession until my dying breath so that the same opportunities can be shared with the next generation of professionals.”
Black currently serves as Vice Chair of the NCRA STRONG Committee. STRONG was established in 2019 by then NCRA President Sue A. Terry, FAPR, RPR, CRR, CRC, who is in her third term as the Committee Chair. Four years of the Committee’s work recently culminated in the publishing of a white paper by NCRA entitled Emerging Ethical and Legal Issues Related to the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Voice Cloning, and Digital Audio Recording of Legal Proceedings, a first-of-its-kind document published by the Association dedicated to highlighting the growing impact AI is having on the judicial system in the United States. When asked about collaborating with fellow Committee members, both in official business and these videos, Black emphasized the strength found within STRONG, saying each volunteer has played to their respective strengths, whether it be public speaking, writing, or researching while investing countless hours and dollars out of their own pockets. Black said that “much of the work is done by unpaid volunteers or that associations need their members to take the tools provided and help carry the load.”
When it comes to the feedback of fellow members in the court reporting community, Black said contact with clients takes place in personal interactions, not online. “The biggest complaint from attorneys is more about the lack of quality and accuracy in transcripts,” Black said. She went on to expand on the issue in depth, writing that the decisions being made to replace skilled professionals like NCRA members are “largely penny-wise and pound-foolish, or worse, based on increased profit margins.”
“Each interaction can lead to an expanded opportunity,” she said. “We need all hands on deck to help protect the integrity of our legal records and to ensure equal access for the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.” It was these interactions that sparked her effort to cut these popular videos with colleagues.
When asked to give a behind-the-scenes look at creating these informative messages, Black shared that a single video takes several hours. “We start with an idea, then write a script, then record it, edit as necessary, and then have them professionally captioned so that we can turn off the automated captions when posting.” Black went on to cite how a group effort is required to get the messaging out. The growing list of participants include: Past NCRA President and STRONG Committee member Debbie Dibble, RDR, CRR, CRC; and STRONG Committee member Lin Riffle, RDR, CRR, CRC; with upcoming appearances from STRONG Committee Chair Sue A. Terry, FAPR, RPR, CRR, CRC; STRONG Committee members Stacy Raikes, RMR, CRR; and Liz Harvey, FAPR, RPR.
Court reporting has been a wonderful career for Black. “What they say was true for me. ‘It’s the best career nobody has ever heard about.’”
Lisa Migliore Black is the owner of Migliore & Associates, a court reporting and video services firm with offices in Louisville, Ky., and Cincinnati, Ohio. She can be reached via email at info@miglioreassociates.com.
