Accuracy, speed hallmark of court reporters

Michelle Hordinski is a south Fort Myers court reporter who can type 260 words a minute.

Her business partner Maryanne Wagner can type 225 words.

At that speed Hordinski and Wagner are offering area attorney's a short turn-around time for transcripts from court hearings or depositions.

The two court reporters along with Debbie Cail recently opened Merit Court Reporting and business is booming.

"We love court reporting and we love our profession, especially in Fort Myers," said Hordinski, the company's secretary treasurer and court reporter. "That makes our turn around time quick and everything is accurate."

Accuracy is everything in the court reporting business.

"I do my best work when I'm in court. Then when I do my transcripts it doesn't take long because I did the hardest part ahead of time," Hordinski said. "The skill of the court reporter does dictate how quickly we can get it done."

And qualifications at the Merit Court Reporting office are plenty.

Hordinski has been in the business for 19 years and is a registered merit reporter - the highest designation given to a court reporter. Wagner is a registered professional reporter and has 24 years of experience.

"This isn't just any job. We enjoy what we do and have the experience to back it up," said Cali, the company's vice president and office manager. She helps run the logistics to make sure the attorneys get what they need, when they need it. "This (business) has been an opportunity for us to expand on some ideas we already had."

The ideas included opening a shop that offers depositions, hearings, standard six-day transcript delivery and free wireless access.

"We are full service and we offer things that attorneys sometimes need depending on the situation," Wagner said. "We even have six conference rooms that our clients can use if they need to do work while they wait for depositions."

Merit Court Reporting also offers a program called in which a live feed is provided as a witnesses testimony is taken.

"We felt there was need in the south end of town and attorneys like that we have free parking," said Hordinski noting that one of their conference rooms is often requested because of its sports memorabilia. "We love the profession in Fort Myers and we make sure people feel that in our atmosphere."