Susan LaPooh started her transcription career in 1996 when she was expecting her first daughter. She wanted to stay home with her children "and make some mad money at the time," she says. However, what started out as a side hustle became her career. She says, "I know all about feast or famine, tennis and golfer’s elbow, and the joy you feel when you complete a challenging transcript. Transcribing was very, very good to me. And I still consider myself a transcriber at heart."
Recognizing the value of good audio and log notes, Susan was also very interested in the reporting side of the business. The opportunity to train as a digital reporter came up several years ago and she jumped at the chance. She worked for a large court reporting company for two years before joining Remote Legal just before COVID hit.
At the time, Remote Legal was a new company and Susan helped build it to where it is today. The company has approximately 50 full-time digital reporters and a large group of transcribers as well. She says, "My passion is to train and equip my staff with the tools needed to provide a stellar in-deposition experience as well as a clear verbatim transcript."
She continues, "This is an exciting time in our profession. Things are progressing rapidly. It is imperative that we set the tone that AAERT-certified CERs and CETs are qualified, well trained, highly skilled workers who have integrity and a devotion to the work they do.
"I used to always say to my kids, 'Don’t let fear dictate your future.' Some people are afraid of change, but we have nothing to be afraid of with the changes we are seeing in our industry. The changes are opportunities. Let’s embrace new ideas, new technologies, new opportunities."