Tori Lawton
Greetings! My name is Tori Lawton and I’m an official court reporter with the Appalachian Judicial Circuit in North Georgia. I’m a certified court reporter (CCR/LERT) with the State of Georgia and CER/CDR/CET with AAERT. I’ve been a member of the Certification Committee from 2020 to 2023. In years past, I’ve been a member of the Conference Committee and Government Relations Committee. I also participated in a panel discussion about transcription tips and tricks at the AAERT annual conference in 2021.
I began my career in legal transcription back in 2001 on the old Sony BM-147 tape transcriber. We’ve come a long way since then =) I love the flexibility transcription gives me. I love the vast variety of subject matters and every day is different. Since I became a digital reporter in 2019, I’ve been working on growing my business and now have a team of six transcriptionists and a proofreader/admin.
I would love to serve you as a Director on the Board of AAERT. This would not only increase my exposure to the industry, but I would love to collaborate with like-minded reporters and transcriptionists who truly care for this industry. I would love to bring more awareness to the industry regarding our method of reporting, as well as showcase our industry to the younger generation who might not even realize what a wonderful career it can be.
Thank you for your time and I hope to receive your vote!
Your Business/Occupation
In one or two sentences, explain your services or products.
I’m a certified court reporter in the State of Georgia. I’m an official selected by a judge in superior court in my three-county circuit. I also handle depositions and cover in other counties when I’m available. In addition, I do have many transcription-only clients that I provide transcript services for on a regular basis.
Our Industry
A. How would you describe the challenges and opportunities that our industry faces (in the Court, Agency, and Deposition markets)?
B. What do you see as the challenges and opportunities?
The opportunities are huge. With the shortage and demand for court reporters nationwide, there is a wealth of opportunities to work as much or as little as you want. Challenges would be defending ourselves against other methods that do not believe we are a viable method.
Reason(s) To Run
A. What is/are the reason(s) you decided to run for the board?
B. Whom and what do you want to impact?
I would love to not only gain more experience and exposure to the industry, but learn and grow more as a business owner and court reporter by learning what others face around the country. I would also love to showcase our industry to the younger generation as most of them don’t know what we do.
Your Goal
A. If you had a mandate—board authorization, financial resources, member support—what do you want to do?
B. How would you improve the capabilities of our members (reporters, transcribers, proofreaders, videographers, business owners and executives)?
For members, I would like the organization to be more transparent. For example, when there is a call to action in a particular state, I would love to see some follow up on the outcome and what else we can do in regards to the opportunity. I would love to attend more career days and host online information meetings for potential court reporters and transcriptionists to help the nationwide shortage.
Involvement
A. How long have you been a member?
B. How many conferences have you attended? If you have not attended conferences, would you explain why not?
C. Do you plan to attend this year’s conference?
I’ve been a member since 2013. I have been to two virtual conferences. I attempted to attend the conference in Milwaukee. Unfortunately, I was stuck in the Atlanta Airport for 13 hours before retreating home to watch the conference online. My luggage made it, but I did not =) I’m super excited to attend this year’s conference in person. I’m already booked and I’ve been asked to be on a panel of court reporters for one of the sessions as well.
Experience
A. What has been your leadership experience?
B. Do you have experience as a board member of a non-profit organization?
C. Please list the organizations, your positions, and duties.
I’m currently the leader of my business, Willow Reporting & Transcription. My team consists of six transcriptionists and a proofreader/admin. I also have two court reporting students that are currently in school. Prior to, I was a manager of a data entry company that handled car titles for Ford, GMC and Volkswagen. Before that, I was the customer service manager for a mortgage company.