Key Takeaway: Stenography ensures accuracy and fairness in dispute resolution. As remote work, AI, and workforce constraints grow, courts and law firms must adopt hybrid, automated transcription to improve efficiency without compromising justice.

Stenography has long been the quiet force safeguarding justice. Every word preserves fairness, shapes outcomes, and protects the integrity of the legal process. Yet this cornerstone of dispute resolution now stands at a critical moment. Training programmes are declining. The workforce is retiring. AI transcription tools offer a solution that doesn’t eliminate the human element; it equips it. What does a safe and efficient future look like for the official record in legal proceedings?

The Shrinking Pipeline of Trained Stenographers

The supply of certified stenographers has fallen sharply. According to the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Subscribers (AAERS) Court Reporting 2025 Industry Trends Report, the workforce has declined 21% over the last decade, and student enrolment has decreased by 74%. 42% of certification programmes have closed. The remaining pool is aging, with retirements outpacing new entrants.

Several factors contribute to this decline:

• The skill requires years of training and costly equipment
• Graduation rates are low
• Awareness of the profession is limited

With fewer trained professionals available, courts and arbitration centres face growing challenges in staffing proceedings and maintaining transcript quality.

Why Physical Stenographers Still Matter

Judges and arbitrators continue to prefer having a stenographer in the room. This preference centres on accuracy, reliability, and trust. Stenographers capture every word in real time. They identify speakers correctly, sort overlapping conversation, and understand legal terminology.

Legal teams also depend on instant transcripts to question witnesses, clarify statements, or refine arguments. A stenographer has the authority to pause a proceeding, request clarification, and help maintain the integrity of the record. A recording device or automated system cannot offer the same assurance.

In addition, courts often require certified transcripts. Human‑generated records are still viewed as the most reliable.

Why Accurate Court Records Remain Critical

An accurate transcript supports fairness and transparency in every dispute. It protects appellate review, reinforces precedent, and helps legal teams prepare strategic arguments. Even small errors in testimony can alter meaning and affect outcomes.

A precise record ensures confidence in the process and protects the integrity of decisions that depend on it.

The Slow Adoption of AI Transcription

AI transcription tools continue to improve. They offer speed and cost advantages, yet adoption in legal proceedings remains limited. Several concerns influence this hesitation. For example, AI may misinterpret accents and legal terminology or struggle with multi-speaker environments.

As a result, courts continue to view AI with wariness as a substitute for stenographers. It is emerging as a strategic supplement.

What Progress Looks Like

Despite a delayed start, courts are beginning to explore ways to evolve without sacrificing accuracy. Progress in transcript creation doesn’t require abandoning trusted methods or replacing skilled professionals. It means strengthening the official record by integrating technology in ways that feel predictable, secure, and fully under human control.

Practitioners and jurists seem to be increasingly adopting this view. As Sky News recently reported, Richard Atkinson, solicitor and former head of The Law Society, UK, voiced support for modernising the justice system, provided it enhances access to justice, is reliable, and ensures fairness.

That said, in his view, AI is not “a silver bullet to improve the justice system. It might help to ease some administrative pressures, but it is not a replacement for much-needed investment in the court estate and additional court staff.”

Meanwhile, Sky News reports that David Lammy, Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, has begun advocating for magistrates who harness the benefits of AI. He points out that “trials in the probation system with AI had helped record meetings between offenders and officers, saving 25,000 hours of time by helping transcribe more than 150,000 meetings.”

Hybrid Transcription Models That Maintain Human Authority

AI can create initial drafts that trained professionals review and certify. These workflows use speech‑to‑text technology to generate a draft while trained editors review, correct, and certify the record in real time.

This approach gives courts and clients flexibility without compromising precision. It helps address the shrinking stenographer pipeline by expanding who can support official transcripts.

Stronger Standards for Digital Reporting

Progress also means establishing consistent expectations for digital reporting and AI transcription. Standards around training, confidentiality, terminology, and accuracy create a shared understanding of what “good” looks like. These standards offer reassurance that technology used in proceedings is purpose‑built for legal transcription and accuracy is benchmarked, documented, and reviewed. The process must be predictable for judges who prefer continuity and control.

By creating a common framework, courts gain the assurance they need to move beyond long‑held habits without feeling pushed into an unknown.

Pilot Programmes

Pilot programmes are one of the safest ways for courts and arbitration centres to explore innovation. Small‑scale trials allow teams to validate accuracy, easily integrate the workflow into their environment, and see where human review is most valuable.

Pilots ensure nothing is adopted blindly. They give practitioners firsthand evidence that hybrid models work, that they can intervene when needed, and that technology doesn’t diminish the integrity of the record.

A Path Forward for the Official Record

Stenography is facing real pressure, but its core strengths remain important. Accuracy, reliability and integrity remain essential in resolving disputes. A future that blends human expertise with responsible technology adoption will protect the official record while creating new efficiencies.

For dispute resolution professionals, the task is not to resist change. The task is to guide it. The tools may evolve, but the need for an unimpeachable record remains constant.

Learn more about Epiq Court Reporting Services.


Lorraine Medcraft, Vice President, Court Reporting

Lorraine enables law firms to maximize efficiency and respond to client demands while staying true to their core values, principles, and commitment to their staff. With over 20 years’ experience providing solutions to law firms, she and her team have worked on a range of projects from information governance and records management, outsourced staffing solutions, to trial technologies and transcription.