NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. legal professionals manually book more than 11.5 million civil depositions a year using upwards of 7,500 different court reporting agencies. They contact the agency to find someone available, knowing nothing about the prospective court reporters’ skills and track record. In the digital age, it’s an antiquated system for a business that is crucial to the legal profession and that generates $2 billion to $3 billion in annual revenue.
DirectDep, which launched earlier this year, is transforming the deposition booking process in the same way that OpenTable disrupted restaurant reservations and ZocDoc changed doctor’s appointments. DirectDep’s cloud-based, mobile-optimized technology has reformed the labor-intensive, inefficient deposition booking process for the digital age, allowing legal professionals to reserve court reporters in a few clicks.
DirectDep posts profiles of court reporters, verified reviews, and real-time availability. Law firm professionals can search the profiles and book depositions 24/7, with all parties receiving confirmation, calendar scheduling, and notifications of rescheduling or cancellations. Automated notifications are made on the DirectDep app and by email and text, and they arrive on any computer or mobile device.
DirectDep founder and CEO Scott Gilly started DirectDep because he understands the frustration that both lawyers and court reporters have with the booking process. Gilly saw those inefficiencies and the lack of quality control during his two decades as a practicing lawyer.
“The system of repeated phone calls and email chains to book a court reporter doesn’t work anymore,” Gilly said. “DirectDep is a simpler, quicker, and more reliable way to book court reporters, for both law firms and the court reporters. Plus it delivers meaningful cost savings to clients, insurers and other consumers of legal services.”
Demand for court reporters is expected to grow between 10 percent and 18 percent from now through 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Some 97 percent of all civil litigation is resolved before trial, and depositions are central to all of those settlements,” Gilly said. “There is way too much at stake for the current booking system to continue as it exists today.”
DirectDep gives law firms an unprecedented level of quality control, including information on court reporters’ language skills and sector expertise. And it allows firms to keep track of the court reporters they would prefer for future bookings.
At the same time, court reporters are able to build their online visibility and client loyalty, and receive feedback that helps them improve their skills and performance. DirectDep’s network features searchable profiles of hundreds of court reporters affiliated with the top reporting agencies in every major U.S. city. The system is free for legal professionals, while reporting agencies pay a $49 fee for each deposition date booked on the platform.
For more information on DirectDep, or to speak with CEO Scott Gilly, please contact:
