How to Become a Legal Transcriptionist

Legal transcription is the process of listening to recordings of legal proceedings (e.g., trials or hearings) and typing them up to convert them into written documents.

Legal transcriptionists are integral to the legal system. They keep it operational by quickly creating detailed and reliable written records that other professionals in the industry, such as judges, attorneys, and paralegals, can reference.

Primary duties of a legal transcriptionist

The main responsibilities of a legal transcriptionist include:

• Listening to audio or video recordings provided by legal professionals
• Using transcription software and other tools to accurately type up the recordings
• Proofreading the final products to ensure they’re accurate
• Formatting the documents for readability and accessibility

Legal transcription has a lot in common with other types of transcription, but it’s often more painstaking and time-consuming. That’s because legal transcripts are frequently “verbatim,” or completely faithful to the recording. That’s in contrast to “clean” or edited transcripts, which have filler words like “um” and “uh” removed.

Verbatim transcripts are quite labor-intensive to produce. You need to pay attention to and record every utterance and sound, including interruptions, stutters, coughs, and laughs.

Types of legal transcripts

The type of content you’ll work on as a legal transcriptionist will vary depending on your employer or client. Different assignments will come with different requests (e.g., specific formatting guidelines you need to follow or abbreviations you need to use).

As a legal transcriptionist, you may create written documents that record the following events and situations:

• Court proceedings: These are recordings of various events that take place in court, including motions, trials, and hearings.
• Depositions: A deposition is a witness’s sworn oral testimony, typically made outside of court before a trial. Depositions may be recorded in video or audio form.
• Evidence: You may be asked to transcribe recordings or footage that will serve as evidence in lawsuits or criminal cases. These can range from police interrogations and 911 calls to wiretaps and surveillance recordings.

ZipRecruiter reports that legal transcriptionists in the US earn an average of $23 per hour (as of July 2024). 1

The figures on sites like ZipRecruiter aren’t always accurate (they’re best treated as ballpark estimates), so verify this, we reached out to Ben Walker, the CEO of Ditto Transcripts, a Denver-based transcription company that specializes in various niches, including legal, medical, and law enforcement transcription.

He largely backed ZipRecruiter’s claim, telling us that his transcriptionists, who are all somewhat experienced, “make anywhere from $15 per hour to $30 per hour.” He also said that his company’s starting rate for legal (and general) transcriptionists is $0.80–$0.85 per audio minute.

Do legal transcriptionists make more money than general transcriptionists?

Although some people claim that transcriptionists who specialize in a particular niche (e.g., legal or medical transcription) make more than generalists who take on all sorts of work, there isn’t really any hard evidence for that. Most sources indicate that they earn roughly comparable rates.

Walker told us that his company occasionally offers pay boosts for highly specialized transcription work, but that those instances are rare. “Our transcriptionists almost all make the same amount per minute to start,” he said.

Factors that affect your pay

Exactly how much you can earn from transcription in the legal industry will depend on a few different factors, including:

• Typing speed: The faster you type, the quicker you can turn in work, and the more you’ll make.
• Experience: Unsurprisingly, the more experienced you are, the more clients and employers will be willing to pay you. As a more seasoned transcriptionist, you’ll also probably be better at negotiating favorable rates with clients.
• Type of employment: Freelancers and independent contractors typically earn higher hourly rates than in-house employees at transcription agencies. That’s because freelancers’ jobs are less secure and don’t come with benefits (such as health insurance).

Work location: As with most other jobs, your pay will be higher if you work in an expensive city, such as New York City or San Francisco. That said, if you work remotely, this probably won’t be a factor.

Most legal transcriptionists hold at least a high school diploma or equivalent. You don’t need a college degree of any type to become one, although having one can boost your job prospects.

Do you need to be certified to transcribe legal documents?

There are several professional certifications that you can pursue in legal transcription. You don’t absolutely need any of these to land work, but some employers (although not all) may require them, and obtaining them could make it easier to get hired.

The two main certifications you should look into are:

• Certified Electronic Transcriber (CET)
• Certified Electronic Reporter (CER)

Both of these credentials are issued by the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT). They aren’t free; both of them require taking an exam, which costs $275. Moreover, to have a realistic shot at passing them, you may need to take an AAERT-approved training course, which will also cost you.

Again, you don’t need either of these qualifications to begin working in this field. If you’ve never worked as a legal transcriptionist before, your best move is probably to first test the waters by applying for and completing at least a few jobs. If you decide you really like legal transcription and want to pursue it as a long-term side hustle or career, you can pursue certification later.

What skills do you need to work as a legal transcriptionist?

While you don’t need to undergo special legal transcription training to enter this subfield, you do need to bring certain skills to the job. Walker stressed to us that training fresh transcriptionists is expensive, and few companies will be willing to take a chance on you if you’re starting from square one.

Most people can learn the skills required to become a transcriptionist (of any kind) on their own. The key is to keep practicing and perfecting them.

The most critical skills you need to be a legal transcriptionist include:

• Typing skills: You need to be a fast typist to succeed as a transcriptionist. At minimum, you should be able to sustain speeds of 40 words per minute (wpm), although most successful transcriptionists type significantly more quickly than that (70–80 wpm or even more).
• Knowledge of legal terminology: To transcribe efficiently and accurately, you need to understand what the speaker is saying, including any and all legal jargon they use.
• Excellent listening skills: Skilled transcriptionists don’t let speakers’ accents or background noises affect their efficiency.
• Language skills: To excel in this role, you must have a strong command of the English language, including spelling, grammar, and syntax.
• Computer literacy: You’ll almost always use a computer to create legal documents and perform other tasks related to your job. It’s important to be reasonably tech-savvy. You need to be able to save, format, and upload audio, video, and text files, as well as operate transcription software competently.
• Attention to detail: Again, legal transcriptionists often produce “verbatim” transcripts. This is challenging, and there’s no room for error when you’re creating legal documents, requiring you to be highly attentive as you work.
• Time management: Legal transcriptionists work in a fast-paced environment, and they often have to meet multiple deadlines at once. Knowing how to prioritize tasks and manage time effectively is essential to the job.
• Discretion: More often than not, you’ll be dealing with sensitive legal information, and you’ll be responsible for ensuring its confidentiality. Put another way, this isn’t a side hustle you can gossip about with your friends or family.

How to acquire legal transcription skills when you’re just starting out

We asked Walker what advice he’d give to inexperienced transcriptionists looking to touch up their skills. He recommended taking free online transcription courses and picking up lower-paid jobs on online marketplaces like TranscribeMe (a platform for freelancers) before applying to more desirable jobs with dedicated legal transcription companies.

You’ll probably have to accept relatively low rates on freelancing websites like that, but the experience you gain will be invaluable, and this will also give you the chance to test the waters before committing a ton of time and energy to this side hustle.

To do transcription of any kind, you’ll need a computer, a stable internet connection, and a word processing program (such as Microsoft Word). You’ll also have a much easier time if you acquire a few specialized tools:

• Headphones: Using a pair of decent-quality headphones will make it much easier to pick out the words and sounds you have to transcribe. If your budget allows for it, spring for headphones with noise-canceling functionality.
• Foot pedal: A foot pedal lets you pause, start, and replay recordings without taking your hands off the keyboard, significantly increasing your efficiency.
• Transcription software: Many transcribers use dedicated transcription software like Express Scribe, oTranscribe, and InqScribe. These programs offer features like timestamp insertion and foot pedal integration (to make it easier to stop, start, and speed up or slow down audio).
• Text expander: This is a productivity tool that lets you create shortcuts (e.g., 2-to-5-letter codes) for words and phrases you frequently use, which will save you heaps of time. Espanso and AutoHotkey are both popular free text expanders, but there are many others.

Note that tools we just listed aren’t only relevant to legal transcriptionists. They’re also useful for people who want to become medical transcriptionists or generalists.

Walker told us his company recommends Microsoft Word and Express Scribe to its workers. However, that isn’t a hard requirement, and “they can use whatever software they’re most comfortable with so long as they are turning in accurate work on time.”

Should you ever use AI tools to save time?

Some transcriptionists have started using AI tools to speed up their transcription process—for instance, by using AI to automatically transcribe files, then going through the text and correcting any errors.

However, anecdotally, experienced transcriptionists seem to almost unanimously agree that AI transcription software still can’t achieve the level of accuracy that skilled human workers can. Moreover, a file’s audio quality must be very clear for AI to have any hope of transcribing accurately, and computers also struggle with non-US accents.

With that in mind, we asked Walker if he thinks using AI for transcription is ever a good idea. He told us the answer is no—at least for now.

“Editing an AI transcript takes much longer than transcribing manually in most cases,” he said. “If we’re looking at a single-person narrative, AI will do a pretty good job. Once you get into more than two speakers, though, the accuracy starts to go way down for AI transcription tools.”

Walker also pointed out that there are serious security concerns associated with feeding AIs sensitive information (which many legal audio files contain). He warned that if the AI company uses the confidential information in your documents to train their models, “lawsuits and jail time could be in the future” for you.

The bottom line is that, as a professional transcriptionist, it probably isn’t a good idea to use automated AI tools to transcribe any sort of audio, and doing so is especially fraught if you specialize in legal transcription. That might change in the future as AI technology continues to advance, but at present, it’s best if you keep doing things manually.

Legal transcription is a traditional office-based job for some people, but many also do it on a freelance basis. Most freelance legal transcription gigs are remote, making this one of the many side hustles you can do from home.

Whether your goal is to land an in-house position with a transcription company or work as an independent contractor, you can get started by following these steps:

1. Gain initial transcription experience

As mentioned, well-paid legal transcription jobs can be quite competitive (Walker told us that his company’s application page sees hundreds of new visitors per day). You’ll have a much better chance if you have at least a little transcription work under your belt when you apply.

Short-term freelance gigs typically have a lower barrier to entry than contract jobs with dedicated legal transcription companies. You can look for freelance work on these sites:

• Rev (a transcription-specific job board)
• TranscribeMe (also transcription-specific)
• Fiverr (a general-purpose freelance marketplace)
• Upwork (general-purpose)

Many of the jobs on these platforms are poorly paid, and the websites themselves will take a cut of your profits, but spending a few months on them will make you a much stronger candidate for more desirable legal transcription gigs.

2. Create a resume and build your online presence

Once you’ve acquired a little experience, create a professional resume tailored to legal transcription work. Include the following items:

• Personal information: List your name and contact information (e.g., your email address and phone number).
• Education and credentials: Mention the highest level of education you’ve attained, what institutions you attended, and what subjects you studied. If you have any professional certifications, include those, too.
• Work experience: You don’t have to limit yourself to listing just transcription work. Include any and all office work that you’ve done. If you’ve interned at a law firm or other legal offices in an administrative capacity, certainly highlight that on your resume. The same goes for any writing, editing, or proofreading experience you have.
• Transcription skills: List both your hard skills (such as typing speed and familiarity with popular productivity or transcription software) and your soft skills (such as time management).

Make sure to proofread your resume very thoroughly after completing it. Few things feel worse than listing “attention to detail” as a skill, only to realize that you made an obvious typo and sent your resume out without noticing.

Boosting your online footprint

In addition to your resume, you should also create a professional website that showcases your expertise, services, and client testimonials (as well as a contact form). This will serve as your online portfolio and a potential point of contact for your clients.

It’s also worth creating a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a good place to network with other transcription and legal professionals and find work opportunities. Creating your profile should also be a cinch—most of the information on it can be recycled from your resume.

3. Apply for jobs

At this point, it’s time to actually apply for jobs. We’ve already listed several freelancing websites you can use, but to find higher-paying work, you should search on these job boards:

• CareerBuilder
• FlexJobs
• Indeed
• ZipRecruiter

Some of what you’ll find will consist of in-person office jobs, but you’ll also see plenty of remote and part-time work posted there. FlexJobs is a good bet if that’s the kind of gig you’re looking for, as it’s specifically dedicated to home-based and flex-time positions.

In addition to searching on those websites, keep your eyes peeled on LinkedIn, and if you have any contacts in the legal industry, lean on your professional network. It can take a while to get a freelancing gig going, but if you keep at it, you’ll find work eventually.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the market for legal occupations is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2032. 2 The BLS has not made any specific claims about legal transcription, but in general, jumping into a thriving field isn’t a bad bet.

That said, there’s been growing concern in recent years that AI will wipe out transcriptionists of all types. We asked Walker how AI has affected his business and whether he thinks AI will significantly impact the transcription market as a whole. He told us that many of his clients had experimented with AI, but that they had eventually realized how inaccurate it was and returned to his company.

Walker went on to say that he thinks “AI will actually help the market grow.” That’s because once AI “gets to 92% or higher accuracy in all settings,” it’ll become cheaper and easier to transcribe audio. Instead of rendering human transcriptionists obsolete, he expects this to attract clients who weren’t even thinking of having audio transcribed before.

If and when AI transcription becomes prevalent in the legal field, your duties as a legal transcriptionist may pivot, leading you to spend more time editing documents produced by AI instead of transcribing fresh content yourself. However, that day is still in the future.

The upshot is that while your work might change as AI grows more sophisticated, if you’re a legal transcriptionist, you probably don’t have to worry about losing your career just yet.

Alternatives to becoming a legal transcriptionist

If you still feel uneasy about legal transcriptionists being phased out, here are a few other jobs related to the legal industry you might be interested in:

• Legal assistant: Also known as a litigation assistant, a legal assistant’s role is to handle administrative tasks for lawyers. Some legal assistants work out of law offices, whereas others work virtually.
• Paralegal: Paralegals also assist lawyers, but they focus on legal rather than administrative tasks and typically have more extensive legal knowledge than legal assistants.
• Court reporter: In contrast to transcriptionists, court reporters actually physically go to courthouses and create records of legal proceedings in real time. They typically earn more than legal transcriptionists, as their work comes with more pressure, and they need to be trained in stenography.