"In an era in which electronic filing and retrieval of official court documents are increasingly becoming the standard, technology may provide additional measures that protect the integrity of the content of the transcript while realizing beneficial improvements in transcript production and transmittal processes." Excerpt from National Court Reporters Association Code of Professional Ethics
The electronic signature technology utilized by RealLegal is secure, cost effective and easy to use, and is in compliance with the Federal E-Sign Act, model codes such as UETA, and most state and local rules and procedures concerning electronic signatures. In addition, this technology complies with national and state codes of ethics for court reporters.
Electonically Sign and Certify E-Transcript Files
Court reporters may apply a unique RealLegal E-Transcript SignatureTM directly to an electronic transcript (E-Transcript) in a format in which their signature can be authenticated. Once an E-Transcript Signature has been applied, it verifies that the transcript has not been altered. The court reporter's identity, third party notarization, and a "fingerprint" of the electronic file combine to create every unique E-Transcript Signature. The fingerprint is a digital representation of every character used in the transcript and the reporter's identity.
Better than Paper Signature Pages
A digital signature is considered superior to a handwritten signature in that it attests to the contents of a message as well as to the identity of the signer. The slightest change in the document will cause the signature verification process to fail, alerting the recipient to the alteration. Likewise, the secure hash function leaves almost no chance of taking someone's E-Transcript Signature from one document and attaching it to another, or of altering the document in any way. The E-Transcript Signature can be applied from E-Transcript Manager software at the production center, or via an individual's E-Transcript Reporter Edition software. These two options support how court reporters, scopists, proofreaders, and production staff work together without compromising the authoring reporter's ethical obligations regarding applying their signature.
How the Technology Works
Communication with the RealLegal Electronic Signature Service is conducted through fully redundant, secure Internet servers. Furthermore, the tool used to verify the encrypted digital signature is contained in a publicly available Class 3 VeriSign certificate, which provides third-party assurance for additional protection. Sending the transcript to the third party is secure because only the digital fingerprint which represents the transcript is sent. In other words, the actual transcript never leaves the court reporter's desktop. Verifying the transcript by validating the signature certificate is done through E-Transcript. The RealLegal electronic transcript signature database will compare the fingerprint, the timestamp and the reporter's identity within the signature to ensure an exact match, thus preventing alteration.
RealLegal E-Transcript Signatures
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