The Court Reporter's AI Playbook

Let's be honest: court reporting is one of the most lopsided professions in terms of where the money comes from versus where the time goes.

You get paid to capture the record. That's the skill. That's the thing you trained years to do at 225+ words per minute. But here's the dirty secret nobody talks about at NCRA conventions—you spend more than half your working hours on stuff that has nothing to do with stenography.

Scheduling. Chasing attorneys who treat email like a suggestion box. Sending invoices. Following up on invoices. Following up on your follow-up. Formatting transcripts. Answering "where's my transcript?" for the third time today. Uploading files. Logging job details into spreadsheets that make your eyes bleed.

The average freelance court reporter juggles 5–10 different apps to run their business. Case CATalyst for translation, Google Calendar for scheduling, QuickBooks for invoicing, Dropbox for delivery, Outlook for the endless email chain, maybe Calendly if you're feeling fancy. None of them talk to each other. You're the integration layer. You're the glue. And glue doesn't scale.

This is where AI agents come in—not the vaporware "AI will replace you" nonsense, but actual, deployable agents that handle the operational grunt work so you can focus on the thing that earns you $4–6 per page.

I'm going to walk you through exactly how to set this up using OpenClaw, and by the end, you'll have a blueprint for reclaiming 15–20 hours a week.

Why OpenClaw and Why Now

Most court reporters I've talked to have a reflexive skepticism about AI. Fair enough. You've watched Otter.ai and Descript try to come for your job with audio-to-text tools that can't handle crosstalk, legal terminology, or the basic concept of speaker identification. Those tools aren't threats—they're toys.

But operational AI—agents that manage your business processes—is a completely different animal. We're not talking about replacing your steno skills. We're talking about replacing the version of you that spends 90 minutes a day playing email tag with a paralegal about a deposition time.

OpenClaw is an AI agent platform purpose-built for this. You configure agents with specific skills, connect them to your existing tools (Gmail, Google Calendar, QuickBooks, file storage), and let them handle multi-step workflows autonomously. The key differentiator: these aren't chatbots. They're agents that reason through problems, take actions, and escalate to you only when something actually requires your brain.

No code required. You configure skills in the Claw Mart marketplace, chain them together, and deploy. Let me show you what this looks like in practice.

Use Case 1: Scheduling That Doesn't Make You Want to Quit

The problem: An attorney emails you at 4:47 PM on a Thursday. "Hey, need a reporter for a depo next Wednesday, maybe 10 AM Pacific? Actually could be Thursday. Let me check with opposing counsel." Then radio silence for 36 hours. Then three emails in rapid succession changing the time, adding a videographer, and asking if you can do realtime.

Meanwhile, you're manually cross-referencing your calendar, emailing back availability windows, CC'ing the videographer, and trying not to double-book yourself. This eats 1–2 hours every single day.

The OpenClaw solution:

Set up a Scheduling Agent with the following skills from Claw Mart:

• Email Parsing — Monitors your Gmail inbox for scheduling-related messages. Uses natural language understanding to extract: requested date/time, location (in-person vs. Zoom), parties involved, special requests (realtime, videographer, interpreter).
• Calendar Conflict Check — Connects to Google Calendar via API. Instantly identifies open slots, accounts for travel time between in-person jobs, and blocks buffer periods you define (e.g., no back-to-back depositions).
• Multi-Party Coordination — When a job requires a videographer or interpreter, the agent checks their availability (via shared calendar or automated outreach), proposes times that work for everyone, and handles the back-and-forth.
• Auto-Confirm & Setup — Once confirmed, the agent books the calendar event, generates a Zoom link if remote, adds job details to your tracking system, and sends confirmation emails to all parties with your standard engagement terms.

Configuration specifics:

In OpenClaw, you'd set up the agent with rules like:

SCHEDULING AGENT RULES:
- Default availability: Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm [your timezone]
- Minimum booking lead time: 24 hours
- Travel buffer: 90 minutes for in-person jobs within metro area
- Auto-accept: Standard depositions with confirmed date/time
- Escalate to me: Realtime requests, jobs outside service area, 
  conflicts requiring rescheduling existing bookings
- Videographer coordination: Check [videographer's shared calendar] 
  before confirming jobs tagged "video sync"
- Response tone: Professional, concise, include availability link

The agent handles roughly 80% of scheduling interactions without you touching anything. The remaining 20%—complex rescheduling, unusual requests, VIP clients you want to handle personally—get flagged in a daily summary.

Real impact: You go from 1–2 hours/day on scheduling to maybe 15 minutes reviewing the agent's escalation queue. That's 5–8 hours a week back in your life.

Use Case 2: Killing the "Where's My Transcript?" Email

This one drives court reporters insane. You're deep in an editing session—headphones on, steno notes on one screen, transcript on the other, flow state achieved—and then ding. "Hi, just checking on the status of the Smith v. Jones transcript? Need it by Friday."

You already told them Friday. It's in the confirmation email. But they didn't read it, or they forgot, or the partner is breathing down their neck. So you stop editing, compose a polite reply, and spend 10 minutes getting back into the zone you just lost. Multiply this by 2–5 interruptions per day.

The OpenClaw solution:

Deploy a Client Communication Agent with these Claw Mart skills:

• Inbox Triage — Classifies incoming emails: status inquiry, new booking request, invoice question, general correspondence. Routes each to the appropriate workflow.
• Transcript Status Tracking — Connects to your job tracking system (even if it's just a Google Sheet—OpenClaw doesn't judge). When a client asks about status, the agent pulls current progress and responds automatically.
• Proactive Updates — This is the game-changer. Instead of waiting for clients to ask, the agent sends updates at key milestones: "Rough draft complete, entering final edit." → "Transcript certified and ready for delivery. Download link: [secure link]. Invoice attached."
• Smart Escalation — If a client's tone suggests urgency or frustration (the agent picks up on phrases like "ASAP," "partner is asking," "need this yesterday"), it flags the message for your personal attention and suggests a rush fee response.

Sample agent response (auto-generated):

Subject: Re: Smith v. Jones Transcript Status

Hi Sarah,

The Smith v. Jones transcript (Case No. 2026-CV-1234) is currently 
in final editing. Expected delivery: Friday by 3:00 PM Pacific.

You'll receive a secure download link and certified PDF 
automatically upon completion.

Need an expedited turnaround? I can have a rush version ready 
by Thursday for a 25% surcharge. Just reply "RUSH" and I'll 
make it happen.

Best,
[Your Name]
[Your Certification/License]

The client gets an instant, helpful response. You never broke focus. The agent even upsold a rush fee. Beautiful.

Pro tip: Configure the agent to include your certification credentials and standard disclaimers in every outgoing message. Professionalism on autopilot.

Use Case 3: Accounts Receivable That Actually Receives

Let's talk about money—specifically, the money sitting in your accounts receivable that you're too busy (or too conflict-averse) to chase.

The industry average is 30–45 days to collect payment. Some reporters carry 15% bad debt. That's insane. You did the work. You delivered a certified legal document. And now you're playing debt collector while also trying to run your business.

The OpenClaw solution:

Build an AR Recovery Agent with these skills:

• Auto-Invoice Generation — The moment you mark a job as delivered, the agent pulls the page count, applies your rate schedule (standard, expedited, realtime, copies), adds appearance fees and any surcharges, and generates a professional invoice via your QuickBooks or FreshBooks integration.
• Payment Link Embedding — Every invoice includes a direct payment link (Stripe, Square, or your processor of choice). Reduce friction to zero.
• Graduated Follow-Up Sequence — This is where the agent earns its keep:

FOLLOW-UP SEQUENCE:
Day 0: Invoice sent with transcript delivery
Day 3: "Quick confirmation—did you receive the transcript 
        and invoice for [Case Name]?"
Day 7: "Friendly reminder: Invoice #[X] for $[amount] is 
        due. Pay securely here: [link]"
Day 14: "Following up on Invoice #[X]. Please let me know 
         if there are any questions about the charges."
Day 21: "Invoice #[X] is now 21 days outstanding. To avoid 
         any service interruptions for future bookings, 
         please remit payment by [date]."
Day 30: [Escalate to you with full history and 
         recommended action]

• Client Payment History Analysis — The agent tracks which clients pay promptly and which are chronic late-payers. It can adjust your booking policies accordingly—requiring deposits from slow payers or flagging them before you accept new work.

Real numbers: Court reporters who implement systematic follow-up sequences typically cut their days sales outstanding (DSO) from 30–45 days to 12–18 days. On a $120K/year business, that's the difference between having $15K perpetually floating in AR and having it in your bank account.

Use Case 4: Transcript Post-Production Assistance

I want to be clear: OpenClaw isn't replacing your CAT software. Case CATalyst and Eclipse are doing the heavy lifting on steno-to-text translation, and they should be. But there's a mountain of post-translation work that an AI agent can streamline dramatically.

The OpenClaw solution:

Set up a Document Processing Agent with skills for:

• Format Standardization — Takes your raw transcript export and applies consistent formatting: proper headers, page/line numbering, exhibit references, appearances page, certification page. Every. Single. Time. No more manually fixing formatting inconsistencies at 11 PM.
• PII Redaction — Automatically flags and redacts Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, financial account numbers, and other sensitive information before delivery. Uses pattern matching plus contextual understanding—it knows the difference between a case number and an SSN.
• Exhibit Hyperlinking — Scans transcript references to exhibits ("Exhibit 14," "Plaintiff's Exhibit C") and generates hyperlinked cross-references in the PDF. What used to take 30 minutes of manual linking per transcript now takes seconds.
• Condensed Transcript Generation — Auto-generates mini-U-script (condensed four-pages-on-one) and word index versions from your full transcript. Clients love these. You used to spend 20 minutes per job creating them.
• Secure Delivery — Packages the final transcript (full, condensed, and word index), attaches the invoice, uploads to your secure delivery portal (or generates a time-limited download link), and notifies all parties.

Workflow in practice:

1. You finish editing in Case CATalyst → export .rtf/.txt
2. Upload to OpenClaw agent (or auto-detect via watched folder)
3. Agent processes: formats → redacts PII → hyperlinks exhibits 
   → generates condensed versions → packages for delivery
4. You review the agent's output (5-10 minutes vs. 45-60 minutes)
5. Approve → agent delivers, invoices, and starts the AR sequence

This compresses your post-production pipeline from 2–4 hours per job to 30–45 minutes of review. On a 5-job week, that's 8–15 hours saved.

Use Case 5: Lead Nurturing That Doesn't Feel Like Spam

Here's where most freelance court reporters leave money on the table. An attorney finds you on a court reporter directory, sends a tentative inquiry, and you respond... three days later. Because you were in depositions, editing, and handling all the admin we just talked about.

By then, they've booked someone else.

The OpenClaw solution:

Deploy a Lead Management Agent:

• Instant Response — Website inquiry or email from a new contact gets an immediate, personalized reply within minutes. Not a generic autoresponder. The agent reads their message, identifies their needs, and responds with relevant information.

Example:
Incoming: "We're a litigation firm in Sacramento, need reporters 
for a series of depositions starting next month. What are your rates?"

Agent response: "Thanks for reaching out. I cover the greater 
Sacramento area and handle high-volume litigation support regularly.

Standard rates: $4.50/page, $200 appearance fee. Volume discounts 
available for 5+ depositions.

I have availability starting [date]. Want to schedule a quick call 
to discuss the specifics? Here's my calendar: [booking link]

Looking forward to working with you."

• Lead Qualification — The agent scores incoming leads based on criteria you define: location, volume potential, case type, timeline. High-value leads get immediate escalation to you. Lower-priority inquiries get nurtured automatically.
• Nurture Sequences — For leads that don't convert immediately, the agent maintains a monthly touchpoint: helpful content ("3 ways to reduce deposition costs"), availability updates, or seasonal outreach. Stays top-of-mind without you lifting a finger.

Impact: Going from a 10–15% lead conversion rate to 25–35% is realistic when your response time drops from days to minutes. At an average job value of $500–$1,500, converting even a few extra leads per month pays for your entire OpenClaw setup many times over.

Getting Started: Your First Week

Here's how I'd approach this if I were a court reporter starting from scratch with OpenClaw:

Week 1: Deploy the Client Communication Agent. This gives you the fastest relief. Connect your Gmail, set up inbox triage rules, configure auto-responses for status inquiries, and establish your proactive update triggers. Immediate time savings, immediate client satisfaction improvement.

Week 2: Add the Scheduling Agent. Connect Google Calendar, define your availability rules and escalation criteria, and start routing scheduling requests through the agent. Monitor closely the first week, then loosen the reins.

Week 3: Activate the AR Agent. Connect QuickBooks or your invoicing tool, configure your follow-up sequence, and start auto-generating invoices on job completion. Watch your cash flow improve within the first billing cycle.

Week 4: Layer in Document Processing and Lead Management. These are the force multipliers that compound over time.

The Math

Let's be conservative. Say you bill 5 jobs per week at an average of $800 per job ($4,160/month revenue). You currently spend 20 hours/week on admin—scheduling, communication, invoicing, formatting, follow-ups.

With OpenClaw agents handling 60% of that admin, you get 12 hours back per week. That's either:

• 12 more hours of billable work = 2–3 additional jobs = $6,000–8,000/month additional revenue
• 12 hours of your life back = priceless, frankly
• Some combination of both = the obvious answer

The platform pays for itself in the first week. It's not even close.

Stop Being the Glue

The court reporters making $150K+ aren't better stenographers than the ones making $70K. They're better at operations. They respond faster, deliver sooner, collect quicker, and take more jobs because they're not drowning in admin.

OpenClaw lets you run your business like you have a full-time operations coordinator—without the $50K salary overhead. Your agents work 24/7, never lose emails, never forget follow-ups, and never have a bad day.

Head to Claw Mart and start building your first agent. The scheduling and client communication skills are the obvious starting points. Get those running, feel the relief, and then expand from there.

Your steno skills got you into this career. Your operations will determine how far it takes you.