Attorney-Drafted Legal Transcription Services
Verbatim transcripts for depositions, hearings, body cam audio, examinations under oath, and recorded statements. Certified for court use. Delivered on your deadline.
That is the work attorneys call legal transcription, and we run it as a HIPAA-compliant service for law firms that would rather outsource audio and video files than staff transcription in-house. Our transcribers work off the finished recording, not the live record. That is the line between a legal transcription company and a court reporter agency: same finished transcript, different capture moment. Every file ships certified under Federal Rules of Evidence 902 so it files as self-authenticating evidence, with chain of custody preserved on a SOC-2 Type II matter portal. Audio in. Certified transcript out. On your deadline.
HIPAA · FRE 902 · SOC-2
Certified transcripts admissible without further authentication
Types of Legal Transcription We Deliver
Eight types of legal transcription cover most of the audio that reaches us. Each card is either a dedicated service page with its own format conventions and pricing notes, or it routes straight to quote intake.
Deposition Transcripts
Video and audio depositions transcribed verbatim with speaker labels, time codes, and exhibit cross-references. Rough draft on request, final certified version on your deadline.
Deposition transcription servicesCourt Hearings & Arbitrations
Bench trials, motion hearings, arbitration sessions, sworn-statement proceedings, and family court transcribed for the record. Certified to FRE 902 standards on request.
Court transcription servicesVerbatim Transcripts
Word-for-word transcripts including filler words, false starts, crosstalk, and non-verbal utterances. True verbatim for impeachment use or intelligent verbatim for read-aloud clarity.
Verbatim transcription servicesCertified Legal Transcripts
Court-admissible transcripts with a certifier's affidavit, chain of custody log, and notarization on request. Self-authenticating under Federal Rules of Evidence 902.
Certified legal transcriptionBody Cam & Dash Cam Audio
Law enforcement body-worn camera audio and dash cam recordings transcribed with timestamp anchors and speaker identification for use in criminal defense, civil rights, and policy review matters.
Law enforcement transcription911 Calls & Dispatch Audio
Emergency communications transcribed with time stamps, channel identifiers, and inaudible markers. Delivered in formats compatible with prosecution and defense discovery production.
Law enforcement transcriptionRecorded Statements & Examinations Under Oath
Insurance examinations under oath, witness interviews, expert calls, and recorded statements transcribed verbatim with exhibit reference points and signed certification on request.
Get a quoteVoicemail, Phone Calls, & Misc. Audio
Voicemail evidence, recorded phone calls (where lawful), interview audio, and other media exhibits transcribed in a format ready to attach to a motion, an exhibit list, or a closing binder.
Get a quoteWhen Law Firms Send Audio Our Way
Most matters land in one of three practice patterns. The fit notes describe the firms that route work most often, but every case starts the same way: an audio or video file and a deadline.
Civil litigation
Depositions, hearings, recorded statements.
Discovery transcripts for depositions taken without a stenographic reporter, motion hearings, examinations under oath, and recorded telephone statements. Returned in time for the FRCP 26 disclosure deadline or the trial cut-off, with chain of custody preserved through the matter portal.
Plaintiff and defense litigation firms, insurance defense, commercial litigation.
Criminal defense & civil rights
Body cam, interrogation, jail call audio.
Body-worn camera footage, dash cam audio, jail call recordings, interrogation audio, and undercover audio transcribed with speaker labels and timestamp anchors. Verbatim formatting so that the exact words spoken survive into the motion record or trial exhibit.
Criminal defense, public defender offices, civil rights firms, prosecutors.
Transactional & investigations
EUOs, witness interviews, board calls.
Insurance examinations under oath, internal investigation interviews, board meeting audio, and expert call recordings transcribed verbatim or in intelligent-verbatim style. Delivered with reviewer-ready formatting so legal review time stays on substance, not cleanup.
Insurance carriers, in-house investigations, regulatory counsel, corporate boards.
Why Law Firms Hire Us for Legal Transcription
Counsel comparing legal transcription companies usually screen on three things: accuracy floor, certification scope, and turnaround. The five-star feedback below comes from litigation partners, criminal defense attorneys, in-house regulatory teams, and insurance defense firms who picked us after that comparison. Firms can hire a legal transcriptionist by the matter rather than commit to a retainer, which is what most attorneys actually want.
“Took a rolling deposition over three days on a complex commercial breach case and our court reporter could not deliver the rough until the second week. Sent the recordings to Legal Tank Friday night, got the rough draft Saturday morning per session, and the certified final the following Tuesday. Used the rough for cross-prep Monday morning and the case settled at mediation on Wednesday. Saved the trial team from a week of guesswork.”
“Defense criminal practice, ten hours of body cam and interrogation audio across three co-defendants in a federal narcotics matter. Their transcribers labeled the speakers correctly across overlapping audio, time-stamped every reference to the controlled buy, and flagged the inaudible portions we needed to address with the prosecution. The transcript anchored our motion to suppress and the bench granted on the Miranda timing point.”
“In-house regulatory counsel at a regional health-tech company and we record every patient-facing complaint call for compliance review. Standing engagement with Legal Tank for transcription, HIPAA business-associate agreement on file, named transcriber provisioned to our portal. Monthly batch transcribed on a 72-hour cycle, every PHI reference handled correctly, no audit finding on the BAA in three years.”
“Insurance defense practice with regular examination-under-oath transcription needs. We send EUO audio same day, get the certified transcript back within 48 hours, and our adjusters use it to evaluate coverage positions cleanly. Their certifier's affidavit on every transcript has stood up to every plaintiff-side challenge on admissibility. Faster, cleaner, and cheaper than the local reporter we used before.”
HIPAA-Compliant Legal Transcription and Chain of Custody
The recurring objection to outsourced legal audio transcription is who else hears the audio. Four controls answer that question before any file moves through our portal, and they hold the same way on body cam evidence as they do on routine commercial depositions.
HIPAA-compliant handling on protected health information
Medical records, deposition audio referencing PHI, and recorded calls between counsel and treating providers move through a HIPAA-aligned workflow. Business Associate Agreement available on request. PHI never moves through unencrypted channels.
Chain of custody preserved end to end
Every file is logged on intake (uploader, timestamp, hash, original filename, duration) and on every access event. The chain of custody log ships with the certified transcript so admissibility under Federal Rules of Evidence 902 is auditable on a discovery challenge.
Encrypted matter portal, named-user access
Source audio, draft transcripts, and final deliverables move through SOC-2 Type II infrastructure. Access is provisioned to the named transcriber, the quality-review pass, and the engaging attorney, and revoked when the matter closes.
U.S.-based transcribers, work-product assignment
Transcribers sit onshore on U.S. labor and confidentiality standards. The engagement letter assigns work-product ownership to the engaging firm so the transcript ships straight to the filing, the exhibit list, or the closing binder without a downstream rights question.
Legal Transcription Accuracy and Court Certification Under FRE 902
Legal transcription accuracy is the only thing that determines whether a transcript survives a Rule 902 challenge. Three things carry our deliverables through admissibility: a verbatim accuracy floor, a certifier's affidavit, and a chain of custody log.
Verbatim accuracy floor
Our standard accuracy floor is 99% on clear audio across a full transcript, measured against the source recording on quality review pass. Where audio quality is poor, we disclose the lower achievable floor before work starts, and mark inaudible portions in brackets so the transcript does not silently fabricate words.
Certifier's affidavit
The transcriber signs a sworn certification attesting that the transcript is a true and accurate record of the source audio, identifying the source file, the transcription date, and the verbatim style used. Under Federal Rules of Evidence 902, the certified record is self-authenticating without requiring a custodian to testify at trial.
Chain of custody log
Every file is logged on intake with the uploader, the timestamp, the source-file hash, the original filename, and the duration. Every access event is logged thereafter. The log ships with the certified transcript so admissibility under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 30(e) and the controlling state evidence rule is auditable on a discovery challenge.
Where the engaging attorney sits
Our transcribers prepare and certify the transcript. The engaging attorney owns the filing decision, the substantive review for sealed names or off-record asides, and the courtroom use. Errata sheets under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 30(e) are routed back through the engaging attorney before any correction reaches the official record.
Frequently Asked Questions About Legal Transcription
These are the questions buyers actually search before engaging a legal transcription service. Pulled from Google People Also Ask, answered the way we would answer them on a quote call.
How much do transcribers cost?
What does a legal transcription do?
Will AI replace legal transcriptionists?
Can ChatGPT do transcription?
How long does it take to transcribe 1 hour?
Will AI take over legal transcription?
How Legal Transcription Works: Audio Upload to Certified Transcript
Same six steps whether the matter is a single deposition or a standing engagement for an in-house team. The first call is always the same question: when do you need it.
- 1
Quote intake
Send the audio or video file, the matter description, and your turnaround deadline through our quote form. We return a per-page or per-audio-hour quote, lead transcriber, and delivery date in one business day.
- 2
Secure upload
Once the quote is accepted, you upload the source media through our encrypted matter portal. We log the file hash, duration, uploader, and timestamp into the chain of custody record on intake.
- 3
First-pass transcription
A named transcriber working in your verbatim style (true verbatim or intelligent verbatim) produces the first-pass transcript with speaker labels, time codes, and inaudible markers where audio is unclear.
- 4
Quality review pass
A second reviewer compares the draft against the source audio, corrects any errors, normalizes legal terminology, and flags anything that needs your judgment call (sealed names, off-record asides, audio gaps).
- 5
Certification & chain of custody
On request, the transcriber signs a certifier's affidavit attesting that the transcript is a true and accurate record of the audio reviewed. The chain of custody log is attached. Notarization available on request.
- 6
Delivery on your deadline
The final transcript is delivered through the matter portal in your preferred format (PDF, DOCX, plain text, or a CAT-software-compatible export). Revisions covered for thirty days post-delivery.
Have a Deposition, Hearing, or Recorded Statement?
Send the audio or video file and your deadline through our quote form. We return per-page or per-audio-hour pricing, named transcriber, and turnaround in one business day.
Quotes return same business day on intakes received before 5 PM ET