2016 NCCRA Conference Agenda

Asheville, North Carolina | September 24-25, 2016 | Total CEU Credits – 1.15
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Day 1: Saturday, September 24, 2016
7:30 a.m. - Registration - Burghley
7:00 – 8:15 a.m. – Breakfast - Burghley
• All meals will be in Burghley B, along with vendors and silent auction
• All speakers will be in Burghley A
8:15 to 9:15 a.m. - .1 credit
Rick E. Levy, RPR, FPR
Rick is an owner and managing partner of First Choice Reporting & Video in
Florida. He has been reporting since 1996, starting with his family court
reporting business. Continuing to work as a court reporter, Rick handles
hearings, depositions, and trials, including realtime. He has served as VP and
President of Florida Court Reporters Association, is on the advisory board of
the court reporting school Atlantic Technical Center, and is presently a director with NCRA.
Current trends in NCRA and plans for future students and future professionals in our everchanging field of court reporting and the online testing with NCRA.
9:15 to 9:30 a.m. – Break
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. - .1 credit
Kathy DiLorenzo, RDR-CRR-CBC-FAPR
Kathy DiLorenzo, Director of U.S. Court Reporting, Planet Depos, is a
recognized leader in the court reporting industry with more than 36 years of
experience, including dedicating more than 20 years of her career to the
National Court Reporters Association, culminating as its President. Kathy is
responsible for the recruiting, vetting, onboarding and continuing education
of Planet Depos’ talented team of professional court reporters.
How to Lose a Client in Fewer Than 10 Days
A play on the movie, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” a discussion of the top pet peeves of a
partner in a prominent Washington DC-based law firm when dealing with court reporters.
Day 1 continued…
10:30 to 10:45 a.m. – Break
10:45 to 11:45 a.m. - .1 credit
Lisa A. DiMonte, RMR, CMRS
With more than 37 years of experience in the court reporting industry, Lisa
DiMonte serves as Chief Executive Officer for Planet Depos, a global court
reporting company headquartered in Washington, D.C. Lisa has managed,
mentored and trained hundreds of court reporters, videographers, technologists,
attorneys, paralegals, legal secretaries and law firm personnel around the globe and
also serves as a consultant to court reporters and agencies around the world.
Ethical Conundrums – You Make the Call!
The moderators present a scenario encountered by a court reporter on the job. You must make a
split-second decision as to what is the appropriate action. Once all votes are in, the audience
discusses and debates, and a best practice revealed.
Lunch – 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Business Meeting of NCCRA – 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. – .15 credits
Lindsey Guice Smith, Executive Director, and Sharon Stellato, Associate Director, from the
North Carolina Innocence Commission.
Lindsey Guice Smith, a 2008 UNC School of Law graduate, began
working as a staff attorney at the Commission in 2010 under a federal
DNA grant, becoming well versed in current DNA technologies and
testing methods. She was promoted to Associate Counsel in 2012. In
addition to serving as legal counsel for the Commission, Lindsey also
investigated innocence claims, served as the Commission’s certified
Evidence Custodian and managed the Commission’s federal DNA grant.
In October 2015, Lindsey was selected as the Commission’s Executive Director.
A Florida native, Sharon Stellato graduated with a law degree from North
Carolina Central University Law School in 2006. In 2004, Sharon began
working at the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, handling over
300 innocence claims and investigations. Sharon joined the Commission in
2008 and was promoted to the Commission’s Associate Director in 2012.
Sharon has reviewed and investigated hundreds of innocence claims,
supervises the Commission’s caseload, and serves as one of the
Commission’s Evidence Custodians.
Day 1 continued…
Lindsey and Sharon will share with us the history, mission and operations of the North Carolina
Innocence Inquiry Commission, which is the first of its kind in the nation. The Commission
was created by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2006 and began operating in 2007. The
Commission is charged with providing an independent and balanced truth-seeking forum for
credible post-conviction claims of innocence in North Carolina. The Commission is separate
from the appeals process. A person exonerated by the Commission process is declared innocent
and cannot be retried for the same crime.
2:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. – Break
2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. – .1 credits
Jody West, Forensic Scientist Manager/Special Agent
Jody will provide information about the Forensic Biology Section of the North
Carolina State Crime Laboratory and speak about cases turned on DNA evidence.
3:45 p.m to 4:00 p.m. - Break
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. - .15 credits
Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams and Assistant District Attorney Alex
Bass will discuss cases where forensics was used to solve their cases, either to prove or rule out
the accused.
ADA Alex Bass, a 1991 graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law, has
served in District Attorney’s Offices in North Carolina since 1992.Since
January 2015, as the Senior Assistant District Attorney, he has been assigned to
prosecute major felonies, homicides and narcotics cases in Buncombe County.
DA Todd Williams graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in
1999 and is a NC State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Criminal Law. After
years serving as a publicdefender in North Carolina, he was elected to the
office of Buncombe County District Attorney in 2014, the first new district
attorney in that county in 24 years.
6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – Happy Hour
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. – Murder Mystery Dinner - .15 credits
Eric Everett, our Clue Master, will present an interactive mystery during dinner, complete with a
crime scene setting, possible perpetrators and DNA-related evidence to solve the crime. Each
table will compete to solve our mystery!
Asheville, North Carolina | September 24-25, 2016 | Total CEU Credits – 1.15
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DAY 2: Sunday, September 25, 2016
8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. - .15 credits
Rick E. Levy, RPR, FPR
Rick’s Extreme Makeover presentation covers many topics including trends
in the industry, what firm owners and clients are looking for from their
reporters as well as what the future of court reporting will look like. It is an
interactive seminar where audience members can participate with any stories
or relevant situations.
10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. – Break
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. - .15 credits
David M. Sperling, RDR, CRR, CRC - President of Sperling & Barraco, a
local, independently-owned freelance firm serving Asheville and Western North
Carolina since 1984.
With 45 years in the reporting profession, the last 21 years dedicated to CART
and captioning. David was Vitac’s first remote captioner and the first to be
assigned to regular national programming by both Vitac and The National
Captioning Institute. In 1993, David became North Carolina’s first Certified
Realtime Reporter. After many years captioning television’s top-rated shows, he
currently spends his time remote captioning from home in both North Carolina and Florida.
CART Captioning - Is It Right For Me? Am I Right For It?
David will share his experiences transitioning from court reporter to broadcast captioner, the
changes in the industry over the years, and where it is today. He will discuss the differences
between broadcast captioning, remote CART captioning, and onsite work, including the
equipment, software, and skills required, along with some of the more unusual setups he’s
encountered over the years. The informal nature of this presentation will invite much audience
participation so your questions will be answered.
12:00 p.m. – Silent Auction results