                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PROHIBITED ACTIONS; EXCEPTION (§ 17.1-1002)

A. A court reporter or court reporting services provider shall not:

   1. Enter into an oral or written contractual agreement for more than one case,
   action, or legal proceeding with a party, insurance company, or any other
   person or entity that has a financial interest in the case, action, or legal
   proceeding. This prohibition does not apply to a contract for the provision of
   court reporting services between a court reporter or court reporting services
   provider and an attorney or law firm that is counsel of record in one or more
   cases, actions, or legal proceedings;

   2. Give an economic or other advantage to a party or a party&#8217;s attorney,
   representative, agent, insurer, or employee without offering the advantage to
   all parties or fail to offer comparable services, prices, or financial terms
   to all parties, except that different credit terms may be offered based on
   payment experience and creditworthiness;

   3. Offer or provide court reporting services if payment for those services is
   made contingent on the outcome of the legal proceeding, base the compensation
   for the court reporting services on the outcome of the legal proceeding, or
   otherwise give the court reporter or court reporting services provider a
   financial interest in the action;

   4. Enter into an agreement for court reporting services that restricts an
   attorney from using the court reporter or court reporting services provider of
   the attorney&#8217;s choosing;

   5. Enter into an oral or written contractual agreement with a party, insurance
   company, or any other person or entity that has a financial interest in the
   case, action, or legal proceeding to include a court reporter or court
   reporting services provider on a list of preferred providers of court
   reporting services that is maintained by a person, business, entity, or firm
   that has entered into an oral or written contractual agreement for more than
   one case, action, or legal proceeding with an attorney, party, insurance
   company, third-party administrator, or any other person or entity that has a
   financial interest in the case, action, or legal proceeding. This prohibition
   does not apply to a contract between a court reporter or court reporting
   services provider and an attorney or law firm to include such court reporter
   or court reporting services provider on a list of preferred providers
   maintained by such attorney or law firm;

   6. Allow the format, content, or body of a certified transcript as submitted
   by the court reporter to be manipulated in a manner that increases the cost of
   the transcript; or

   7. Provide additional advocacy or litigation support services, including trial
   preparation assistance, deposition summaries, and nonpublished transcript
   databases.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A, if authorized or required by law, ordinance, or
rule, a governmental entity may obtain court reporting services on a long-term
basis through competitive bidding.

HISTORY: 2018, c. 783.