Gene Barker and associated court reporters have been preserving the record in Olympia, Washington since 1960. We are Washington State Certified Court Reporters and Notaries Public.

Gene Barker and Associates perform general reporting, which means we report all types of proceedings. As freelance reporters we are self-employed and accept assignments as requested from state, county or municipal agencies, from lawyers, and from the general public. When a scheduled proceeding is not held in our own conference room, we travel to the site of the proceeding, whether it is a law office, hearing room, court room, board room, hospital, private residence or elsewhere. Being self-employed and portable distinguishes us from official reporters, usually county or federal employees, who work in one department, assigned to one judge.

About Court Reporting

The Court Reporting Act is defined by Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 18.145 and Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 308-14. It is further defined under Washington Court Rules, State, Federal, and Local.

The "practice of court reporting" means the making by means of written symbols or abbreviations in shorthand or machine writing, or oral recording by a stenomask reporter, of a verbatim record of any oral court proceeding, deposition, or proceeding before a jury, referee, court commissioner, special master, governmental entity, or administrative agency, and the producing of a transscript from the proceeding. Certified Reporters are certified by the Washington State Department of Licensing, Business and Professions Division, upon recognized examination which requires the applicant to be able to report and transcribe at least 200 words per minute of two-voice testimony for five consecutive minutes with at least 95 percent accuracy.

Certified reporters comply with standards of professional practice as set out in the Washington Administrative Code.