Many Nebraska Court Reporters Association individual members, as well as agencies, voluntarily enroll to advocate for the neutrality of court reporters in the legal system. The National Court Reporters Association Ethics First program was developed for a single reason: To recognize members who have made a commitment to abide by and promote the rules of the Code of Professional Ethics (COPE), particularly with regard to gift-giving.

NCRA’s Ethics First program invites all court reporters and reporting firms abiding by COPE to join Ethics First and to reference this website. This assures your clients that you understand the ethical implications that gift-giving entails and are doing your part to ensure that the legal system remains entirely impartial. The Ethics First logo demonstrates to your clients, to your peers, and to your competition that you refuse to risk compromising the judicial system through practices which conflict with COPE. The Nebraska Court Reporters Association wholeheartedly supports this program and is proud to have reporters and agencies enrolled throughout the state.

Through its grassroots efforts, Ethics First seeks to positively educate court reporters, firms, and clients that the impartiality and neutrality of the court reporter is of utmost importance to maintain an unbiased legal system. Getting the word out to attorneys, legal staff, and other consumers of court reporting services about the perils of accepting free gifts from court reporting firms is also one of the Ethics First committee charges.