Mary Sorene

Recipient of the Betty Willett Award 2021

(Read the whole article here: https://bivr.org.uk/the-betty-willett-award/ where I receive the Betty Willett Award in 2021 – presented for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession).

I began my Court Reporting career at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) in 1971, working for George Walpole & Sons and began training others in 1972. I became a partner there in 1979.

Having attained a speed of 210 wpm in Pitman’s pen shorthand and 80 wpm typing, I left the Old Bailey and started on my own in 1988 signing a five-year shorthand writing contract covering the Acton and Willesden Crown Courts. These courts later closed and we transferred to the new court at Harrow (Wealdstone) in 1992.

At this time I rose to the Lord Chancellor’s challenge to retrain others and myself on to CAT within two years. Having mastered several CAT and word processing softwares, in 1993 I began working as a freelance Verbatim Reporter and founded Sorene Court Reporting and Training Services, now renamed as Sorene Verbatim Reporter Training Services.

Under my guidance, students from Britain and from abroad have completed the training course and gone on to pursue careers in stenography and realtime reporting. Two of my former trainees captioned at the BBC and a third returned home to California to be a captionist there. Others were engaged in various Crown Courts and/or private work.  I have trained new Realtime Reporters for one London contractor and currently have students in Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and Kent via distance learning – i.e., in their own home. I also trained court reporters in Lagos, Nigeria, for the Magistracy there (where students reached 140 wpm in realtime stenography within 18 months).

Member and officer in several national and international shorthand and reporting associations. I am currently Chairman of the IPS (the oldest shorthand writing society in the world), who now offer on-line shorthand dictation practice on Monday evenings.  www.the-ips.org.uk

Secretary of the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters, having become a member there early in the 1970s. I am now a Life Member.

A Participating Member of the National Reporters Association of America I am a CRI (Certified Reporting Instructor) examination through the NCRA (USA) which is now valid through September 2023.

I received an award of merit from the City of London Business News for Services to Training.

Holder of a Level 3 Certificate in Education Principles and Practice; Level 3 Certificate in Education Practice: ICT Skills as well as a Diploma in Education Practice: ICT Skills awarded 15 June 2005 at Bedford College, UK.

Contact me on marycsorene@gmail.com – a new email address for me.