How Graham Smith-Bernal revolutionised court reporting

Graham Smith-Bernal jumped on the latest technology to bring dusty, old courtrooms into the twenty-first century. James McKeigue reports.

Judge gavel on the table with blurry books in the background
(Image credit: greenleaf123)

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Graham Smith-Bernal, Opus 2 International

When Graham Smith-Bernal, 55, left school, the obvious option was to join his father's PR firm. However, while on a business course, he learnt how to use a stenotype machine. Little could he imagine back then where this new skill would take him. "Once I'd learned it, it was pretty easy to get a job as a court reporter." But several years later his boss suddenly shut up shop. Aged just 24, "I decided to start my own company".

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.