Our View on the Consolidation of Court Reporting Firms

Greetings, I started my career here in Atlanta as a court reporter approximately 25 years ago. I started my first court reporting business Alexander Gallo & Associates in 1999. My firm later acquired Brown Reporting and became Brown & Gallo. In 2008, with the help of equity funds and just before the financial world changed with the Great Recession, we acquired Esquire Court Reporting and changed our name to Esquire Deposition Solutions. We had become the largest court reporting firm globally. To get to that point, we had done nearly twenty acquisitions across the country and integrated nearly 50 offices into our systems. I can tell you firsthand that with an acquisition comes integration, and with integration comes change – but for the clients, that change is not always for the better. As the national court reporting firms grow larger through acquisitions, much like I had grown in the past, there is an ever increasing pressure from the equity funds and investors to deliver more and more corporate profit to the bottom line, which is achieved too often by increasing prices and becoming “more efficient” with headcount. Many times, the changes that have to be made to accommodate the corporate bottom line are not the best changes for the clients, generally resulting in a lower level of customer service satisfaction and an increased price. When I left Esquire to start Discovery Litigation Services, it was started with a commitment to never let that happen to us. Discovery Litigation is a privately held company and is not beholden to investors’ demands to increase profits in order to achieve a higher return on their investment. Discovery Litigation’s commitment to its clients in the Atlanta community and beyond is to continue to provide the highest level of service possible at a great price while always being accessible to its clients. I heartily congratulate all those who sell their businesses -- they have worked hard and deserve to look forward to their next adventure. My business plan is simple -- the Discovery Litigation team and I will continue to work hard to earn, manage and maintain your business. We personally stand at the ready to serve you on a daily basis to cover your deposition needs, whether here in Atlanta or anywhere around the globe.