Veritext – Minneapolis
Jan began her career as a court reporter in 1981. In 1990, she was elected President of the state court reporters association. This experience afforded the opportunity to meet many outstanding court reporters and industry leaders. In 1993, Jan collaborated with two highly regarded colleagues–Jayne Seward and Lisa Richardson–to form Ballman, Richardson & Seward. Five years later, Jan led the merger of BR&S with two well-known and highly respected firms–Schultz & Sorenson; and Oliver, Mitchell & Maves—and launched Paradigm Reporting & Captioning on January 1, 1998.
After a 20-year career as a court reporter, Jan retired her steno machine in 2002 in favor of taking the helm of Paradigm on a full-time basis.
A recognized leader at both the state and national level, Jan was bestowed Minnesota’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, by the Minnesota Association of Verbatim Reporters and Captioners in 2004. In 2010, Jan was elected to serve on the Board of Trustees of the National Court Reporters Foundation and was honored to accept the appointment as Chair of the Board from 2014 to 2016. In August of 2017, Jan was inducted into as a Fellow into the Academy of Professional Reporters. Currently, Jan Ballman is the only court reporter in Minnesota to have attained the professional distinction of FAPR.
Outside of her chosen profession, Jan enjoys working with local nonprofits, mentoring tomorrow’s leaders, and exploring the world of wine. Since 2011, Jan has been delighted to chair “Legal Wine Lovers,” an official affinity group of Minnesota Women Lawyers.
Veritext – South Carolina
Bruce began his career as a maintenance engineer with Corning Glass Company in 1981 after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University with a dual major in Mechanical Engineering and Economics. He earned his MBA 10 years later at the University of South Carolina. He remained in manufacturing and distribution assignments with various companies until 2002, when his wife, the ever-wonderful Deborah Dusseljee, burned his original career ladder and brought him into her court reporting and captioning business to help manage backroom operations. Bruce had a disturbing habit of breaking every backroom process Debbie came up with, so to save her company Debbie was forced to send Bruce through the NCRA CLVS program in the mid-2000’s to become the company’s (only) lead videographer. Bruce went on to obtain a Certified Deposition Video Specialist with the American Guild of Court Videographers. Bruce ultimately joined the CLVS Council and spent 8 years working with other Council members to modernize the CLVS program and assist in moving the legal video community from solid media to digital acquisition. Bruce also jumped into social media, becoming a respected technology resource in numerous legal video forums, one of which he continues to moderate today. Bruce earned his final certification, Resident Old Fart, after becoming somewhat retired, except when he takes a job as a legal videographer with the Veritext-South Carolina team.
Bruce is married to Debbie Dusseljee, also on the Peer Advisory Council. Bruce runs, bikes, golfs (less often than he likes), enjoys kayaking, camping, eating Debbie’s cooking, and walking the dogs Debbie hangs out with. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others and enjoys serving on media teams at church. Bruce is also a supporter of the University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball team and is convinced that the Lady Gamecocks will bring the NCAA National Championship trophy back to the Colonial Life Arena in the near future.
Veritext – Indiana
Jim Connor is a 39-year reporting veteran, and owner of Connor Reporting in Indianapolis, Lafayette and Bloomington, Indiana. Jim has also attained his trial presentation certification in both Trial Director and Visionary softwares. He has extensive deposition and arbitration reporting experience, and specializes in international labor union convention reporting. During his reporting career he has worked with every U.S. President since Jimmy Carter, as well as former South African President Nelson Mandela, and former president of Poland, Lech Walesa.
Jim also engages in one-on-one CART reporting for clients with hearing impairments, and does captioning for larger venues such as labor union conventions.
Another of his expertise is reporting press conferences for sporting events including the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, Formula One, and MotoGP races with immediate turnaround for dissemination to the world’s press and posting on the various sporting websites.
He has been an Eclipse software user since 1993, and in 2012 transitioned to Case CATalyst software to be better equipped to report the terrorist trials at Guantanamo Bay.
Jim definitely considers his current assignment with the GTMO team in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be the highlight of his long career. Reporting the trials of al Nashiri, the mastermind of the bombings of the USS Cole and USS The Sullivans, and the 9/11 terrorists, has been very challenging but extremely rewarding and exciting. He feels honored to play a vital role in these historic proceedings.
In 2019 Jim was elected President of the Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporting (STAR).
Veritext – South Carolina
Deborah began her career as a court reporter in 1984, after graduating from Ferris State College with a degree in Court and Conference Reporting.
Debbie added to her writing proficiency skills and became one of South Carolina’s first realtime court reporters and later became South Carolina’s first realtime broadcast captioning pioneer. Debbie was a vital link in assisting the SC Association of the Deaf establish grant-supported CART and captioning services for SC residents, including gavel-to-gavel coverage of the South Carolina State House and various newscasts. Debbie is a long-time USC Gamecock fan and was thrilled to launch realtime stadium captioning at Williams-Brice. She has served as President of the South Carolina Shorthand Reporters Association, South Carolina Delegate to the National Committee of State Associations, and a chief examiner for NCRA certification testing. Debbie is currently a Registered Professional Reporter, Certified Realtime Captioner, and Realtime Systems Administrator. Reporting complex litigation utilizing the latest realtime technology has been a specialty of Debbie’s, and she has reported several high-profile cases during her extensive career. During the recent pandemic, Debbie has used her web-conferencing knowledge as a realtimer to mobilize CompuScripts’ staff, professionals, and clients onto a Zoom platform for taking remote depositions.
Debbie is married to Bruce Balmer, her long-time business partner and a standout legal videographer in his own right. Debbie’s faith in God is central to her many contributions to both local and global communities. Debbie enjoys supporting the University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball team, riding her bicycle, cooking, and hanging out with her dogs.
Veritext – Maryland
Joe Grabowski, RMR, principal of Gore Brothers/Veritext began reporting in the Baltimore/Washington, DC area in 1976 and started providing realtime to attorneys and the deaf/hard-of-hearing in the mid-1980s. Joe has covered depositions in various locations in the United States, Spain, Greece and has taken statements from survivors of WWII German concentration camps in Poland.
Joe is a member of the National Court Reporters Association, past president and board member of the National Network of Reporting Companies, and past president of the Maryland Court Reporters Association. Joe is chairman of the Education Advisory Committee of the Maryland Court Reporters Association and was appointed by Chief Judge Robert M. Bell to the State of Maryland’s first Court Reporters Committee.
Veritext – Ohio
Pam is a CRR, RDR, and Ohio Cup Speed Contest champion. While the agency has covered a wide array of complex litigation, her passion is expert testimony involving engineering, law and government, intellectual property, environmental, and medicine. She enjoys the outdoors, running, biking, hiking, and bowling. She and her husband, Alan, have three children.
Veritext – Virginia
Karen began her reporting career in 1987 in Norfolk, VA. She had the privilege of learning from the best and providing exceptional service in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as abroad in the UK. This international experience naturally widened her horizons, and in 1998, Hart Reporting was established specializing in realtime technology. Karen is a Registered Merit Reporter and was one of the first court reporters in Virginia to obtain the Certified Realtime Reporter distinction. Because of Karen’s connection to all four corners of the Commonwealth, Hart Reporting quickly grew to provide statewide coverage. In addition to traditional court reporting services, Karen introduced CART technology to the Office of Disability Services at James Madison University. It’s a tremendously rewarding experience to play a role in the success of many hard-of-hearing and deaf college students. When COVID hit, Hart Reporting stood out in Virginia as a leader for quickly embracing all facets of technology, providing countless training and demo sessions for clients to conduct proceedings remotely. Hart became the go-to firm for judges and litigators across the Commonwealth who trusted our staff to keep their cases moving.
Karen is well respected among her peers for her devotion to shepherding new reporters as well as being a strong advocate for the profession she loves so much. Her clients will tell you she’s a perfectionist and someone who promotes a culture of professional ethics in every case her firm handles.
Veritext – Wilmington
Ellie Corbett Hannum began her career as a court reporter in 1974. In 1976, Ellie became a partner in Varallo, White & Corbett. Subsequently buying her partners’ interests, Ellie became the President of Corbett & Associates in 1981. In 2009, Ellie proudly joined the Veritext family.
The highlight of Ellie’s career was when she was bestowed the Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor awarded by the National Court Reporters Association (2013).
Throughout Ellie’s court reporting career, she served on many professional committees. Most notably, she served twice as President of the Delaware Court Reporters Association (1995 and 1998), twice as President of the Baron Users Group (1987 and 1988), twice as Chairman of the National Court Reporters Foundation (2004 and 2006).
Since 2015, Ellie has served as a Corporate Chair for the Combined Campaign for Justice, an organization that provides legal services to indigent people in Delaware. Veritext has been a significant sponsor for 10 years.
Ellie has often said that the best professional decision she ever made was to become a court reporter and the second best was to join Veritext in 2009. It has been and continues to be a wonderful journey.
Veritext – Minnesota
Merilee S. Johnson has been reporting for 21 years and has experience as an official reporter, freelance reporter, and captioner. Currently, she serves as Director of Reporter Relations and Technologies with Paradigm Reporting and Captioning, a Veritext Company.
In addition to her extensive work experience, Merilee is credentialed as a Certified Independent Training Agent with Stenograph. She holds NCRA’s RDR, CRR and CRC certifications, as well as NCRA’s RSA Certificate.
Merilee serves the industry as a member and chair for multiple committees on both the state and national levels. She has a passion for investing in the future of the industry through mentoring and trainings, and currently serves an adjunct instructor at the local court reporting school in Minnesota. She is a resource for reporters at Paradigm, an active trainer for Stenograph, and is also a member of STAR’s Liaison Committee.
Veritext – New Orleans
Shortly after receiving his bachelor’s degree in Pre-Law from the University of Louisiana in 1983, Phil bought the small Lafayette, Louisiana court reporting firm that he had been working at to learn deposition-taking skills for law school. At the time, he envisioned turning management of it over to his sister who had just started reporting school, while he pursued his law degree. However, his sister decided she preferred reporting over management. Phil changed his focus to growing Kaufman & Associates. He studied steno, voice and Gregg shorthand reporting methods and became a Louisiana CCR in Louisiana’s first statewide certification in 1987. He also obtained an American Guild of Legal Videographers certification.
Being a technology enthusiast and envisioning the impact the development of speech recognition would have on the industry, he worked closely with Dragon Systems and IBM in the early 90’s, ultimately founding AudioScribe in 1997. AudioScribe developed the first speech recognition voicewriting system for court reporting. This led to Phil traveling throughout the world presenting SpeechCAT to courts, reporting firms, national conferences, reporting schools, and all branches of the U.S. military. Phil focused on developing the first theory and methods for speech recognition real-time voicewriting and released the Voice-Ed textbooks and curriculum in 2001. He traveled across the U.S. to steno schools and colleges instructing their instructors. Next, he obtained the NCRA Certified Reporting Instructor certification and shortly thereafter the NCRA Certificate in Trial Presentation.
Phil has been a member of the NCRA, VRLA, LCRA, STAR and a Board Member of the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters. During his tenure on the CSR Board, Phil introduced motions and participated in authoring bills that led to the creation of the Certified Digital Court Reporter (CDR) license. The CDR license provides options for Louisiana judges and courts (only) to fill countless official court reporting vacancies in mostly rural areas with qualified court reporters. Phil’s most recent contributions include serving on the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters’ Advisory Committee on E-Signatures/E-Filing, which led to providing clients with a certified paperless transcript option. Ever-dedicated to Louisiana Court Reporters, in early 2024 Phil initiated the reorganization of the Verbatim Reporters of Louisiana professional association which was about to shutdown completely after COVID. A group of very enthusiastic younger reporters have now formed the new VRLA board and are actively involved in hosting seminars and influencing State legislation related to court reporting.
Phil currently resides in New Orleans with his wife and two children.
Veritext – San Diego
Rosalie Kramm began her career as a court reporter and owner/operator of Kramm Court Reporting in San Diego, California over 30 years ago, before joining Veritext Legal Solutions, the national leader in deposition services.
She sat on the Court Reporters Board of California with the Department of Consumer Affairs from 2013 through 2018 and has served as president of the Deposition Reporters Association of California, Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporting, and General Reporters Association of San Diego.
Kramm is a Certified Court Reporter in California and holds the national license of Certified Realtime Reporter. She also is a certified LiveNote trainer and frequent presenter for advanced workshops on the use of interactive real-time software, including Realtime with LiveNote, Summation, and Bridge. She also serves on the board of the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program.
Veritext – Tennessee
Kathy May, President/CEO, and founder of Alpha takes pride in serving and giving back to the legal community, of which she has been a member since 1976.
It was when Kathy was attending, the then Memphis State University, that she heard an advertisement on the radio, “be a court reporter; set your own hours, be your own boss, determine your own salary,” a career she embraced, has grown to love and encourages others to consider.
One of the many things that Kathy enjoys about her job is the ability to witness first-hand the growth and development of her team, while at the same time staying on the cutting-edge of technology and bringing value and service to the legal industry.
Veritext – MidWest
Todd Mobley joined the firm of Mike Mobley Reporting in January 1994. He graduated from the University of Dayton in 1993 with a degree in Accounting. Upon graduation, he went to work for The Analytical Sciences Corporation (TASC) where he served as a consultant to the Department of Defense and Department of Energy regarding the estimation of costs for environmental cleanup efforts.
He also worked on a document management project for the Air Force in the C-17 litigation that electronically saved millions of exhibits. At the time, it was the largest conversion of paper exhibits to electronic exhibits ever.
In 1994, he joined Mike Mobley Reporting, full time, after many years of helping out on a part-time basis. He currently is the President, accountant, and videographer for the firm. He received his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Dayton in 1997 with a focus on Entrepreneurship. Todd has served on numerous committees for NCRA over his 20+ year career. He was also active in the Ohio Court Reporters Association, where he served on the Legislative Committee and is on the Liaison Committee with the attorneys who represent the Ohio Court Reporters in legislative matters. He has been involved with these matters since 1996. Todd has served as STAR Treasurer from 1998 through his current term in 2017. He has become known as treasurer-for-life.
Todd became a Principal with Veritext when Mike Mobley Reporting was purchased on April 15, 2019.
Todd has been married to Angela Mobley since 2000 and they have three children, Michael, Marilyn and Mary Margaret. Todd coaches his son’s football, basketball and baseball teams and coaches both daughters in basketball and soccer. In his free time Todd likes to camp, hike and fish with his family. He also loves to read, with his interest focused mostly on WWII history.
Veritext – Vancouver, Canada
Christy Pratt is the owner of Reportex, All-Star by Reportex and Island by Reportex in British Columbia, Canada. She has been a realtime reporter for over 20 years, with a special interest in Aboriginal rights/title cases and Charter challenge cases. As an expert in realtime reporting Christy has regularly conducted workshops for trial lawyers and their support staff on the benefits of realtime and how to effectively conduct electronic trials. She is passionate about mentorship, and she has a values-driven approach to team culture and business development.
Reportex was originally founded in 1983 and acquired by Christy in 2006. Since that time Reportex has grown into a legal technology and e-solutions leader in British Columbia, designing, implementing and facilitating the first electronic trial in Vancouver. Christy and her team were honoured to have received the Canadian Lawyer Magazine Readers’ Choice award for top court reporting and deposition services in 2019 and 2020.
Relationships are at the heart of everything Reportex does. Providing excellent services and signature “thoughtful extras” in tandem with a strong focus on the core values of team, industry, mentorship, community and equality are the lifeblood of this organization. Their team of over 100 staff, court reporters, transcribers and editors spans both Canada and the United States.
Veritext – South Carolina
With over 40 years of court reporting experience, Bill Roberts is known as South Carolina’s leading expert in litigation services and technology. He has been in the forefront of emerging technology and was the first reporter in South Carolina to offer Realtime court reporting technology.
Before merging with Veritext in 2019, Bill founded A. William Roberts, Jr. & Associates in 1980. After graduating from the Stenotype Institute in Jacksonville, he was the official Court Reporter for the Ninth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina. Bill is a Registered Merit Reporter, Certified Realtime Reporter, Certified Legal Video Specialist, and Certified Manager of Reporting Services.
Under his leadership, AWR/Veritext has become South Carolina’s premier court reporting firm with a commitment to fast, accurate and friendly service. Bill lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
with his wife Karen, who is a principal in Veritext. His oldest son David is a principal in Veritext; his middle son Mike is a court reporter with Veritext; and his youngest son Andrew is a television news producer in Indianapolis.
Bill is committed to the recruitment and training of new court reporters and has mentored many individuals considering court reporting as a career, helping them to thrive in this field of endeavor, many of whom have gone to achieve the highest levels of certification in court reporting. Bill’s outside activities include leadership in a local men’s ministry and Kairos Prison Ministry as well as the Walk to Emmaus. He is an avid car collector and motorcycle enthusiast.
Veritext – New York
Jane started her court reporting career in 1976 as a freelancer in New York City and built a loyal clientele early by embracing and specializing in reporting for challenging clients and complex litigation. Jane founded NYC-based Diamond Reporting in 1980 and grew it over the years into one of New York’s largest and most prestigious agencies with the help of her husband and son. A large agency with a small family-owned feel and culture, Diamond was proud to work with over 250 of New York’s finest court reporters and creative team of videographers.
In December of 2019, she and her partner, son joined Veritext. Both of them stayed on with the company and are pleased to now be part of the Veritext family.
One of the things Jane is known for and most proud of is her reputation for taking on new reporters, providing them with internships and mentorship, and setting them up on Day 1 for long-term success in the industry. The fact that “many a Superstar Reporter” got their start at Diamond is something that continues to drive her passion for helping to professionally develop our newest reporters.
Jane’s love of the profession is reflected in her community service within the New York State Court Reporting Association. She is also active in local law organizations, including the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Defense Association of New York.
When she’s not assisting reporters and clients, Jane enjoys spending time with her husband, grown kids and her three adorable granddaughters. She loves her home, New York City, and is grateful that her family lives close by. You can also often find her speed-walking along the Hudson River, with a smile on her face.
Veritext – Reno
After graduating from the California College of Court Reporters, Linda Shaw founded Sunshine Reporting Services in Reno, Nevada, and subsequently merged that company with Litigation Services in Las Vegas, to become the largest and most successful firm in Nevada. In 2023 Litigation Services joined Veritext Legal Solutions. Linda is licensed in California, Nevada, and Idaho, and also has national certificates.
Veritext – Colorado
Judy Stevens has been a firm owner in Denver since 1994 before becoming part of Veritext in 2019. She began her career as a court reporter in Tucson, Arizona before moving to Denver, Colorado. In 2000, Judy earned the highly coveted designation of Certified Manager of Reporting Services (CMRS) by the National Court Reporters Association while building her firm, mentoring her team and also serving on the board of her state association and volunteering through the Alliance of Professional Women.
Over the years, Judy and her firm have been recognized by the Denver Business Journal as one of the “Top 10 Fastest Growing Denver-Area Private Companies” and she has been nominated by the Denver Business Journal for its “Outstanding Women in Business” award on numerous occasions. In addition, Judy was recognized by NCRA with its prestigious “Excellence Award for Leadership and Team-Building” and has authored many articles for the JCR magazine. Judy is also quite active in her teaching/mentoring role as a regular guest lecturer at both Arapahoe Community College and the University of Denver Law School.
Veritext – Philadelphia
Brigitte started her court reporting career in June of 1979, after having worked as a paralegal, looking for more flexibility for her young family. With the exception of a six-month stint as an Official in Federal Court in Philadelphia, Brigitte has been freelancing for over four decades. She started her own agency in 1984, eventually selling it to Krauss, Katz and Ackerman. Brigitte joined Veritext in 2001. “It was a wonderful time to be part of Veritext, as it was still in its infancy. I have enjoyed working with everyone and being able to see it become what it is today.”
An early adopter to technology, Brigitte beta-tested the first Computer-Aided Transcription software and hardware for BaronData, now Case Catalyst. After achieving Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) status, Brigitte certified as a realtime reporter (CRR), which became the gateway to a wonderful career in international reporting and provided many amazing travel opportunities. One of many examples: Brigitte worked on a big case that went back and forth between New York City and Rio de Janeiro for several years, making a hotel on Copacabana Beach her office for months on end. Brigitte notes traveling back to the United States after working on a case in Seoul, Korea in 2001 and arriving home the evening of September 10th—the night before the morning attacks on 9-11.
Over the years, Brigitte has become a noted mentor of court reporting students, both through NCRA as well as her local court reporting school. Today, she splits her time between reporting, mentoring reporters, serving as a reporter liaison, working with the Veritext Peer Advisory Council (VPAC), assisting the calendar, client services and billing departments at Veritext/Philadelphia, performing case management on her cases, supporting the sales team, and advising attorneys and their staff on rules for international depositions. During COVID, Brigitte enjoyed training both reporters and clients on how to take and troubleshoot Zoom depositions.
Veritext – Alabama
With over 47 years in the court reporting industry, Mickey has been blessed to enjoy the friendships and expertise of talented reporters in Alabama and across the nation. Passing certifications and pioneering real-time reporting in Alabama was exciting, yet overshadowed by the deeper significance of building a team with husband and business partner Mike Turner, that nurtured new reporters to a successful career and excelled in client service. This team, using the Golden Rule as our guideline, built one of the finest reporting firms in the industry.
Since joining Veritext in 2017, Mickey is blessed to continue spending time with our awesome clients, reporters and staff as often as possible, while still actively reporting depositions.
Veritext – Idaho
Andrea discovered her passion for court reporting at the age of 16 and now has more than 20 years’ experience as a freelance court reporter and captioner locally, nationally, and internationally. In 2015, Andrea became the owner of Associated Reporting & Video, a full-service litigation support firm headquartered in Boise, Idaho. In 2017, she founded IdaCaption, a CART and captioning company that serves the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in Idaho and beyond. In 2022, Andrea and ARV joined Veritext Legal Solutions.
Along with being a full-time freelance reporter and agency owner, Andrea is a member of the elite team of reporters working in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, reporting the 9/11 and USS Cole terrorist trials. She knew from the moment she set foot on base that this incredibly challenging work is what she was built to do and is truly honored to have been chosen to play such an integral part in documenting history.
Andrea currently serves as the Vice President of STAR and will be moving into her role as President in October 2022. She is also currently chairman of the Certified Shorthand Reporters Board in Idaho. Andrea served as president of the Idaho Court Reporters Association from 2017 to 2019 and has been an active member of the National Court Reporters Association for over 20 years. She spends countless hours mentoring students and new reporters, as well as educating the legal community on the important role that court reporters play in our judicial system.
In her “spare” time, Andrea is an avid kickboxer (call it stress relief) and also enjoys competing in speed and real-time contests whenever she has the opportunity!
