DATE: Tuesday, October 28, 1997             TAG: 9710280283

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN,STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   67 lines

COURT REPORTING DREAM IS EXPANDING INTO NORFOLK

The ribbon has been cut, the office furniture moved in and now Anthony & Associates Inc. is ready to make its mark as South Hampton Roads' newest court-reporting firm and the first such African-American firm.

President Michelle Anthony said her firm, which recently changed its name and relocated to Norfolk from Virginia Beach, is geared to edge its way into the court-reporting field dominated, to some extent by firms that have been established for decades.

``I decided to go ahead and do it,'' Anthony said. ``I decided to do it all the way.''

Anthony, 29, said her dreams to become a court reporter began as a teen. Becoming a stenographer is not a common career goal but Anthony said her love for the field took root when she was 14-year-old girl in her hometown of Montgomery, Ala. On a summer youth employment program she worked in a circuit court.

A distant relative, who was a judge, introduced Anthony to the court's stenographer.

``Sitting in that courtroom, I was so fascinated by her that I would just go back day after day,'' she said. ``It never left me.''

Now, she has seen her business grow from a home office to a downtown firm. The business, formerly known as Michelle Anthony & Associates, had been established for the past three years. But steadily, she said, the work load increased. It was time to expand.

Also key in her decision to expand, she said, was encouragement from one of her top clients, Del. William P. ``Billy'' Robinson III.

The business is downtown in the Plaza One building across St. Paul's Boulevard from Norfolk's court houses.

``Our basic goal is to try to increase our client base as well as become one of the contracted firms,'' said Anthony, who has five full- and part-time reporters, including herself.

Anthony said it is not easy to start up a firm, against other well-established businesses.

For example, among some of the court-reporting firms in Norfolk, Associated Court Reporters Inc. has been in business since 1974, while Zahn Hall & Zahn Ltd., opened its doors in 1967. Another firm, Biggs & Fleet Reporting Service has been around for 30 years.

``It's extremely difficult for a variety of reasons,'' she said. ``People tend to stick with who they know versus new things.''

``When people get accustomed to certain things they like to keep it that way, . . but I feel as if I can offer the exact same services.''

Actually, she said, when she became a licensed reporter, she could not get a job at one of the existing firms. But she networked with attorneys and began to get support from other minority lawyers.

As she built her clientele, she noticed that if someone is not connected with a firm they are sometimes regarded as ``just a reporter.''

It took her disciplined background as a soldier to withstand the criticism, she said.

Anthony moved to Hampton Roads in 1986, when she joined the Army and was stationed at Fort Story. She was discharged in 1992 and enrolled in the Reporting Academy of Virginia in Virginia Beach, where she graduated in 1994.

She worked from her Virginia Beach home until her business outgrew it. She said she knew she needed downtown Norfolk office space.

She credits the firm's growth as a blessing from God.

``Being a court reporter fulfills me,'' she said.

``I want to be the best I can be.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Vicki Cronis/The Virginian-Pilot

Michelle Anthony....

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