Conveniently located at 222 E. Town Street in Downtown Columbus, Ohio


 

Established in 1888 in Columbus, Ohio, Armstrong & Okey, Inc. is the nation’s oldest court reporting firm with a reputation for excellence in services to attorneys, national law firms, government agencies and insurance companies. 

Our firm serves as impartial officers of the Court and we do not contract with any party of interest.  The traditions of hard work, high standards and integrity remain as A&O enters the 21st Century. If you have any questions about the company or services, please feel free to contact the owner, Michael Spencer.
 
OFFICE STAFF
President and Owner Michael O. Spencer, RPR MSpencer@AandO.com
CFO Ken Spencer KSpencer@AandO.com
Office Manager Jennifer Duffer JDuffer@AandO.com
Video Director Gil Whitney GWhitney@AandO.com

HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG & OKEY
Almer C. Armstrong began his career as a county official reporter in 1888 and was later joined in 1900 by Hazard Okey. Their partnership was the foundation of Armstrong & Okey, Central Ohio's leading court reporting firm.

"Haz" Okey was the official reporter of Franklin County Common Pleas Court for more than 50 years. He was a respected court reporter and an avid outdoorsman. According to newspaper clippings of the time, he was a "landmark among the more colorful citizens of Columbus, and at the same time he has been one of the best-liked and most highly respected."

When the firm started, court reporters, (who were predominantly male) took notes by hand during legal proceedings using shorthand symbols that were later typed into finished transcripts.
 

 

Eventually the use of shorthand gave way to the stenograph machine. Compact and quiet, the stenograph had 23 keys that printed onto paper a combination of letters that represented the spoken words of testimony. The stenograph machine revolutionized the industry, but it still required the reporter or a third party to translate the notes and type up a transcript.

Today, court reporters use a laptop with their stenograph machine to transcribe testimony almost instantaneously using Realtime technology. Attorneys now have the convenience of seeing a searchable transcript on their laptop in real-time for their review. A transcript that in the past took weeks to produce is now proofed, edited, and printed in a matter of days. In further advances in legal technology, a Realtime transcript and video can now be streamed onto the Internet for anyone in the world to view live on their computer desktop.

Haz Okey, died in 1955 at the age of 79. Ironically, he at first scoffed at the stenograph machine. If he were alive today he would certainly have been astonished by the changes his profession would undergo. One also wonders if he ever expected his name to still be hanging above the door going into the 21st century.