A history of Commitment to Quality since 1962

The company was established in 1962 by the two founder partners, Eric and Helen Tennyson and conducted reporting services as Tennyson and Company.  The company held Crown Court and Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) appointments and were also being asked to cover depositions by US law firms. Tennyson and Company was the only firm at that time to be able to provide reporting for depositions on a regular basis.  Other  reporting appointments included Chancery Non-Witness judgements for the All England and Weekly Law Reports, an appointment not lightly given by the Lord Chancellor’s Department (the UK’s Government Department dealing with the court system) and Law Reporting bodies.

In the 1970’s, Tennyson and Company was approached by the Stenograph Corporation to be their representative for the UK. This involved providing stenographic supplies and the introduction of a court reporting school. We were the first UK company to utilise the American Stenotype reporting method into the UK court system. As technology was gathering pace in the court reporting field, we saw the introduction of CAT (computer aided transcription).  Because of our association with American reporting firms and suppliers, we were consequently the first UK court reporting agency to utilise CAT on a regular basis for court work and US depositions.

Over the years, Tennyson and Company has covered many major UK public inquiries such as RIO TINTO ZINC,  ROLLS ROYCE,  and  INSTALLATION OF A NUCLEAR POWER STATION IN THE MIDLANDS, to name a few. At the time these were very high profile public interest assignments and we were selected because we could provide a service that would be open to scrutiny by the public and would reflect a precise and accurate record of these proceedings. We only ever had praise for our work.

Tennyson and Company’s work load has, since the early 1960’s, rolled forward and the company’s name was changed to Anglo-American Court Reporters – Tennyson and Company. The majority of our business now comes from the most prestigious American and British international law and accountancy firms dealing with all aspects of international litigation reporting (Depositions, Arbitrations and Inquiries).

We are frequently selected by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to report on very confidential interviews of UK and European witnesses, and here in the UK the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) often utilise our reporting service for their interviews, many on a ‘daily’ basis. Many US Government departments such as the USDOJ (from all States) utilise our company’s services on a regular basis. The UK’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have been frequent clients throughout our history. Some notable international cases include ASTRA PYROTECHNICS HOLDINGS/MATRIX CHURCHILL (Arms for Iraq), the LOCKERBIE AIR DISASTER – (Insurance aspects) and the EXXON VALDEZ OIL SPILL depositions of European and UK witnesses.

In 1998 the remaining founder of the company retired. Custody of the firm was put in the hands of Roland Tennyson (son of Eric and Helen Tennyson). The company, now called Anglo-American Court Reporters Ltd, was the merger of Roland’s legal video service (DEPS) and the Tennyson reporting business. The company’s future is guaranteed to uphold its commitment to, and will always be the standard bearer of, quality within our profession. Anglo-American Court Reporters Ltd represents Quality, Service and Professionalism.