Nordhagen Court Reporting

By Story and photo by Paula J. McGarveyfor The Montana Standard - 01/04/2009

The Nordhagen family is pictured above at their court reporting and video business in Butte, recently. Seated on the sofa from the left rear are owners John and Candi Nordhagen, their son, Jonny, daughter-in-law, JoAnne, with John and Candi's daughter, Abbie, in front.

Nordhagen Court Reporting and Video

1734 Harrison Ave. in Butte

Phone: 494-2083

Business history: Butte native Candi Nordhagen trained to be a court reporter in the 1970s at the old Butte Business College. A nationally certified registered professional reporter, she opened her own business in 1979. Her husband and business partner, John Nordhagen, had owned a Christian book store in Butte for 14 years, before selling it and joining Candi in the family business. John's business skills and talent as a video-

grapher complemented Candi's training as a court reporter and the two were able to continually build a

successful business over the past 30 years.

Candi said family has always been a priority with the couple and owning their own business has allowed them to coordinate their work schedules around raising their two children, Jonny and Abbie.

Growing up in close

proximity to the family

business influenced Jonny Nordhagen to follow in his mother's footsteps. He recently graduated from Gateway Community College in Phoenix, Ariz., as a court reporter and joined the family business. His sister Abbie works at the business in office support.

The family speculates that Jonny's new bride JoAnne, whom he married a little over a month ago, will be contributing in some capacity to the family

business before too long.

Products, services and specialties: Nordhagen Court Reporting and Video provides verbatim transcripts and court videos, recorded at their Butte office, as well as onsite at locations throughout the state. Special services include "real time" computer transcript reporting, and making records simultaneously available to judges and lawyers.

Business philosophy: Candi and John Nordhagen agree that their business

philosophy is to provide the best service possible to their clients. One of the ways they do that is by providing clients with whatever services they can to make their experience both comfortable and

convenient.

Whether it is brewing a fresh cup of coffee or providing chauffeur service to and from the airport, the business consistently goes the extra mile.

"If you provide hospitality,

it helps relieve some of the stress of the situation,"

John said.

Advice for others in business: Both Candi and John Nordhagen agreed that it is ultimately how you treat your clients that will determine the success of your business.

"You have to treat people well," John said.

"Respond to their needs," Candi added.

The two also consider a good work ethic a must.

Staying on top of the ever-changing technology is also critical.

"Don't be afraid to invest in your business," John said, adding that the couple has had an ongoing investment to keep up with the vast changes in technology that have occurred in the past 30 years.

Rewards and challenges of doing business: "Working with family is both rewarding and challenging," John said.

"There's a satisfaction in working for yourself," Candi added.

Candi said she found

getting to know attorneys and paralegal personnel through repeat business to also be rewarding

"We can build a relationship," she said.

Working in high profile cases is a challenge, and

mastering the professional

jargon and terminology

associated with a various

legal cases often takes a

considerable investment of

the court reporter's time,

Candi said.

"You learn a lot," she said.

Has the ongoing recession impacted your

business? Both Candi and John agreed that their court reporting business has not been negatively impacted by the current economic trends.

"Jon's been busier," Candi said, of her son's case load.

"I do bankruptcy work with the federal court," Jonny explained.

"They say at recession times, litigation increases," added John Nordhagen.