In the early 1960's, Lester Wilson bought out Branch Epes and, together with his wife, expanded into publishing opinions of Federal and District of Columbia courts and printing stationery and legal briefs for law firms. After Lester Wilson died in 1967, the Company's foreman, Raymond Wilhide, purchased the company from her shortly thereafter. Over the course of his 25 years of ownership, Mr. Wilhide transformed the Company into the District's leading legal printer.
Mr. Robert Dorsey, the Company's current owner, acquired Wilson-Epes in 1993. Focusing on quality and service, Mr. Dorsey sought to expand this segment further and to do so by becoming the best printer of Supreme Court briefs in the country. Between 1993 and 1999, the Company's reputation and business grew. The Company was sought out for its expertise and reputation by law firms all over the country to print their Supreme Court briefs. By the year 2000, it was certainly arguable that Wilson¬-Epes had achieved Mr. Dorsey's goal – that it indeed had become the best printer of Supreme Court briefs in the country. What was not arguable, and what was indeed a fact, was that Wilson-Epes was also the most expensive printer of Supreme Court briefs in the country. Wilson-Epes was the last of the "hot-metal" printers. All of the Company's competition had long ago switched to other printing processes. As the last "buggy whip maker", the Company had the highest quality but, because of the equipment and labor-intensive nature of the hot-metal process, it also had the highest costs.
Realizing that it was no longer economically feasible to sustain the overhead involved in hot-metal printing, in April, 2000, Mr. Dorsey recapitalized the Company, acquired digital printing technology, and converted from hot-metal to an all-digital printing process. Without sacrificing quality or service, costs were substantially reduced; pricing was reduced by 40% and was now aligned with other printers.
Wilson-Epes has never advertised. New business comes strictly by "word of mouth" and via referrals from our countries prominent legal authorities.
At Wilson Epes we approach our clients as partners and strive to attain the revelation and pride of “a job well-done” upon the completion of every brief we publish. We know that when our client is successful, so are we.
And, of course, it never hurts to have friends in high places.