Meet Our Team

We Have experienced, dedicated professional team members. meet our team

The Sullivan Group of Court Reporters is an independently-owned court reporting agency, that prides itself on impeccable comprehensive service.

Our Team

Michael Sullivan

Chief Executive Officer

Michael has over 20 years of experience working for Fortune 500 companies. He previously served as President of Western Mutual Group, Inc., and Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Endeavors Technology, a publicly traded company. His vision for The Sullivan Group includes working with all clients to ensure a National presence while maintaining a high-touch, high-quality customer experience. In 1990 he earned a B.S. with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of Southern California.

Susan Sullivan

President
Susan began her career in 1978 as a freelance Certified Court Reporter for several large reporting agencies in Los Angeles. In 1994, she started Sullivan & Company Court Reporters, serving the medical malpractice, employment law and business communities. In 2006, she led Sullivan & Company Court Reporters’ acquisition of Carol Ann Hargreaves Company to form today’s combined The Sullivan Group Court Reporters business. Ms. Sullivan is involved in the business and continues to serve as President of the Sullivan Group of Court Reporters

Andy Nation

Director of Legal Technologies
In 1987 Andy started his career in the court reporting industry. He became a Certified Legal Video Specialist through the NCRA in 1990 and has created in-house legal video divisions for several local and national court reporting agencies. He is a seasoned trial technology consultant, a “Hot-seat” trial presenter and an award-winning MCLE presenter and keynote speaker for the legal community. He is also a longtime supporter of the Orange County Bar Association as well as the OC Bar Foundation.

Natalia Sanders

Director of Finance and Controller
Natalia began working at a court reporting agency in 1997. In 2002, she began attending University of Redlands where she graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management in 2006. In 2012 Natalia joined the Sullivan Group.

Arpy Gendal

Director of Operations and Billing
Arpy has worked in the court reporting industry for 30 years. She has worked for two other agencies and specializes in billing and management of large contracted clients and various governmental agencies. Arpy joined The Sullivan Group of Court Reporters in 2011.

Helen Oyama

Director of Calendar Operations
Helen joined our team in 2018.  Her experience in the legal industry included working in mass tort for several years as an Intake Specialist and then as Team Lead.  She earned her B.A. degree in Psychology at California State University, Long Beach.   Her relentless efforts to fulfill clients’ needs and requests on a daily basis while trying to evolve the industry’s traditional ways, has led her to this challenging role.  She is very passionate about establishing a genuine relationship with the court reporters to understand and meet their needs as well.  With the collaborative effort of her team, she strives to make The Sullivan Group of Court Reporters the first and only choice for all clients seeking our services.

Karen Austria

Production Director
Karen is a certified shorthand reporter and began her career in the court reporting profession in 2004 as an office manager for a court reporting agency while going to court reporting school full time. In 2011, she joined The Sullivan Group of Court Reporters where she held various positions before becoming the Director of Production.

Nicole L. Surratt

Principal
In 2016, Nicole L. Surratt joined Sullivan as a Principal, bringing with her more than twelve years of legal marketing experience in Orange County to the company. Nicole graduated from San Diego State University (SDSU) with a BA in Political Science, with an emphasis in Public Policy and a minor in Communications. Nicole is currently involved in various bar associations and charitable groups and is a Board member of the Constitutional Rights Foundation Orange County (CRF-OC). She also enjoys traveling the globe and supporting animal rescue.

Maria Romo

Regional Account Executive
Maria joined the company in 2016 bringing 13 years’ experience in litigation support services. She primarily serves the Inland Empire and Orange County. Outside of the legal industry, Maria’s heart belongs to helping people in our community by volunteering her time to organizations and projects.

Lara Paul

Principal
Lara joined the Sullivan Group in 2017 with her business partner, Matthew Kaenel. With 28 years in the legal industry, Lara has become our resident expert in Intellectual Property, ITC, IPR, Securities Fraud, Class Action, Product Liability, Shareholder Derivative and Consumer Fraud cases. If your litigation is complex, you want Lara’s keen insight to help simplify the discovery process. Lara earned her BA degrees in Psychology and Sociology with an emphasis in Behavioral Analysis from UC Irvine. Lara attended Irvine on a swimming scholarship where she broke records and was a four year scholar athlete.

Ava Raich

Principal
Ava began her career in sales in 1994. In 2015 she left a large corporate court reporting agency and joined the Sullivan Group of Court Reporters. Ava’s attention to detail and quick thinking was a perfect addition to The Sullivan Group. Her standards for excellence and calm demeanor give her clients peace of mind knowing she is managing their court reporting needs. Always pushing herself, Ava’s passion for fitness has led her to race in one of the most grueling triathlons and several marathons.

Matt Kaenel

Principal
Matt joined the Sullivan Group in June of 2017 with his partner, Lara Paul. Matt’s focus is ensuring The Sullivan Groups strive towards superior client service with an emphasis in technology. His clients have come to depend on him for his willingness to always be available and his ability resolve issues quickly. Matt spent multiple years at Mira Costa College pursuing a degree in business before taking the plunge into the legal industry through a document production company. After several years in the document production industry he made the transition to the court reporting industry, currently focused on complex litigation, IP, Product liability and Consumer Fraud cases. Matt currently resides in northern San Diego county and is very busy raising two very active and productive teenagers.
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