For over 80 years, Wilson-Epes has been a fixture of the highly specialized U.S. Supreme Court and Federal Appellate Court legal community.

As the “go-to” company in a small world of Supreme Court and Federal Appellate Court brief printers, Wilson-Epes client list is a “Who’s Who” of top litigation law firms across the United States representing clients from around the globe.

Many prominent lawyers, including John Roberts, Kenneth Starr, Drew Days and others have sat at Wilson-Epes’s small conference table proofreading briefs before final submission. This company has been an integral part of the nation’s legal history, printing briefs for many landmark cases such as Roe v. Wade, Bush v. Gore, Turner v. FCC, Watergate, Obamacare, and Marriage Equality.

Early History

Wilson-Epes Printing Company was founded in 1941 by Lester C. Wilson and Branch Epes.

The two partners built their business with hot-metal typecasting, press and bindery equipment. “Hot-metal” printing is an equipment and labor-intensive process whereby skilled linotype operators cast words into lines made of molten lead. After a page is printed the lead is re-melted and used again.

At the time, Wilson-Epes was focused on providing high quality printing services to embassies, associations, and businesses. In the early 1960’s, Branch Epes was bought out by Lester Wilson and, together with his wife, expanded into publishing opinions of Federal and District of Columbia courts, printing stationery and legal briefs for law firms. After Mr. Wilson died in 1967, the Company’s foreman, Raymond Wilhide, purchased the company from Mrs. Wilson.

Over the course of his 25 years of ownership, Mr. Wilhide transformed the Company into the District’s leading legal printer.

Pushing Forward

Robert F. Dorsey acquired Wilson-Epes in 1993 and, with a focus on quality and service, grew the company’s reputation and business through the late ’90s.

Wilson-Epes Printing 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, Wilson-Epes had achieved Mr. Dorsey’s goal—it had become the superior printer of Supreme Court briefs in the country. Mr. Dorsey held the tradition of Hot Metal Printing into the turn of the century. Realizing that it was no longer economically feasible to sustain the overhead involved in hot-metal printing, in April 2000, Mr. Dorsey recapitalized Wilson-Epes.

The most current and highest quality digital printing technology was acquired and Wilson-Epes was converted from hot-metal to an all-digital printing process. Without sacrificing quality or service, costs were substantially reduced and became competitive with other printers.

The Next Generation

In 2012, Mr. Dorsey’s daughter Robyn was welcomed. With her background in process and management consulting, Robyn’s skills complimented the team, not to mention she is family.

Robyn assumed the finance and administration responsibilities and has brought a fresh set of skills to the executive team. In 2016, Mr. Dorsey sold the business to his children and retired. Demonstrating flexibility with clients on a global scale, Robyn and the team at Wilson-Epes continue to its long standing commitment to quality, top-tier level service and an outstanding client experience.

See what our clients have to say about their experience working with us.

"Wilson-Epes is the best in the business. For 20 years, we have relied on Wilson-Epes for all our Supreme Court filings. The staff are true professionals and a delight to work with. Their printed briefs are beautiful. And they never miss a beat. Working with Wilson-Epes has been one of the great treasures of my career in appellate practice."

Kathleen Sullivan, Retired Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

Argued 11 cases before SCOTUS & First and only, woman-named partner at any AmLaw 100 firm.

"The Wilson-Epes team is full of lifesavers! The team unfailingly turns out impeccable product that complies with every Supreme Court procedural oddity. But where Wilson-Epes really shines is when the unexpected happens. When you're not sure how to style a caption or file a brief across two dockets, Wilson-Epes invariably knows the answer. When you've got a binder that doesn't make its way to DC via FedEx, Wilson-Epes will remake it for you and get it delivered in record time. And if you need to (God forbid) correct a last-minute error in a brief, Wilson-Epes will rip up their production and reprint on a moment's notice if need be. In short, we couldn't do what we do without Wilson-Epes!"

Easha Anand, Co-Director Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic

Argued 4 cases before SCOTUS since her 2023 debut and called a rising star of the Supreme Court Bar

"Wilson-Epes is the absolute gold standard for SCOTUS printing. Everyone else is playing for second. Their work product is world-class. Their service is impeccable. Their staff is warm and friendly. Their performance is perfect. They make the impossible seem effortless, and there is no task or deadline too challenging for them to meet. They are indispensable to my practice, and there are not enough superlatives to capture how truly exceptional they are at everything they do. I am beyond fortunate to count them as a key part of my team."

Daniel L. Geyser, Partner,Chair US Supreme Court Practice, Haynes Boone

Arguing an average of 2 cases per year since 2017 before the US Supreme Court

"I have exclusively utilized Wilson-Epes for over two decades of filling briefs at the Supreme Court and the federal appellate courts. Their professionalism, work product and responsiveness are without peer. Filing briefs at the nation's highest court is a highly technical exercise, and the services provided by every member of the first-class Wilson-Epes team allow me to keep my focus on the client's needs and substance of the arguments, confident that the end product will be seamlessly accepted and reflect an attention to detail worthy of the cases that come before the Supreme Court."

Bo Rutledge, Senior counsel at Morris, Manning and Martin

Former dean/professor at the University of Georgia Law School *Institutional affiliation for identification purposes only

"I put our Clinic’s full trust in Wilson-Epes.  They know how to get things done, are timely and prompt, and help me solve whatever problems I have (and some that I don’t even know about yet!).  Their team is professional, diligent, and timely.  It is a pleasure working with them."

Xiao Wang, Director, University of Virginia’s Director Supreme Court Litigation Clinic

Argued 2 cases before SCOTUS in 2024

"We trust Wilson Epes to handle all our printing and filing needs. Without fail, its team of professionals gets the job done on any deadline, including rush jobs on short notice. They are exceptionally responsive, very easy to work with, and provide excellent customer service. It's always a pleasure working with the Wilson Epes team. And their prices are also reasonable--an absolute bargain for the peace of mind of having one less thing to worry about."

Michael Pepson, Regulatory Counsel, Americans for Prosperity Foundation

Frequent Amicus filer with SCOTUS and US Circuit Courts

Michael Pepson, Regulatory Counsel, Americans for Prosperity Foundation

Frequent Amicus filer with SCOTUS and US Circuit Courts

"Wilson-Epes has gone above and beyond for us over the years with the many Supreme Court briefs we’ve sent to them for printing. They consistently deliver a top-notch product and know the ins and outs of printing at this level. Their expertise has shown through in many unique ways, and we consider them the best in the field. They are world class and we can’t imagine using anyone else!"

Meg Schilling, Director of Litigation Support

Becket – Religious Liberty for All

“We’ve been using Wilson-Epes for over a decade to file numerous briefs a year. The staff is always professional, courteous, and responsive. And the printed filings themselves are the gold standard in Supreme Court practice.”

Jeffrey Fisher

Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, Stanford University

"Over the past decade, Wilson-Epes has helped us file literally hundreds of briefs with the Supreme Court. From the first brief to the most recent, their work is always consistently excellent. I know I can always count on them to help with anything I might need related to Supreme Court filings."

Brianne Gorod, Chief Counsel

Constitutional Accountability Center

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