Fifty at the Top
The business of law continues to change across America, and the ripples wash over Kansas City’s legal community. Last month, one of this region’s Big 5 firms—Stinson Morrison Hecker—announced that it would merge with Leonard, Street and Deinard of Minneapolis, effective Jan. 1. The new firm, co-headquartered in both cities and flying the banner of Stinson Leonard Street, would rank No. 75 on the nation’s list of largest law firms, with 525 lawyers.
That’s just one of 70 mergers expected to take place nationwide in 2013, a figure that would be the highest since 2008. While it won’t immediately change Stinson’s standing as the fourth-largest firm in the region by attorney headcount, it does raise the question: Who are the largest firms in the region today, and what are their relative strengths?
Ingram’s sets out to answer that question with this installment of KC’s Leading Law Firms, providing snapshots of the 50 largest firms, by lawyer count, as of January 1, 2013. While many outstanding boutique law firms serve the interests of individuals and businesses in Kansas City and won’t make it onto this list, we’re confident that this guide will be instructive for those seeking the kinds of legal services from firms with the organization infrastructure that meets their specific needs.
#1 Shook, Hardy & Bacon
With a legal tradition that dates back more than a century from its founding in Kansas City, Shook, Hardy & Bacon is now a global leader in product-liability defense and other key business concentrations. Among its more than 1,200 employees, the firm has more than 440 attorneys, supported by 200 paraprofessionals and staff analysts, in 10 offices in the United States and Europe. John Murphy is chairman of the firm.
2555 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64108
816.474.6550, Fax: 816.421.5547, www.shb.com
John Murphy, Managing Partner/Chair
Year Established: 1889
Revenue for 2012: $317,000,000
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 296
Partners in KC Area: 129
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: 441
Number of Offices: 10
Primary Areas of Practice: Product liability, intellectual property, business litigation, data privacy & security
Company Headquarters: Kansas City, Mo.
#2 Polsinelli
Polsinelli, a business and litigation law firm, operates in 17 offices across the nation. More than 680 attorneys from Los Angeles to New York serve corporations, institutions, entrepreneurs, and individuals. The legal skills of those lawyers, combined with deep understanding of the critical issues facing business, helped Polsinelli become the fastest-growing law firm in America, as judged by The American Lawyer in June 2013.
700 W. 47th St., Suite 1000, Kansas City, MO 64112
816.753.1000, Fax: 816.753.1536, www.polsinelli.com
Russ Welsh, Chairman
Year Established: 1972
Revenue for 2012: $275,527,000
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 242
Partners in KC Area: 134
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: 637
Number of Offices: 18
Primary Areas of Practice: Real estate, business, tax & estate planning, litigation
Company Headquarters: Kansas City, Mo.
#3 Lathrop & Gage
One of the biggest and oldest law firms in Kansas City, Lathrop & Gage was founded in 1873 with one client: the railroad firm known today as BNSF Railway Co. Nearly 175 lawyers strong, with 125 other professionals supporting their efforts, the firm has 16 practice areas serving everything from agriculture to technology. Mark Bluhm is the chief executive officer.
2345 Grand Blvd., Suite 2200, Kansas City, MO 64108
816.292.2000, Fax: 816.292.2001, www.lathropgage.com
Mark Bluhm, CEO
Year Established: 1873
Revenue for 2012: $140,593,000
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 178
Partners in KC Area: 108
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: 314
Number of Offices: 11
Primary Areas of Practice: Business law, employment law and benefits, environmental and health care law, IP, real estate and tax services, tort, wealth strategies, litigation
Company Headquarters: Kansas City, Mo.
#4 Stinson Morrison Hecker
Tracing its roots to its Kansas City founding in 1878, Stinson Morrison Hecker has continually evolved, and will continue to do so in January, when it merges with a Minnesota firm to become Stinson Leonard Street. It will have 525 lawyers in 14 cities, with legal services that include corporate finance, banking and financial services; energy, environment, mining and natural resources; real estate and construction; and litigation.
1201 Walnut St., Suite 2900, Kansas City, MO 64106
816.842.8600, Fax: 816.691.3495, www.stinson.com
Mark Hinderks, Managing Partner
Year Established: 1878
Revenue for 2012: $148,828,000
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 170
Partners in KC Area: 106
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: 324
Number of Offices: 10
Primary Areas of Practice: Banking and financial services, corporate finance, energy & environmental, labor & employment, litigation, real estate, tax
Company Headquarters: Kansas City, Mo.
#5 Husch Blackwell
With offices in 17 cities, spanning six states, Washington D.C. and London, Husch Blackwell offers a full range of litigation services and expertise in business law. The firm helps clients manage risk, navigate regulatory and compliance issues, and create business infrastructures that provide a competitive advantage.
4801 Main St., Suite 1000, Kansas City, MO 64112
816.983.8000, Fax: 816.983.8080, www.huschblackwell.com
Maurice Watson, Chairman
Year Established: 1916
Revenue for 2012: $282,200,000
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 132
Partners in KC Area: 80
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: 514
Number of Offices: 14
Primary Areas of Practice: Energy, financial services, food & agri-business, health care, industrial production, real estate and technology
Company Headquarters: Kansas City, Mo. and St. Louis, Mo.
#6 Spencer Fane Britt & Browne
In the sweet spot between super-size and boutique firms, Spencer Fane Britt & Browne is a full-service firm that handles trial and appellate work in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts throughout the country. It operates in a broad range of legal concentrations.
1000 Walnut St., Suite 1400, Kansas City, MO 64106
816.474.8100, Fax: 816.474.3216, www.spencerfane.com
Patrick Whalen, Managing Partner
Year Established: 1952
Revenue for 2012: $43,330,000
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 76
Partners in KC Area: 46
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: DD
Number of Offices: 6
Primary Areas of Practice: Bankruptcy & creditors’ rights, corporate, employee benefits, environmental, estate planning, financial services, governmental affairs, health care, IP, litigation and dispute resolution
Company Headquarters: Kansas City, Mo.
#7 Bryan Cave
A leading firm in business and litigation, Bryan Cave has global reach with a diverse client base, including businesses, financial institutions and not-for-profit organizations, government entities and individual clients. It has more than 1,100 lawyers and consulting professionals in 24 offices worldwide.
1200 Main St., Suite 3500, Kansas City, MO 64105
816.374.3200, Fax: 816.374.3300, www.bryancave.com
Larry Frazen, Managing Partner
Year Established: 1988
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 75
Partners in KC Area: 27
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: 1,068
Number of Offices: 23
Primary Areas of Practice: Commercial litigation, bankruptcy, labor and employment, lending & business finance, life sciences, m&a, public finance, real estate, securities, trust & estates
Company Headquarters: St. Louis, Mo.
#8 Dentons
The global firm Dentons traces its American lineage to 1906, with the founding of what would eventually become Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. That firm merged in 2010 with a London-based firm that dates to colonial times. Now flying the banner of Dentons, the firm is now one of the world’s 10 largest, with offices in 79 cities in 52 countries around the world.
4520 Main St., Suite 1100, Kansas City, MO 64111
816.460.2400, Fax: 816.531.7545, www.dentons.com
John Snyder, Managing Partner
Year Established: 1994
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 51
Partners in KC Area: 27
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: 2,580
Number of Offices: 79
Primary Areas of Practice: Corporate, litigation, real estate, IP/technology, labor law, insurance regulatory, energy & utility, tax, healthcare, white collar & government investigations
Company Headquarters: The firm operates without a headquarters structure.
#9 Wallace Saunders Austin Brown & Enochs
With practice groups covering business, health and worker’s compensation, as well as litigation services in professional and product liability, insurance and criminal law, Wallace Saunders has amassed a team of more than 50 lawyers practicing across the two-state region. Since its founding in 1963, the firm has grown to cover KC, Overland Park as well as Springfield, Mo., and Wichita, Kan.
10111 W. 87th St.., Overland Park, KS 66212
913.888.1000, Fax: 913.888.1065, www.wallacesaunders.com
Karl Kuckelman, Managing Partner
Year Established: 1963
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 43
Partners in KC Area: 31
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: 56
Number of Offices: 3
Primary Areas of Practice: Litigation, insurance, professional liability, construction & design, transportation & trucking, employment, products liability, real estate, corporate, wills, trusts & estate planning, health care, banking
Company Headquarters: Overland Park, Kan.
#10 Seigfreid Bingham
Serving sectors in construction, equipment dealerships and associations, health care, restaurant and hospitality, sports and entertainment, trucking companies and dealers, the attorneys at Seigfreid Bingham operate in 17 key practice areas, from advertising/marketing law to technology law. Though a mid-size firm, it represents several prominent organizations in this market: Chiefs , Applebee’s, United Way, Helzberg Diamonds, Merrill Lynch, H&R Block and J.E. Dunn Construction Group.
911 Main St., Suite 2800, Kansas City, MO 64105
816.421.4460, Fax: 816.474.3447, www.seigfreidbingham.com
Joe Hiersteiner, Managing Director
Year Established: 1974
Number of Lawyers in KC Area: 41
Partners in KC Area: 24
Number of Lawyers Firm-Wide: 43
Number of Offices: 1
Primary Areas of Practice: Corporate, litigation, health care, employment, construction, estate planning, real estate, tax
Company Headquarters: Kansas City, Mo.
