A boutique law firm is a collection of attorneys typically organized in a

limited liability partnership A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is not ...

professional corporation Professional corporations or professional service corporation (abbreviated as PC or PSC) are those corporate entities for which many corporation statutes make special provision, regulating the use of the corporate form by licensed professionals su ...

specializing in a niche area of law practice. Although a general practice law firm includes a variety of unrelated practice areas within a single firm, a boutique firm specializes in one or a select few practice areas. There may be some confusion as legal publications may refer to any small- or mid-sized firm as a boutique, though generally firms with fewer than 100 attorneys would count. ''Boutique'' should apply to those firms that focus on particular areas, regardless of size, though they are typically smaller, with exception to a few firms such as Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner or

Fish & Richardson Fish & Richardson P.C. is a global patent, intellectual property litigation, and commercial litigation law firm with more than 400 attorneys and technology specialists across the U.S. and Europe. Fish is one of the most sought-after firms for both ...

with over 400 attorneys.

History

United States

In the 1980s, American mid-size law firms began losing ground due to consolidation in the legal market. They have been the primary means by which larger law firms from regional centers expanded in key new markets such as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. For example,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

-based

Alston & Bird Alston & Bird LLP is an international law firm with over 800 lawyers in 13 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the UK, and Asia. The firm provides legal services to both domestic and international clients who conduct business worldwide ...

acquired 50-lawyer German-focused corporate boutique

Walter, Conston, Alexander & Green Walter, Conston, Alexander & Green (officially Walter, Conston, Alexander & Green, P.C.) was a mid-sized full service New York–based law firm that existed from 1843 to 2001 when it merged with Atlanta-based Alston & Bird to launch the New York o ...

, P.C. in 2001. The same year,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based legacy firm Bingham Dana & Gould (now known as

Bingham McCutchen Bingham McCutchen LLP was a global law firm with approximately 850 attorneys in nine US offices and five international offices. It ceased operations in late 2014, when several hundred of its partners and associate lawyers left the firm to join Phi ...

) merged with boutique litigation shop Richards & O'Neill and Dallas-based

Jenkens & Gilchrist Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C. was a Dallas-based law firm, founded in 1951 as Jenkens & Bowens to service the various businesses controlled by Clint Murchison Jr. ''The Dallas Morning News'' was an early client. As a result of the extent of Murchis ...

absorbed Parker Chapin Flattau & Klimpl. Recently, Texas firm

Vinson & Elkins Vinson & Elkins LLP (or V&E) is an international law firm with approximately 700 lawyers worldwide headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. The firm has offices in major energy, financial, and political centers worldwide, including Austin, Dalla ...

acquired Cronin & Vris, a small

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

boutique. The pendulum began to swing back away from consolidation toward the formation of smaller boutique firms with the downturn of the economy in late 2008 and early 2009 as recession-proof niche practices began to separate themselves from the struggling behemoths. For example,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

-based Hausfeld LLP spun out of

Cohen Milstein Cohen Milstein is an American plaintiffs' law firm that engages in large-scale class action litigation. The firm filed a number of lawsuits against Donald Trump during and after his presidency, including a lawsuit which successfully blocked the Tr ...

and

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

-based Frohsin & Barger, LLC spun out of the southern regional firm

Baker Donelson Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz P.C. is a large U.S. law firm and lobbying group with offices in the Southeastern United States and Washington, D.C. '' Fortune'' has selected Baker Donelson as one of the 100 Best Companies to Wor ...

. Both Hausfeld and Frohsin & Barger have been cited as examples by ''

The National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the '' New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly newspa ...

'' as "somewhat recession-proof" boutiques. Other boutiques, such as Waesche, Sheinbaum & O'Regan, have dissolved. Boutique law firms have maintained their competitive edge in a number of fields. Firms like

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

-based Harris & Moure remain a competitive force in the

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

practice. The complexities of

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

, especially

patent law A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

, have made IP boutiques still competitive, including

, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, Oblon, Spivak, Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, and Wood, Herron & Evans, although New York City IP boutiques Pennie & Edmonds largely joined Jones Day, Fish & Neave merged with

-based

Ropes & Gray Ropes & Gray LLP is a global law firm with 13 offices located in the United States, Asia and Europe. The firm has more than 1,500 lawyers and professionals worldwide, and its clients include corporations and financial institutions, government agen ...

, and a number of Morgan & Finnegan lawyers joined Texas-based

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell Locke Lord LLP is an international law firm formed on October 2, 2007, after the combination of Texas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp PLLC and Lord Bissell & Brook LLP. Locke Lord's earliest predecessor firms date from 1887 and 1891. The firm is headqu ...

. Additionally, Alexandria-based IP boutique Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis merged with

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

-based Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney in 2005, Cushman, Darby & Cushman was absorbed by national firm

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, also known as Pillsbury, is a full-service law firm with a particular focus on the energy, financial services, real estate and technology industries. Based in the world's major financial, technology and energy ...

(then Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro),

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

-based Arnold, White & Durkee merged with

Howrey Howrey LLP was a global law firm that practiced antitrust, global litigation and intellectual property law. At its peak Howrey had more than 700 attorneys in 17 locations worldwide. History The firm was founded as Howrey, Simon, Baker, & M ...

(then Howrey & Simon),

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based Lyon & Lyon dissolved in 2002, and Silicon Valley boutique Skjerven Morrill & MacPherson LLP dissolved in 2003. Litigation and corporate boutique law firms based in Europe include Oppenhoff & Partner.

Major boutique firms by specialty

Intellectual property

* Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner (Washington, D.C.) *

(Boston) * Oblon (Alexandria, Virginia)

Labor and employment

Jackson Lewis Jackson Lewis P.C. is an American law firm focusing on labor and employment law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the govern ...

(White Plains, New York) *

Littler Mendelson Littler Mendelson P.C. is a U.S.-based law firm that handles labor and employment litigation as well as global mobility and immigration issues. The firm has competencies in Mexico, Canada, Germany and Venezuela. The firm has offices in Colombia ...

(San Francisco) *

Seyfarth Shaw Seyfarth Shaw LLP ( ) is an international AmLaw 100 law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in Chicago in 1945 by Henry Seyfarth, Lee Shaw, and Owen Fairweather, Seyfarth Shaw originally focused on the area of Labour law, labor and ...

(Chicago)

Litigation

Boies, Schiller & Flexner Boies Schiller Flexner LLP is a national law firm based in New York City. The firm was founded by David Boies and Jonathan D. Schiller, in 1997, who, in 1999, were joined by Donald L. Flexner, former partner with Crowell & Moring, then forming ...

(New York City) *

Irell & Manella Irell & Manella LLP is an American law firm founded in 1941 by lawyers Lawrence E. Irell (1912–2000) and Arthur Manella (1917–1997). It has approximately 70 lawyers (down from a high of over 220), and placed 183rd on The American Lawyer's 20 ...

(Los Angeles) * Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman (New York City) *

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is a global white shoe law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The firm employs approximately 800 attorneys throughout 23 offices around the world. History The firm was established in 1986 by ...

(Los Angeles) *

Williams & Connolly Williams & Connolly LLP is an American law firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm was founded by trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams in collaboration with Paul Connolly, a former student of his. Williams left the partnership of D.C. firm Hog ...

(Washington, D.C.)

Technology and venture capital

Cooley LLP Cooley LLP is an American international law firm, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with offices worldwide. The firm's practice areas include corporate, litigation, intellectual property, fund formation, public markets, employment, life ...

(Palo Alto) *

Fenwick & West Fenwick & West LLP is a law firm of nearly 430 attorneys with offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, Santa Monica, Washington, DC and Shanghai. The firm's practice focuses on technology companies, life sciences companie ...

(Mountain View) *

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is an American international law firm that specializes in business, securities, and intellectual property law. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the firm provides legal services to technology, life sciences ...

(Palo Alto) * Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian (Redwood City)

References

External links

International Club of Boutique Law FirmsInternational Network of Boutique Law Firms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boutique Law Firm Law firms