What Shook,Hardy & Bacon does

Shook, Hardy & Bacon is a privately-held US law firm founded in 1889 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, operating as a limited liability partnership with approximately 1,500 professionals across 19 offices in the United States and London. The firm specializes in high-stakes product liability defense, class action and complex litigation, privacy and cybersecurity, FDA and regulatory guidance, intellectual property, environmental law, and related practices, serving enterprise clients including 75 of the Fortune 100 within its Privacy and Cybersecurity practice alone.

The firm organizes its work across distinct practice groups including Product Liability, Privacy and Cybersecurity, Class Action and Complex Litigation, FDA and Regulatory Guidance, Intellectual Property, and Environmental, with sub-practices in Automotive Litigation, Food and Beverage, Pharmaceutical and Medical Device, and emerging offerings in Art Law and AI Governance. There is no proprietary technology platform; core capability is legal expertise delivered through attorney-led engagements. The firm has adopted Prevail's CheckMate AI platform for deposition workflows and produces an 'AI Here and Now' podcast series, signaling technology integration in service delivery.

Shook, Hardy & Bacon operates a traditional professional services revenue model with hourly billing, fixed fees, and contingency arrangements negotiated per engagement. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales driven by partner relationships and industry reputation, supported by Chambers USA rankings (8 nationwide in 2025), Legal 500 recognition, Law360 Practice Group of the Year awards, and sustained thought leadership through newsletters, podcasts, and CLE events targeting Fortune 500 in-house counsel and corporate legal decision-makers.

Name

Shook,Hardy & Bacon

Legal name

Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP

Website

https://shb.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1889

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Shook, Hardy & Bacon is a 1,500-professional US law firm founded in 1889, operating 19 offices across the US and London. It provides product liability defense, privacy/cybersecurity, class action, and FDA regulatory legal services primarily to Fortune 500 enterprise clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices19 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Traditional law firm revenue model based on hourly billing, fixed fees, and contingency arrangements for legal services including litigation defense, regulatory counseling, and transactional work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Shook, Hardy & Bacon is a full-service international law firm providing litigation defense, regulatory counseling, and transactional legal services to enterprise clients across practice areas including Product Liability, Class Action and Complex Litigation, Privacy and Cybersecurity, FDA and Regulatory Guidance, Intellectual Property, Environmental, and Art Law. The firm primarily represents Fortune 500 and multinational corporations in high-stakes product liability, mass tort, privacy class actions, and regulatory enforcement matters.

Product overview

Shook, Hardy & Bacon is a full-service international law firm offering legal services across multiple practice areas and industries rather than a technology product company. The firm provides litigation, regulatory counseling, and transactional legal services through distinct practice groups including Privacy and Cybersecurity (encompassing Privacy and Cybersecurity Litigation, Incident Response and Cybersecurity, and Privacy Compliance and AI Governance), Product Liability (with sub-practices in Automotive Litigation, Consumer Goods and Services, Food and Beverage Litigation, Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation, Cannabis Law, and Tobacco), Class Action and Complex Litigation, FDA and Regulatory Guidance, Intellectual Property, and Environmental services. The firm does not offer a unified software product platform but rather provides legal expertise as professional services across industries such as pharmaceutical and medical device, food and beverage, automotive, life sciences, banking and financial services, retail, and technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Privacy and Cybersecurity Services Comprehensive privacy and data security legal services including litigation defense, incident response, regulatory compliance counseling, and AI governance. The practice represents enterprise clients including 75 Fortune 100 companies across all industries.
• Privacy and Cybersecurity Litigation Litigation defense for privacy and data security class actions, wiretap claims, and biometric privacy lawsuits including BIPA litigation.
• Incident Response and Cybersecurity Legal counsel and support for data breach incident response, regulatory interactions, and cybersecurity preparedness planning for enterprise clients.
• Privacy Compliance and AI Governance Advisory services helping companies navigate evolving AI regulations and maintain compliance with state privacy laws including CCPA, GDPR, and emerging state AI legislation.
• Product Liability Defense Defense litigation for product liability claims across automotive, consumer goods, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, medical device, and other industries. The firm has tried over 207 cases to verdict in 10 years.
• Class Action and Complex Litigation Defense of class action lawsuits and complex multidistrict litigation with a 60% dismissal rate in class action and mass tort matters.
• FDA and Regulatory Guidance Regulatory and litigation services helping clients bring products to market and maintain compliance with FDA, FTC, USDA, and other regulatory agencies.
• Intellectual Property IP protection services including prosecution, counseling, litigation, and technology transactions for brands, processes, and data.
• Complex Litigation Strategic Counseling Strategic counseling for mass tort and multidistrict litigation including early strategic planning, pretrial order approaches, and discovery strategies.
• Environmental Law Environmental regulatory, compliance, and litigation services including toxic tort defense and environmental and regulatory counseling.
• Art Law Legal services for museums, dealers, collectors, auction houses, and artists covering restitution, repatriation, copyright, and art market transactions, with advisory on AI-generated artwork issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% dismissal rate in class action and mass tort cases
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Reed Smith: Global law firm with significantly larger scale and broader international footprint, competing with SHB in product liability, class action defense, and regulatory work for enterprise clients.
• Sidley Austin: Major global AmLaw 10 firm with substantially larger scale, competing with SHB in high-stakes product liability, FDA regulatory, and class action defense work.
• DLA Piper: One of the world's largest law firms with global reach; competes with SHB on product liability, privacy/cybersecurity, and regulatory matters for Fortune 500 clients.

Direct peers

• Lathrop GPM: Large US-based law firm with comparable mid-size BigLaw positioning, similar Midwest roots, and overlapping practices in litigation, product liability, and regulatory counseling for enterprise clients.
• Husch Blackwell: Similar-sized Kansas City-headquartered law firm with comparable industry focus, broad US office network, and overlapping litigation, regulatory, and corporate practices for enterprise clients.
• Polsinelli: Kansas City-headquartered AmLaw 200 firm with similar size, national footprint, and overlapping practice areas including litigation, product liability, and regulatory work for Fortune 500 clients.
• Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner: Large international law firm with comparable litigation and product liability practices, serving similar enterprise clients with broader global reach than SHB.
• Thompson Coburn: St. Louis-based law firm of similar scale with overlapping litigation, regulatory, and product liability defense practices serving Fortune 500 clients.
• Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice: Mid-sized law firm with strong product liability defense and complex litigation practices, directly competing with SHB in high-stakes defense work.
• Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath: AmLaw 200 firm formed by merger with comparable size and overlapping litigation, product liability, FDA, and regulatory practices for enterprise clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@shookhardybacon/featured
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shook-hardy-&-bacon
• Instagraminstagram.com/shookhardybacon
• Xx.com/shblaw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shook,Hardy & Bacon