Bass, Berry & Sims

What Bass, Berry & Sims does

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC is an independent, privately-held American law firm founded in 1917 by F.M. Bass, Frank Berry and Cecil Sims, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The firm serves leading middle market companies across multiple sectors with particular depth in healthcare (325+ attorneys) and private equity, alongside 17 ranked practice areas spanning corporate & securities, litigation, IP/media/technology, government contracts, labor & employment, real estate, tax, and financial services. Its 67 Chambers USA 2026-ranked attorneys and 12 Band 1 Tennessee practice rankings position it as a dominant Southeast-based firm with growing national reach, executed through five U.S. offices (Nashville HQ, Memphis, Knoxville, Washington D.C., and Chicago opened May 2026) and exclusive Tennessee membership in the Lex Mundi global network of 21,000+ lawyers across 100+ countries.

The firm generates revenue through traditional legal fee arrangements (billable hours, fixed fees, contingency fees, and retainer subscriptions) with an explicit emphasis on alternative fee arrangements that provide predictable costs for clients. The firm operates sophisticated matter planning and legal project management (LPM) software to manage engagements and has developed HIPAA Architect, a proprietary tool that helps PE and family office investors evaluate HIPAA compliance ahead of healthcare technology M&A transactions — a productized differentiator within its healthcare practice. Distribution is direct and relationship-based, supported by a thought leadership engine consisting of four industry-dedicated blogs, attorney publications, Chambers/Legal 500/Benchmark Litigation rankings, and participation in industry conferences. Customer acquisition is overwhelmingly long-cycle, with the majority of clients having been with the firm for 10 or more years.

The firm is governed by Managing Partner Todd J. Rolapp and an Executive Committee, with a C-suite and director-level leadership team that has been deliberately expanded to include Chief Strategy & Operations Officer, Chief Attorney Talent Officer, Director of AI & Knowledge Management, and Managing Directors for Healthcare & Life Sciences, Corporate & Securities, and Litigation, indicating organizational maturation to support continued expansion. The firm has no parent company, no external private equity backing, and operates exclusively as an attorney-owned professional corporation. Its 2025-2026 awards portfolio — including Law360 Healthcare Practice Group of the Year, AHLA's 2nd largest healthcare practice nationally, Benchmark Litigation's Tennessee Firm of the Year (multiple wins), and a Private Equity Deal of the Year at the M&A Advisor Awards — reflects sustained sector leadership and execution momentum.

Name

Bass, Berry & Sims

Legal name

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Website

https://bassberry.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1917

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Bass, Berry & Sims is an independent, 100+ year old Nashville-headquartered law firm serving middle market companies with deep specialization in healthcare (325+ attorneys) and private equity, operating across five U.S. offices with growing national reach and exclusive Tennessee membership in the Lex Mundi global network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Commercial Law (BPAHAAAA)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Healthcare law
• Private equity law
• Corporate transactions
• Mergers and acquisitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 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 Billing: Traditional legal fee arrangements including fixed fees, contingency fees, and retainer arrangements. The firm emphasizes alternative fee arrangements beyond the billable hour to provide predictable and consistent value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bass, Berry & Sims is an independent, nationally recognized law firm providing legal counsel across multiple practice areas including Healthcare Law, Corporate & Securities, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Labor & Employment, Government Contracts, and IP/Media/Technology. The firm serves leading middle market companies with particular focus on healthcare and private equity, delivering sophisticated transactional, regulatory, and litigation services through five U.S. offices. The firm also offers a proprietary HIPAA Architect tool for healthcare deal due diligence.

Product overview

Bass, Berry & Sims is a law firm offering comprehensive legal services across multiple practice areas rather than a technology product company. The firm provides legal counsel through distinct service lines: Healthcare Law (their largest practice with 325+ attorneys), Corporate & Securities, Compliance & Government Investigations, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Labor & Employment, Real Estate/Environmental/Construction Law, Public Finance, Tax, Employee Benefits, Financial Services, International, and IP/Media/Technology. The firm has developed a proprietary tool called HIPAA Architect to assist investors in evaluating HIPAA compliance during healthcare technology M&A due diligence. Services are delivered through five office locations (Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Washington D.C., and Chicago) with a focus on middle market companies in healthcare and private equity sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HIPAA Architect A proprietary compliance evaluation tool developed by Bass, Berry & Sims that helps private equity and family office investors assess HIPAA compliance of healthcare technology targets ahead of M&A transactions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67 attorneys ranked in Chambers USA 2026
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lex MundicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBass, Berry & Sims is the exclusive member firm in Tennessee for Lex Mundi – the world's leading network of independent law firms with in-depth experience in 100+ countries worldwide. Through this network, the firm provides clients with preferred access to more than 21,000 lawyers around the world from a single point of contact.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Polsinelli: National AmLaw 200 firm with a deep healthcare practice and significant PE/middle-market M&A book; closely comparable in size, client mix, and alternative-fee adoption.
• Frost Brown Todd: Multi-state Midwest/Southeast firm of similar scale serving middle-market companies across healthcare, PE, and regulated industries; directly comparable in business model and client profile.
• Bradley Arant Boult Cummings: Southeast-headquartered firm with strong healthcare, PE, and government contracts practices and a similar middle-market focus; directly comparable in size, geography, and industry vertical mix.
• Burr & Forman: Southeast-based full-service firm with a nationally recognized healthcare practice and significant PE and middle-market M&A work; closely comparable in regional anchoring and industry specialization.
• Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough: Southeast-headquartered firm of comparable size serving healthcare, financial services, and middle-market clients; directly comparable in regional roots and full-service platform.
• Epstein Becker & Green: National firm with one of the largest dedicated healthcare law practices in the U.S.; directly competes for healthcare regulatory, M&A, and PE-backed healthcare engagements.
• Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis: Nashville-based full-service firm of comparable size with a leading healthcare and private equity practice serving middle-market clients; the most direct competitor to Bass, Berry & Sims in the Tennessee legal market.

Broad incumbents

• McDermott Will & Emery: Larger national firm widely recognized as a top U.S. healthcare law practice; competes for the same healthcare PE and regulatory matters but at significantly greater scale and geographic breadth.
• King & Spalding: National firm with premier healthcare and private equity practices that competes for the same middle-market healthcare and PE mandates; broader portfolio and global reach than Bass, Berry & Sims.
• Holland & Knight: Large national firm with established healthcare and private equity practices competing for similar middle-market and upper-middle-market healthcare transactions; broader geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bassberrysims

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Bass, Berry & Sims