Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler

What Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler does

Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler (now Harris St. Laurent LLP) is a New York-headquartered litigation boutique founded in 2009 by Jonathan Harris and Andrew St. Laurent, with a second office opened in Washington, D.C. in February 2023. The firm operates across six integrated practice areas: Commercial Litigation & Arbitration, White Collar Criminal & Regulatory Defense, Employment Law (including executive compensation and restrictive covenants), Real Estate, Insurance Recovery and Advisory, and Investigations. It serves corporations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, C-suite executives, founders, and individuals facing government investigations or criminal matters, with a documented track record of high-value outcomes including a $75.3 million jury verdict, $61 million FINRA award, and $8.7 million FINRA award.

The firm is approximately 30 attorneys strong and is differentiated by first-chair trial capability rather than technology. Its competitive positioning rests on premier individual lawyers, with senior talent drawn from top firms and federal clerkships, and validated by Chambers USA Band 1 (New York Labor & Employment: Mainly Plaintiffs), Benchmark Litigation stars, Lawdragon recognition, and first-time Legal 500 US rankings in 2026. Notable representations include Post University v. Course Hero (copyright), Paul Galietto v. Credit Suisse (FINRA), Matthew Connolly v. Deutsche Bank (malicious prosecution), and the defense of Nicolás Maduro.

The business model is a professional services fee structure negotiated matter-by-matter, with revenue generated primarily through hourly billing on complex commercial litigation, white-collar defense, and employment matters, supplemented potentially by alternative fee arrangements. There are no disclosed external investors, no PE/VC backing, and no subsidiary entities; the firm is partner-owned and has expanded through lateral hires rather than M&A. The firm markets almost exclusively through earned media, thought leadership publications (New York Law Journal, Bloomberg Law), and industry rankings, with no resellers, marketplace channels, or technology products.

Name

Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler

Legal name

Harris St. Laurent LLP

Website

https://hs-law.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Harris St. Laurent is a New York- and Washington, D.C.-based litigation boutique with ~30 attorneys serving corporations, C-suite executives, and individuals in high-stakes commercial litigation, white-collar defense, employment, and investigations matters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Commercial Law (BPAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Commercial litigation services
• White collar defense
• Employment law practice
• Regulatory investigations
• Trial advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Professional Fees: The firm generates revenue through legal fees for high-stakes commercial litigation, employment matters, and white-collar criminal and regulatory defense. Fee structures likely include hourly billing for litigation services and potentially contingency or alternative fee arrangements for appropriate matters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Harris St. Laurent is a market-leading trial boutique law firm representing corporations, executives, and individuals in high-stakes business disputes, employment matters, white-collar criminal defense, regulatory investigations, and complex commercial litigation. The firm delivers legal representation across practice areas including commercial litigation and arbitration, white-collar criminal and regulatory defense, employment law, real estate litigation, insurance recovery, and internal/external investigations.

Product overview

Harris St. Laurent is a market-leading trial boutique law firm offering legal services rather than a software product. The firm's integrated practice areas include Commercial Litigation & Arbitration, White Collar Criminal & Regulatory Defense, Employment Law, Real Estate, Insurance Recovery and Advisory, and Investigations. The firm serves high-stakes commercial disputes, criminal defense, and regulatory matters for executives, companies, and financial institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Litigation & Arbitration High-stakes commercial dispute resolution in state and federal courts and arbitration, covering breaches of contract, business torts, valuation disputes, founder and partnership disputes, securities litigation, and real estate litigation.
• White Collar Criminal & Regulatory Defense Criminal prosecutions, government investigations, and regulatory enforcement defense for individuals, companies, and institutions, including securities fraud, business fraud, government procurement fraud, public corruption, health care fraud, tax fraud, crypto fraud, insider trading, antitrust, and money laundering.
• Employment Law Employment litigation and counseling for executives, entrepreneurs, and companies, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, compensation disputes, and restrictive covenant enforcement.
• Real Estate Real estate litigation and advisory representing owners, developers, condominium boards, investors and real estate investment bankers in disputes involving breach of contract, partnership interests, fees, and fraudulent inducement.
• Insurance Recovery and Advisory Insurance coverage analysis and recovery for policyholders, helping clients obtain advancement and indemnification of legal fees and insurance coverage.
• Investigations Internal investigations, government probes, multi-agency inquiries, FCPA investigations, FINRA sanctions, and SEC appeals for executives and companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• $75.3 million jury verdict for Post University in copyright infringement case
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Susman Godfrey: Elite national trial boutique renowned for high-stakes commercial litigation with a comparable plaintiff-side and bet-the-company orientation. Operates a similar lean-partner model competing for the same Fortune 500 and executive-client work.
• Boies Schiller Flexner: Major litigation boutique with deep white-collar defense, commercial litigation, and government investigations practices. Closely comparable in NYC-headquartered, founder-led boutique structure serving C-suite executives and corporations.
• Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan: Largest litigation-only global firm with premier commercial litigation and white-collar defense practices. Direct competitor for high-stakes trial mandates, though at substantially greater scale.
• Kasowitz Benson Torres: NYC-founded litigation boutique with a strong commercial-litigation and white-collar defense focus. Comparable in target client profile (corporations, executives, founders) and trial-first orientation.
• Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello: Premier white-collar defense and securities-litigation boutique based in New York. Closely comparable in band-1 Chambers white-collar positioning and high-stakes individual/white-collar defense focus.
• Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler: NYC litigation and white-collar defense firm with comparable plaintiff-side employment and investigations work. Mid-size NYC firm competing for similar high-stakes commercial and employment disputes.
• Sadis & Goldberg: NYC litigation boutique with a strong FINRA arbitration and securities-litigation focus. Closely comparable in handling executive-side financial-services disputes and arbitration-driven revenue mix.

Broad incumbents

• Latham & Watkins: Global full-service AmLaw firm with elite white-collar defense and commercial litigation practices. Competes for the same large, complex matters as HS but at vastly greater scale and with broader geographic reach.
• Kirkland & Ellis: Largest AmLaw firm by revenue with premier litigation, white-collar, and investigations practices. Competes for the same Fortune 500 litigation and high-stakes matters as HS, often serving as the incumbent alternative for sophisticated clients.
• Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton: Wall Street firm with elite white-collar defense, securities litigation, and investigations practices. Competes for sophisticated financial-services and corporate clients in white-collar and regulatory matters.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harris-st-laurent-llp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler