What Shartsis Friese does

Shartsis Friese LLP is a privately held San Francisco-based law firm founded in 1975 by Arthur Shartsis and Bob Friese as an alternative to large national law firms. The firm operates from a single office at 425 Market Street with nationwide reach, employing 73 attorneys organized under a 1:1 partner-to-associate/counsel ratio, with a 20-year average lawyer tenure and 100% internal partner promotion.

The firm delivers legal services across seven core practice areas: Corporate (including M&A, securities, venture capital and private equity), Family Wealth Planning, Intellectual Property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, open source), Investment Funds & Advisers (hedge, PE, VC, real estate, credit, and digital asset funds), Litigation, Real Estate, and Taxation. Its client base spans enterprise technology (Adobe, AMD, Arista Networks, Netflix, Oracle, Synopsys), healthcare, manufacturing, and a deep book of investment management firms, supported by sub-practices in areas such as blockchain/digital asset funds and commercial leasing.

The business model is traditional professional services billing, with fees quoted per matter based on complexity and seniority rather than publicly disclosed pricing. Go-to-market is relationship-led, driven by peer referrals, thought leadership publications, speaking engagements, and sustained recognition in Chambers, Best Lawyers, Legal 500, Super Lawyers, and Vault rankings. There is no disclosed revenue, no external institutional investment, no subsidiaries, and no public offering, consistent with a closely held partnership structure whose growth has been entirely organic over five decades.

Name

Shartsis Friese

Legal name

Shartsis Friese LLP

Website

https://sflaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Shartsis Friese is a privately held San Francisco law firm founded in 1975 with 73 attorneys organized in a 1:1 partner-to-associate ratio, serving sophisticated businesses, investment funds, and high-net-worth families across corporate, litigation, real estate, IP, investment funds, taxation, and family wealth planning.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

Keywords

• Corporate legal services
• Investment funds law
• Litigation services
• Intellectual property law
• Wealth planning services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

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 billing model providing legal services to corporate and individual clients across multiple practice areas including corporate, litigation, real estate, investment funds, intellectual property, family wealth planning, and taxation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Shartsis Friese is a San Francisco-based law firm providing full-service legal counsel across seven core practice areas: Corporate (including M&A, venture capital, private equity, securities, and technology transactions), Family Wealth Planning, Intellectual Property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets), Investment Funds & Advisers (hedge, private equity, venture capital, real estate, credit, and digital asset funds), Litigation, Real Estate, and Taxation. The firm delivers boutique-level personal service combined with large-firm sophistication to sophisticated businesses, investment advisers, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.

Product overview

Shartsis Friese is a San Francisco-based law firm offering legal services across seven core practice areas: Corporate (including M&A, venture capital, private equity, securities, and technology transactions), Family Wealth Planning (estate planning, trusts, and charitable giving), Intellectual Property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and licensing), Investment Funds & Advisers (hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, and digital asset funds), Litigation (business disputes and trial practice), Real Estate (acquisitions, development, financing, leasing, and workouts), and Taxation (planning and controversy). The firm operates as a single-office mid-size practice with more than 70 attorneys providing boutique-level personalized service combined with large-firm sophistication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Full-service corporate legal practice covering corporate transactional work, governance, M&A, financings, organizational matters, investments, commercial and technology contracts, and licensing arrangements for middle-market companies, publicly traded corporations, and emerging growth companies.
• Family Wealth Planning Comprehensive wealth planning services including estate and gift strategies, trust and estate administration, business succession, and charitable giving for executives, business owners, families, and trustees.
• Intellectual Property Full-service IP practice protecting ideas, technology, and brands through patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret protection, IP litigation, licensing, and technology transactions.
• Investment Funds & Advisers Legal counsel for investment advisers and fund managers covering fund formation, regulatory compliance, and ongoing operations across hedge, private equity, venture capital, real estate, credit, and digital asset funds.
• Litigation Trial lawyers handling high-stakes business disputes, complex litigation, and appellate matters in state and federal courts and arbitration panels.
• Real Estate Comprehensive real estate legal services including acquisitions, development, financing, leasing, joint ventures, land use, and workouts for institutional owners, developers, and corporate clients.
• Taxation Tax planning and controversy services for businesses, investors, and individuals covering company formations, M&A, private investment funds, real estate joint ventures, and executive compensation.

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP: San Francisco-based tech, energy, and finance-focused firm with overlapping Corporate, M&A, IP, and Litigation practices serving a comparable Bay Area client base.
• Farella Braun + Martel LLP: San Francisco-based mid-size firm of broadly comparable headcount serving similar business, real estate, and wealth planning clients — a close size-and-geography analogue to Shartsis Friese.
• Fenwick & West LLP: San Francisco-based mid-size law firm serving technology and life sciences clients across corporate, IP, and litigation matters — directly comparable in geographic footprint, client mix, and boutique-style service.
• Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian LLP: Bay Area-based boutique with concentrated venture capital and emerging companies practice, overlapping with Shartsis Friese's VC/Emerging Companies and Investment Funds services.

Broad incumbents

• Cooley LLP: San Francisco-headquartered broad tech-focused firm that competes for the same venture-backed and public technology clients, with overlapping Corporate, IP, and Litigation practices.
• Goodwin Procter LLP: Multi-office firm with leading investment management and private funds practice, directly comparable to Shartsis Friese's Investment Funds & Advisers group across hedge and PE funds.
• Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC: Premier Silicon Valley tech and life sciences law firm with deep overlap in M&A, venture capital, and securities — a much larger competitor for the same enterprise clients.
• Kirkland & Ellis LLP: Global leader in private equity and complex M&A with a San Francisco office; competes directly for the firm's PE buyout and fund-formation engagements.
• Latham & Watkins LLP: Global Am Law 5 firm with a strong Bay Area presence; competes for the same technology, M&A, and high-stakes litigation mandates as Shartsis Friese, but at much greater scale.

Emerging players

• Dechert LLP: Global firm with strong investment management and hedge fund regulatory practice — comparable to Shartsis Friese's hundreds-of-funds investment funds client franchise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shartsis-friese-llp
• Xx.com/ShartsisFriese

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Shartsis Friese