Zeiger, Tigges, & Little

What Zeiger, Tigges, & Little does

Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP is an Ohio-based litigation boutique founded in 1994 by John W. Zeiger, Steven W. Tigges, and Marion H. Little Jr., each drawn from senior litigation leadership positions at large U.S. law firms (Jones Day; Squire, Sanders & Dempsey). The firm concentrates exclusively on complex business and commercial litigation, with specialized practices in legal malpractice defense ("Counsel to the Bar"), securities claims, fiduciary duty and trust disputes, ERISA, antitrust, insurance, media/First Amendment, and real estate tax valuation. Matters routinely involve millions to tens of millions of dollars in dispute, including billion-dollar representations such as NetJets' successful IRS excise-tax challenge and a unanimous Ohio Supreme Court payday-loan decision protecting over $1 billion in loans.

The firm serves three primary customer segments: large corporations (e.g., JPMorgan Chase, NetJets/Berkshire Hathaway, Limited Brands, OhioHealth, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Fifth Third Bank, XTO Energy, Ohio National Financial Services), high net-worth families in trust and governance disputes, and other law firms (defending more than thirty major Ohio firms in malpractice and internal matters). Engagements are sourced through direct relationships and professional referrals rather than active marketing; brand reputation (Chambers USA top-three General Commercial Litigation in Ohio, 2016) and individual partner credentials (Best Lawyers in America, Ohio Super Lawyers Top 100, Benchmark Litigation Top 100 Trial Lawyers) drive demand.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees on complex commercial litigation matters, billed on a quote-based, hourly engagement model tied to matter scope and complexity. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm operates from a single headquarters in New Albany, Ohio, serving a regional Ohio footprint across seven counties. There is no disclosed external ownership, parent company, or PE backing; the firm is a partner-owned LLP. The business is not technology-enabled: there are no proprietary products, patents, AI/ML capabilities, or third-party technology integrations disclosed in the source material.

Name

Zeiger, Tigges, & Little

Legal name

Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP

Website

https://litohio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP is an Ohio litigation boutique founded in 1994 that represents large corporations, high net-worth families, and law firms in complex commercial litigation matters involving millions to billions of dollars in dispute, generating revenue through hourly professional fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Professional Fees: The firm generates revenue through legal fees for complex commercial litigation services, including trial representation, appellate advocacy, and legal malpractice defense. Fees are likely billed on an hourly basis for sophisticated business litigation matters.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP is a litigation boutique law firm providing high-powered trial and appellate representation in complex business and commercial disputes. The firm serves large corporations, high net-worth families, and fellow law firms in matters typically involving millions or tens of millions of dollars, with particular focus on legal malpractice defense, securities claims, and family and corporate governance disputes.

Product overview

Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP is a litigation boutique law firm offering a unified set of legal services centered on complex business and commercial litigation. The firm operates as a single practice with multiple specialized practice areas including legal malpractice defense, securities claims, fiduciary duty litigation, antitrust, ERISA, insurance disputes, media law, and real estate tax valuation challenges. Rather than distinct product modules, the firm's services are delivered through integrated legal teams that handle matters ranging from trial court proceedings through appellate advocacy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business and Commercial Litigation

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully challenged IRS threatened imposition of $1 billion in federal excise taxes for NetJets
• +6 more outcomes

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 indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP: Full-service Ohio-based firm with a sizable litigation department handling complex commercial matters. Competes with ZTL for Ohio-based commercial litigation work.
• Bricker & Eckler LLP: Ohio-based full-service firm with notable litigation, healthcare, and regulatory practices. Overlaps with ZTL on healthcare, securities, and commercial litigation matters.
• Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP: Largest Ohio-based full-service law firm with a substantial litigation practice that competes head-to-head with Zeiger, Tigges & Little for complex commercial litigation work in Ohio. Direct overlap on Chambers-ranked General Commercial Litigation matters.
• Thompson Hine LLP: Major Ohio-headquartered law firm with a strong commercial litigation practice. Competes in the same Ohio legal market for sophisticated business disputes and serves many of the same enterprise clients.
• Squire Patton Boggs LLP: Major international law firm with deep Ohio roots (successor to Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, where ZTL co-founder Steven Tigges was previously a litigation partner). Direct overlap on complex commercial and appellate litigation.

Direct peers

• Susman Godfrey LLP: Elite national litigation boutique with a similar model — small team of top trial lawyers taking on bet-the-company commercial disputes against much larger firms. Comparable in reputation, scale, and practice mix.
• Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP: Largest litigation-only global firm with a similar boutique-DNA model focused exclusively on complex commercial litigation. Closest large-scale peer in the pure-play litigation boutique category.
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC: Plaintiff-side litigation boutique with strong commercial class action and complex litigation practice. Comparable boutique structure and elite Chambers/Benchmark recognition profile, though typically plaintiff-focused.
• Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP: Nationally recognized trial litigation boutique headquartered in Chicago. Closest structural peer: comparable small-team, partner-led trial boutique competing against AmLaw firms on bet-the-company commercial matters.

Regional players

• Kegler Brown Hill + Ritter LLP: Columbus, Ohio-based firm with a respected commercial litigation practice. Direct Ohio-market peer competing for similar mid-market and enterprise commercial disputes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Zeiger, Tigges, & Little