Caplan and Earnest

What Caplan and Earnest does

Caplan and Earnest (legal entity: Caplan & Earnest LLC) is a Boulder, Colorado-based law firm founded in 1969 by Gerald Caplan and Lane Earnest. The firm operates more than 30 attorneys across twelve distinct practice groups: Education Law (described as the largest in Colorado, serving more than half of the state's school districts), Health Law, Litigation, Estate Planning, Immigration Law, Business and Commercial Law, Compliance and Workplace Investigations, Family Law, Real Estate Law, Outdoor Recreation Law, Construction Law, and the Masterminds professional development program. Its clients include Colorado school districts and educational institutions, healthcare providers and senior living facilities, large and small corporations, and individuals in Boulder, the Front Range, and the broader Rocky Mountain region. The firm has been repeatedly recognized in peer-reviewed rankings, with 10 attorneys named 2026 Colorado Super Lawyers and 8 attorneys named 2026 Best Lawyers in America.

The firm operates no proprietary technology product and is not a technology business; it delivers professional legal services through traditional attorney-client engagement. Its "product surface" consists of twelve practice groups plus fee-based ancillary training (90-minute Education Law trainings at $1,500 per session, Masterminds programs at $1,200–$1,600 per participant, and a lecture series at $150 per person). The firm's core technology profile is therefore non-applicable; operational technology is limited to standard legal practice tools, a corporate website (celaw.com), and a LinkedIn presence. No AI, API, SDK, or integration footprint was identified in the source material.

Caplan and Earnest generates revenue through three streams: traditional hourly billing for legal services across litigation, transactional, and advisory matters; fee-based professional development and training programs targeted at education administrators; and estate planning services for individuals and families. Legal services are quoted on a non-public, matter-by-matter basis, while training and lecture pricing are published. The go-to-market motion is relationship-based enterprise field sales supported by thought leadership content, community engagement (including a $5,000 annual Education Law Grant), and professional reputation in the Colorado legal market. The firm is privately held, organized as a Colorado LLC, with three co-managing members (Kristin Edgar, Elizabeth R. Friel, and Doug Stevens as of February 2026) and no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or parent company ownership.

Name

Caplan and Earnest

Legal name

Caplan & Earnest LLC

Website

https://celaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Caplan and Earnest is a Boulder, Colorado-based law firm with more than 30 attorneys serving clients throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region across twelve practice areas, with particular depth in education, health, litigation, and estate planning law.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate & Construction Law (BPAHAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Education law
• Health law
• Litigation services
• Estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Hourly Billing: Traditional hourly billing for legal services across multiple practice areas including litigation, transactional work, and advisory services
2. Professional Development Programs: Fee-based training programs including 90-minute education law trainings at $1500 per session, Masterminds professional development program at $1200-$1600 per participant, and lecture series at $150 per person
3. Estate Planning Services: Estate planning services including wills, trusts, probate and trust administration, asset protection planning

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Caplan & Earnest is a Boulder-based law firm with more than 30 attorneys that delivers full-service legal representation across 11 specialized practice areas: Education Law, Health Law, Litigation, Estate Planning, Immigration Law, Business and Commercial Law, Workplace Investigations, Family Law, Real Estate Law, Outdoor Recreation Law, and Construction Law. The firm primarily serves educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and businesses throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, with supplementary offerings such as the Masterminds professional development program for education administrators.

Product overview

Caplan & Earnest is a Boulder-based law firm operating as a single integrated legal services platform with more than 30 attorneys offering multiple specialized practice areas. The firm provides legal services across twelve distinct practice groups: Education Law (the state's largest), Health Law, Litigation, Estate Planning, Immigration Law, Business and Commercial Law, Compliance and Workplace Investigations, Family Law, Real Estate Law, Outdoor Recreation Law, Construction Law, and the Masterminds professional development program for education administrators. These practice areas work collaboratively to serve clients including educational institutions, healthcare organizations, businesses, and individuals throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Education Law Practice Legal counsel and representation for school districts, boards of cooperative educational services, and local education agencies. Covers special education, Section 504/ADA compliance, employment law, student discipline, charter school management, school finance, governance, real estate acquisitions, risk management, and litigation defense. The largest education law practice group in Colorado.
• Health Law Practice Legal services for healthcare providers, senior living facilities, nursing care facilities, and community-based organizations. Covers regulatory compliance, HIPAA, healthcare employment matters, litigation, transactions, legislative advocacy, medical staff representation, privacy and data security, and professional licensing.
• Litigation Practice Litigation representation by a team that includes former district attorneys, county attorneys, and Colorado Attorney General's Office lawyers. Handles breach of contract, business litigation, civil rights, construction disputes, employment matters, and torts.
• Estate Planning Practice Estate planning services for families and individuals, including wills, trusts, estate tax planning, asset protection, business succession planning, disability and end-of-life planning, and probate and trust administration.
• Immigration Law Practice Immigration services for employers obtaining temporary visas for foreign workers and for employees seeking permanent residence and U.S. citizenship.
• Business and Commercial Law Practice Corporate legal services including general counsel, lending and commercial transactions, Colorado entity formation, and representation for corporations, LLCs, partnerships, and joint ventures.
• Compliance and Workplace Investigations Practice Internal investigation services for businesses and boards to conduct sensitive, impartial investigations to determine whether legal violations have occurred, and to develop corrective action plans.
• Family Law Practice Family law services including adoption, child support, divorce, domestic disputes, estate valuations, property division, parental rights, mediation, and prenuptial agreements.
• Real Estate Law Practice Commercial and residential real estate services including property acquisition, sale, financing, leasing, zoning, land use, community associations, and foreclosure matters.
• Outdoor Recreation Law Practice Legal services tailored for outdoor recreation organizations such as adventure travel programs, experiential educators, dude ranches, summer camps, challenge courses, and ziplines. Covers risk mitigation, contract drafting, employment issues, claims defense, land use, and regulatory compliance.
• Construction Law Practice Construction legal services with over 100 years of combined attorney experience. Covers contract drafting, defect claims, payment disputes, mechanic's liens, and warranty claims.
• Masterminds Professional Development Series Fee-based monthly professional development program for special education directors, executive directors, and Section 504 administrators. Pricing is $1,600 for special education directors and executive directors (includes 10 meetings plus 5 Mega-Masterminding sessions) and $1,200 for other special education administrators, with a flat $6,000 group rate for an entire district's administrators.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving more than half the school districts in Colorado
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

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 highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Holland & Hart LLP: Holland & Hart is a Colorado-based full-service law firm with comparable headcount (~500 professionals across multiple offices including Boulder/Denver). It serves similar institutional clients — including education institutions, healthcare organizations, and businesses — across the Rocky Mountain region, making it the most directly comparable regional legal services peer.
• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is a Denver-headquartered full-service law firm offering comparable practice areas (litigation, healthcare, real estate, employment) to similar institutional and public-sector clients. Like Caplan & Earnest, it has a strong presence in the Colorado/Rocky Mountain market but operates at materially larger scale.
• Sherman & Howard LLC: Sherman & Howard is a Denver-based full-service law firm with overlapping practice areas including litigation, employment, real estate, and estate planning. It serves comparable institutional, governmental, and business clients in Colorado and competes directly with Caplan & Earnest in the regional market.
• Moye White LLP: Moye White is a Denver/Rocky Mountain-based full-service law firm of comparable size that serves similar business, healthcare, and institutional clients. Its practice mix and regional focus make it a direct competitive counterpart to Caplan & Earnest across multiple shared verticals.
• Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe PC: Ireland Stapleton is a Denver-based professional services firm combining legal, lobbying, and government affairs. It directly competes with Caplan & Earnest for institutional education and healthcare clients, particularly where legislative advocacy intersects with regulatory legal counsel.
• Kutak Rock LLP: Kutak Rock is a national law firm recognized for its leading Education Law practice serving school districts across multiple states. It is the most comparable peer to Caplan & Earnest's flagship Education Law practice in terms of client base, service model, and thought-leadership positioning, though Kutak Rock operates at significantly greater scale nationally.
• Snelson Countryman (now Snelson Kerrig): Snelson Countryman (now operating as Snelson Kerrig) is a Colorado-based law firm historically recognized for serving school districts and municipalities across the state. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Caplan & Earnest's Education Law practice and competes for the same Colorado K-12 institutional clients.
• Hutchison and Steffen (now part of Fennemore): Hutchison and Steffen, now operating within Fennemore, is a Nevada/Colorado-based full-service law firm serving education institutions, businesses, and families. It is comparable in size and practice mix to Caplan & Earnest and competes in adjacent mountain-region institutional and estate planning markets.

Broad incumbents

• Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: Faegre Drinker is a large national law firm with significant healthcare and education practice capabilities and historical roots in the Rocky Mountain region (from the Faegre Baker Daniels merger). It is comparable as a broader incumbent offering overlapping institutional counsel with deeper geographic reach but less regional specialization than Caplan & Earnest.
• Fox Rothschild LLP: Fox Rothschild is a national full-service law firm with substantial education and healthcare practices and a growing presence in Colorado (via the former Comcast/LeClairRyan absorption). It represents the 'big-law encroachment' competitive vector against mid-sized regional firms like Caplan & Earnest.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caplan-and-earnest-llc
• Xx.com/caplanearnest
• Facebookfacebook.com/caplanandearnest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Caplan and Earnest