What Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP does

Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP, currently branded as Cranfill Sumner LLP, is a multi-disciplinary law firm founded in 1992 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The firm operates 14+ practice areas spanning civil litigation defense, employment law, workers' compensation defense, business law, elder law and estate planning, medical malpractice defense, eminent domain and land condemnation law, mergers and acquisitions, aviation and aerospace law, cyber liability and privacy law, insurance law, intellectual property, municipal/public entity representation, alternative dispute resolution, and professional liability defense. With 80+ attorneys and a total headcount of 251-500 employees, the firm has handled over 130,000 matters since founding and maintains offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, Wilmington (NC), and Washington D.C., plus a Shallotte satellite office. Client representation includes enterprise clients (Target, Chick-fil-A, Public Storage, Developers Diversified Realty, Rex Hospital), credit unions, and North Carolina municipalities, with particular depth in eminent domain litigation against NCDOT.

Name

Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP

Legal name

Cranfill Sumner LLP

Website

https://cshlaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Cranfill Sumner LLP is a North Carolina-based multi-disciplinary law firm with 80+ attorneys providing civil litigation, employment, workers' compensation, M&A, and eminent domain legal services to enterprises, municipalities, and property owners across the Southeast and Washington D.C.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation & Dispute Resolution (BPAHAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) & Securities Law (BPAHAAAI), Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

Keywords

• Civil litigation defense
• Employment law services
• Workers compensation defense
• Mergers acquisitions advisory
• Eminent domain law

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

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, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Professional legal services billed through hourly rates, contingency fees for certain matters (e.g., eminent domain), and fixed fees for specific services. Typical law firm revenue model based on attorney time and expertise.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cranfill Sumner LLP is a multi-disciplinary law firm with 80+ attorneys providing legal representation and counsel across practice areas including civil litigation, employment law, workers' compensation defense, eminent domain and land condemnation, mergers and acquisitions, medical malpractice defense, aviation and aerospace law, business law, and elder law/estate planning. The firm serves businesses, municipalities, and property owners from offices across North Carolina and Washington D.C.

Product overview

Cranfill Sumner LLP is a multi-disciplinary law firm with 80+ attorneys serving clients from offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, Wilmington, and Washington D.C. Founded in North Carolina in 1992, the firm provides legal services across civil litigation, employment law, workers' compensation defense, business law, elder law and estate planning, medical malpractice defense, eminent domain and land condemnation, mergers and acquisitions, aviation and aerospace law, cyber liability and privacy law, insurance law, and more. The firm operates a dedicated Employment Law Toolkit online resource and offers continuing education through seminars, webinars, and written legal updates. Services are organized around core practice areas with a multidisciplinary approach allowing attorneys to provide comprehensive counsel drawing on experience across related practice areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civil Litigation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• $1,913,000 jury verdict for property owners in NCDOT eminent domain case (2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Mincey BellminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliate boutique law firm located in the Washington D.C. office space. Mincey Bell handles specialized legal matters and shares office facilities with Cranfill Sumner's D.C. presence.
• Google AnalyticsminorOthersThird-party analytics service used for website performance monitoring and visitor statistics tracking on the cshlaw.com website.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Smith Anderson LLP: Large North Carolina-based multi-disciplinary law firm with comparable headcount and overlapping practice areas in business law, litigation, and M&A. One of the most directly comparable mid-size NC firms.
• Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA: Charlotte-headquartered mid-size NC law firm with comparable practice areas including litigation, M&A, employment, and real estate — direct competitor for enterprise NC clients.
• Poyner Spruill LLP: North Carolina-based multi-disciplinary firm of comparable size, with overlapping practice areas in business law, litigation, employment, and real estate serving similar mid-market clients.
• Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP: Mid-size Southeast law firm headquartered in Charlotte, NC with closely similar multi-disciplinary practice mix (litigation, employment, M&A, real estate) and similar regional footprint across NC and SC.
• Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier (now Nexsen Pruet): Multi-office Southeast regional firm with overlapping NC/SC presence, comparable size, and similar practice mix in litigation, employment, and business law serving mid-market and government clients.
• Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Lewis LLP: North Carolina-based multi-disciplinary firm similar in size and practice breadth, with notable overlap in litigation, employment, and business law serving middle-market and government clients.

Broad incumbents

• Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP: Larger transatlantic law firm with strong NC presence (especially Wilmington and Charlotte), competing in similar litigation, M&A, and regulatory practice areas but with materially more geographic scale and resources.
• K&L Gates LLP: National law firm with NC offices competing for the same middle-market corporate, litigation, and regulatory work; brings substantially larger bench and global footprint.
• Fox Rothschild LLP: National law firm with offices across the U.S. East Coast including North Carolina, competing for similar mid-market litigation, employment, and business law engagements.
• McGuireWoods LLP: Large full-service law firm with strong Southeast presence and broad practice overlap (litigation, employment, M&A); competes for the same enterprise and government clients at the upper end of Cranfill Sumner's range.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cshlaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/cshlaw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cranfill-sumner-llp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP