Williams McCarthy

What Williams McCarthy does

WilliamsMcCarthy LLP is a Rockford, Illinois-based limited liability partnership operating as a full-service regional law firm. Founded in 1932 by Karl Williams, who subsequently partnered with John McCarthy and John Kinley in an association that endured nearly fifty years, the firm today fields 15 attorneys — 12 partners, 2 associates, and 1 of counsel — led by President Troy E. Haggestad. The firm is organized around twelve-plus practice areas spanning business/corporate, divorce and family, employment/labor, estates and trusts, insurance, intellectual property (including cyber law), litigation (business, employment, ERISA, product liability, real estate, and trust), local counsel, municipal/local government, personal injury, real estate, and workers' compensation, with associates and partners frequently cross-staffed on complex matters.

The firm's customer base extends from Fortune 100 companies down to individual clients and spans family-owned businesses, financial institutions, healthcare providers, municipalities and special districts, agribusiness operators, and individuals needing estate planning, divorce, or personal injury representation. Attorneys are admitted across Illinois, Wisconsin, federal district courts, the Seventh Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and the firm offers a dedicated Local Counsel service for out-of-state lead counsel needing regional representation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and Illinois Circuit Courts. Recognition includes Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent ratings, Illinois Super Lawyers, Leading Lawyers (top 5% in Illinois), and Best Lawyers in America; multiple partners serve on community and bar-association boards, including a structured pro bono partnership with Prairie State Legal Services.

There is no proprietary technology platform. Revenue is generated almost entirely through attorney billing for legal services rendered — typical arrangements involve hourly rates, fixed fees, retainers, or contingency depending on matter type. The firm operates a single Rockford office but routinely practices across northern and central Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Marketing is conducted primarily through attorney reputation, the firm's website (wilmac.com), a quarterly newsletter ("Comments from Counsel"), LinkedIn, published legal articles, and bar/community involvement. The firm operates as an equity-partner-owned LLP with no external investors, parent company, or institutional ownership.

Name

Williams McCarthy

Legal name

WilliamsMcCarthy LLP

Website

https://wilmac.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WilliamsMcCarthy LLP is a 15-attorney, full-service regional law firm in Rockford, Illinois, serving Fortune 100 companies, family-owned businesses, financial institutions, municipalities, agribusinesses, and individuals across 12+ practice areas including litigation, corporate, employment, estates, insurance, and family law.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Business law
• Commercial litigation
• Estate planning
• Family law

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockford

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: Full-service law firm providing legal representation and counsel to businesses, institutions, and individuals. Revenue generated through attorney billing for legal services rendered. The firm represents clients from Fortune 100 companies to individuals across diverse practice areas including business/corporate, litigation, employment, real estate, estate planning, intellectual property, insurance, and family law.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WilliamsMcCarthy LLP is a full-service law firm providing legal counsel and representation across twelve practice areas, including business/corporate law, litigation, employment/labor, estates and trusts, intellectual property, insurance, family law, municipal law, personal injury, real estate, and workers' compensation. The firm represents clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies and family-owned businesses to financial institutions, healthcare providers, municipal entities, family farms, and individuals in Northern and Central Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Revenue is generated through attorney billing on a matter-by-matter basis rather than through any technology product or platform.

Product overview

WilliamsMcCarthy LLP is a full-service law firm, not a technology product company. The firm offers a comprehensive suite of legal services organized into distinct practice areas rather than a unified software product or platform. The core service portfolio includes: Business/Corporate Law (covering agribusiness, contract drafting, entity formation, and M&A); Divorce and Family Law (including adoption, child custody, and collaborative divorce); Employment/Labor Law (employee benefits and employment agreements); Estates and Trusts (business succession planning, estate administration, and estate planning); Insurance Law; Intellectual Property (copyright, cyber law, licensing, trade secrets, and trademarks); Litigation (business, employment, ERISA, product liability, real estate/construction, and trust litigation); Local Counsel; Municipal/Local Government Law; Personal Injury; Real Estate (farm transactions, land use, purchase/sale); and Workers' Compensation. These practice areas function as distinct service lines that attorneys work across collaboratively to serve clients from Fortune 100 companies to individuals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business/Corporate Law Services Full-service business and corporate legal counsel covering the entire business lifecycle from formation through growth, acquisitions, mergers, and disposition by sale, serving privately-held businesses, public companies, farming/agribusiness operations, manufacturers, and tax-exempt organizations in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin.
• Divorce and Family Law Services Family law representation including divorce, child custody, adoption, and pre- and post-nuptial agreements, with sensitivity to emotional complexities while advocating for client rights.
• Employment/Labor Law Services Full-spectrum employment and labor legal services including advising, document drafting, and representation in all federal, state, and local labor matters, including employee benefits (pensions, 401(k), HIPAA) and employment agreements, policies, and procedures.
• Estates and Trusts Services Estate planning and administration including wills, trusts, business succession planning, and comprehensive financial planning for asset protection and distribution, serving individuals, families, and family-owned businesses.
• Insurance Law Services Insurance counsel for policyholders and insurers including insurance defense, coverage disputes, coverage analysis, and bad faith litigation.
• Intellectual Property Services Intellectual property legal services including registration, enforcement, and defense of copyright, trademark, trade secrets, and licensing matters, as well as cyber law issues such as data security, online privacy, and domain name disputes.
• Litigation Services Civil and commercial litigation at trial and appellate levels in federal and state courts, handling complex cases including business disputes, intellectual property, employment, ERISA, product liability, real estate and construction, and trust litigation matters.
• Local Counsel Services Regional expertise for lead counsel in state and federal cases in the Northern District of Illinois and Illinois Circuit Courts, providing local court knowledge and reducing litigation costs for out-of-state law firms and corporate counsel.
• Municipal/Local Government Services Legal services for governmental entities including cities, villages, townships, park districts, school districts, and special districts covering annexation, zoning, intergovernmental agreements, and civil rights defense.
• Personal Injury Services Personal injury representation for wrongful death, auto accidents, trucking accidents, premises liability, product liability, nursing home liability, toxic torts, and medical malpractice cases.
• Real Estate Services Real estate legal services for individuals, businesses, and financial institutions covering residential, commercial, and industrial properties, including farm acquisitions and sales, land use and development, and purchase, sale, and exchange transactions.
• Workers' Compensation Services Workers' compensation representation for employers, employees, insurance carriers, self-insurers, and third-party administrators in claims and occupational disease matters.

Quantifiable outcome

• Litigation team named to U.S. News Best Lawyers Tier 1 List for commercial litigation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Prairie State Legal ServicescommunityOthersWilliamsMcCarthy attorneys provide pro bono legal services through Prairie State Legal Services, which offers free civil legal services for low-income persons and those age 60+. Multiple attorneys including Adam Fleming volunteer for the organization, with Fleming serving on the Board of Directors and having accepted over 40 cases pro bono.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Howard & Howard: A Midwest regional law firm serving manufacturing, insurance, and business clients with comparable full-service offerings across business/corporate, litigation, IP, and employment. Competitor for similar mid-market business clients in northern Illinois.
• Brown, Hay & Stephens: A Springfield, Illinois-based full-service law firm with a similar historical depth and comparable practice-area breadth, including business, litigation, estate planning, and government representation. Serves similarly mid-market business clients and individuals across central Illinois.
• Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen: A full-service Illinois-based regional law firm of comparable size with Peoria, Rockford, Chicago, and Springfield offices. Serves a similar client mix of businesses, healthcare providers, insurers, and municipalities across central and northern Illinois, with overlapping practice areas in litigation, employment, insurance defense, and business/corporate law.
• Sorling Northrup: A long-established full-service Springfield-based law firm serving businesses and individuals across central Illinois. Comparable in history, practice area breadth, and target market, with strong governmental and litigation practices serving regional clients.
• McCarthy, Leonard, Kaul & Stach: A central Illinois full-service law firm with a comparable mix of estate planning, real estate, business, and litigation practices serving similar family-business and individual clients in the region.
• Boyle & Howard: A Rockford, Illinois-based law firm located in the same primary market as WilliamsMcCarthy, providing direct competition in family law, personal injury, estate planning, and general practice for the Rockford regional client base.
• Rathbun, Cservenyak & Rhoades: A Bloomington, Illinois-based regional law firm of comparable scale offering business, real estate, estate planning, family law, and litigation services. Targets a similar mid-market Illinois business and individual client base.

Broad incumbents

• Hinshaw & Culbertson: A significantly larger Chicago-headquartered law firm with national reach and a particularly deep insurance industry practice — directly overlapping with WilliamsMcCarthy's insurance defense work. Competes for the same regional Illinois clients but at a broader scale and multiple office locations.

Regional players

• Alholm, Monahan, Klouda, Lathrop & Gadd: A Rockford-area law firm with comparable full-service offerings in business law, real estate, estate planning, and litigation. Overlaps with WilliamsMcCarthy for regional Rockford and northern Illinois clients and talent.
• Tummelson, Bryk & VanBever: A Peoria, Illinois-based regional law firm with similar practice breadth in business law, estate planning, and litigation. Comparable in size and market positioning as a trusted regional advisor for central and northern Illinois businesses.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/williamsmccarthyllp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 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 Williams McCarthy