Capes Sokol

What Capes Sokol does

Capes Sokol (legal entity Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan, P.C.) is a St. Louis-headquartered business law firm founded in 2001 that recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The firm operates across 11 disclosed practice areas — Banking & Finance, Business & Corporate Transactions, Digital Asset & Blockchain Technology, Employment, Entertainment & Media, Family Law, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Private Client Services, Real Estate, Tax, and White Collar Criminal Defense — supplemented by the Retail Law Collective, an integrated vertical launched in 2024 that packages the firm's capabilities for retail-industry clients. Capes Sokol's primary client base is business clients ranging from closely held companies to publicly held corporations and nonprofits, with a secondary segment of individual clients served through family law and estate planning work.

The firm's revenue model is traditional professional services: hourly billing, fixed fees, contingency arrangements, and retainer agreements across practice areas. No proprietary technology platform is disclosed; the firm's branded differentiator is its "Uncommon Sense®" collaborative methodology. Distribution occurs through direct client engagement supported by a content-marketing blog, email newsletter, and the partners' involvement in 75+ regional community and charitable organizations that function as a referral network. The firm is led by Jeffrey A. Cohen (Chairman), Douglas S. Dove (Managing Shareholder), David H. Luce (Shareholder & General Counsel), Gary R. Sarachan (founding member, 50+ years of practice), and supported by Chief Operating Officer Katie L. Bircher. There is no evidence of external institutional, private equity, or parent-company ownership; equity is held by named partners and shareholders.

Name

Capes Sokol

Legal name

Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan, P.C.

Website

https://capessokol.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Capes Sokol is a St. Louis-based business law firm serving closely held to publicly held companies, nonprofits, and individuals across 11 practice areas including corporate transactions, litigation, IP, real estate, tax, and the Retail Law Collective vertical, billing through traditional hourly, fixed-fee, and retainer arrangements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Commercial Law (BPAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Transaction Services (Financial, Tax & Commercial Due Diligence) (BPAHAOAB), Business Valuation & Litigation Support (BPAHABAK)

Keywords

• Corporate legal services
• Commercial litigation
• Business transactions
• Intellectual property law
• Employment law services

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: Traditional law firm revenue through hourly billing, fixed fees, contingency arrangements, and retainer agreements for ongoing legal representation across multiple practice areas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Capes Sokol is a St. Louis-based full-service business law firm providing legal counsel across 11+ practice areas, including Banking & Finance, Business & Corporate Transactions, Employment, Entertainment & Media, Family Law, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Real Estate, Tax, and White Collar Criminal Defense. The firm also offers specialized integrated services such as the Retail Law Collective for retail-industry clients and Private Client Services for individual clients, delivered through a collaborative, team-based "Uncommon Sense®" approach.

Product overview

Capes Sokol is a St. Louis-based law firm offering a comprehensive suite of legal services organized into distinct practice areas. The firm operates as a unified full-service legal practice with the following core service lines: Banking & Finance, Business & Corporate Transactions, Employment, Entertainment & Media, Family Law, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Real Estate, Retail Law Collective, Tax, and White Collar Crimes & Internal Investigations. The Retail Law Collective represents a specialized integrated service module combining multiple practice area capabilities specifically designed for the retail industry. The firm's approach emphasizes collaborative, cross-disciplinary teamwork across its practice areas to provide integrated legal solutions for complex client matters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Banking & Finance Legal services covering commercial lending, creditor and debtor rights, asset-based lending, consumer financial products, corporate finance and securities, investment management, legal opinions, private equity and venture capital investments, real estate finance, restructuring and insolvency, and securitization and structured finance. Intended for lenders, borrowers, investors, and financial institutions.
• Business & Corporate Transactions Legal services for business formation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, contracts, employment matters, intellectual property strategy, tax planning, and business succession planning across various industries. Intended for closely held businesses, publicly held corporations, and nonprofit organizations.
• Employment Legal representation and counseling for employers and employees covering preventative practices, employment agreements, discrimination claims, workplace investigations, wage and hour litigation, workers compensation, and wrongful termination matters.
• Entertainment & Media Legal services for television production companies, radio stations, newspapers, music producers, film projects, digital entertainment companies, musicians, artists, talent, photographers, music labels, authors, and independent producers, covering business formation, deal structure, network contracts, talent agreements, production legal, social media influencer agreements, publishing contracts, rights acquisition, and copyright and trademark protection.
• Family Law Legal guidance and representation in divorce cases including complex asset division, child custody disputes, spousal support, appeals, child support, dissolution of marriage, division of marital assets, legal separation, maintenance, and paternity matters. Intended for individuals and families.
• Intellectual Property Legal services for copyright, trademark, and trade secret protection including registration, licensing, infringement litigation, IP strategy, counseling, and transactional due diligence.
• Litigation Complex dispute resolution services including confidentiality counseling, false claims act litigation, federal and state criminal litigation, healthcare litigation, intellectual property enforcement, real estate disputes, and cryptocurrency-related civil litigation.
• Digital Asset & Blockchain Technology Legal services for digital asset and blockchain technology matters, listed as a dedicated practice area on the firm's website navigation.
• Private Client Services Legal services for individual clients on personal matters including estate planning, asset protection, and related private-client needs, listed as a dedicated practice area on the firm's website navigation.
• Real Estate Legal services for real estate sales and acquisition, ownership, development, and financing including commercial and industrial leases, construction contracts, condemnation, eminent domain, land use, zoning, tax increment financing, and mechanic's liens.
• Retail Law Collective Comprehensive one-stop-shop legal service for the retail industry that integrates multiple practice area capabilities (advertising/marketing compliance, construction, consumer protection, corporate transparency, development, employment, financing, franchise/distribution, IP, leasing, litigation, municipal finance, privacy/data protection, property management, tax planning, and risk mitigation) into a single offering tailored for retail-sector clients.
• Tax Tax planning and controversy services including business tax planning, choice of entity, mergers and acquisitions tax implications, executive compensation structuring, Section 1031 like-kind exchanges, IRS and state tax examinations, criminal tax investigations, international tax compliance, partnership tax audits, and tax-exempt organization formation.
• White Collar Crimes & Internal Investigations Legal representation and investigation services for white collar criminal defense matters and internal corporate investigations.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Thompson Coburn: St. Louis-headquartered business law firm with comparable full-service practice areas including corporate transactions, litigation, real estate, IP, and tax. Directly competes with Capes Sokol for mid-market corporate clients in the St. Louis market.
• Armstrong Teasdale: St. Louis-based law firm with similar practice area breadth spanning business, litigation, IP, real estate, and employment. Direct competitor for enterprise and middle-market clients in the St. Louis and Midwest region.
• Lathrop GPM: St. Louis-headquartered full-service law firm competing in corporate, real estate, litigation, and tax practices. Comparable mid-market to enterprise client focus with similar geographic emphasis.
• Lewis Rice: St. Louis-based business law firm with comparable practice mix including corporate, litigation, real estate, and employment. Direct competitor in the same metropolitan market.
• Sandberg Phoenix: St. Louis-based law firm with multi-practice capabilities including business, litigation, health care, and IP. Overlaps significantly with Capes Sokol's practice areas and target client segments.
• Greensfelder: St. Louis-founded business law firm with comparable full-service capabilities in corporate, real estate, litigation, and IP. Direct regional competitor serving similar middle-market and enterprise clients.
• Spencer Fane: Kansas City-based business law firm with comparable practice areas in litigation, corporate, real estate, employment, and IP. Direct regional competitor for Midwest corporate clients.

Broad incumbents

• Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner: Major global law firm historically headquartered in St. Louis, offering overlapping practice areas (corporate, litigation, real estate, IP) at a larger scale. Represents the broader incumbent competitive set in the St. Louis market.
• Husch Blackwell: Kansas City-based firm with significant Midwest presence and overlapping corporate, litigation, real estate, and IP practices. Larger scale competitor in the regional market.
• Polsinelli: Kansas City-based Am Law 200 firm with broad corporate, litigation, and regulatory practices. Larger-scale competitor in the Midwest serving many of the same industry verticals as Capes Sokol.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/capessokol

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Capes Sokol