What Seltzer Caplan McMahon & Vitek does

Seltzer Caplan McMahon & Vitek (SCMV) is a privately held, San Diego-based law firm founded in 1948 and operating as a California law corporation under a multi-name-partner partnership structure (Seltzer, Caplan, McMahon, Vitek), with Robert Caplan serving as President. The firm is headquartered at 750 B Street, Suite 2100, San Diego, and reports 51–100 total employees, organized across 23 distinct practice groups spanning litigation, business law, employment law, estate planning, real property, tax, intellectual property (including the branded "The Trademark Group®" sub-practice), cross-border US/Mexico matters, white-collar criminal defense, and emerging areas such as Cyber Planning & Response. SCMV serves businesses, nonprofit organizations (e.g., San Diego Symphony, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Girl Scouts San Diego-Imperial Council), government entities (City of San Diego), and individuals/families, with a regional focus on San Diego County and California and a cross-border extension into Mexico. Notable matters include representing the Plaza de Panama Committee in the Balboa Park appellate litigation and advising the San Diego Symphony on the $45 million Bayside Performance Park project, including California Coastal Commission and Port of San Diego approvals.

The firm's revenue model is professional-services fees billed on a per-matter basis across litigation, transactional, and regulatory engagements, with no publicly disclosed pricing. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on attorney credentials, community involvement (e.g., Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Junior League of San Diego), thought leadership through Dan Eaton's recurring San Diego Union-Tribune "Law at Work" column, industry recognition (Best Lawyers in America 2025 with 11 attorneys, Super Lawyers, San Diego Business Journal awards), and the firm's affiliation with the international Law Firm Alliance referral network. The firm maintains no proprietary technology platform and conducts no disclosed R&D or AI/ML initiatives; its core distribution channel is direct attorney-to-client engagement without intermediaries.

Strategic activity in 2023–2024 has centered on lateral bench-building: senior litigator Richard D. Gluck (30+ years of experience), former prosecutor Rebecca F. Zipp, corporate-finance practitioner Matthew C. Douglas (promoted to shareholder), and additions in tax (Austin Peterson), estate planning (Jessica Bayne), and associate ranks, alongside shareholder Andrea Myers' elevation to 2024 President of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers San Diego Chapter. There is no evidence of mergers, acquisitions, geographic expansion outside San Diego/SoCal, or external institutional investment; ownership remains wholly internal to the partnership.

Name

Seltzer Caplan McMahon & Vitek

Legal name

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek

Website

https://scmv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Seltzer Caplan McMahon & Vitek is a privately held San Diego law firm founded in 1948 offering 23 practice areas — including litigation, business, employment, real estate, tax, and estate planning — to businesses, nonprofits, government entities, and individuals across Southern California and the US/Mexico border.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

White-Collar Defense & Investigations (BPAHAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) & Securities Law (BPAHAAAI), Cross-Border M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAH), Trust & Fiduciary Advisory for HNW/UHNW (Trust Structuring & Trustee Oversight) (FSAAABAF)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Litigation representation
• Business law counsel
• Estate planning services
• Employment law advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: Traditional law firm providing legal representation and counsel to businesses, organizations, and individuals across multiple practice areas including litigation, corporate law, employment law, estate planning, real estate, tax, and more.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Seltzer Caplan McMahon & Vitek is a full-service San Diego law firm providing legal representation and counsel across 23 practice groups covering litigation, business/corporate law, employment law, real property and development, estate planning and trust litigation, tax and ERISA, intellectual property (including a dedicated Trademark Group®), cross-border US/Mexico matters, cyber planning and response, white collar criminal defense, and professional liability defense. The firm serves businesses, nonprofits, government entities, and individuals through direct attorney-client engagements.

Product overview

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek (SCMV) is a San Diego law firm offering comprehensive legal services through 23 distinct practice groups. The firm provides legal representation across litigation, transactional law, and regulatory compliance matters. Core practice areas include Employment Law, Litigation, Business Law, Estate Planning, Real Property, and specialized services such as The Trademark Group® and Cyber Planning & Response. The firm's practice areas operate as a unified legal services portfolio rather than separate modular products, with attorneys typically working across multiple practice groups to serve client needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Trademark Group®: A specialized practice group within the firm focused on trademark-related legal services.

Named customers5 records

Segments4 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.

• Law Firm AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCMV is affiliated with Law Firm Alliance, an international network of law firms, as shown by the Law Firm Alliance logo on their website.
• Plaza de Panama CommitteeminorOthersSCMV attorney Scott Williams served as attorney for the Plaza de Panama Committee in representing their interests in Balboa Park development matters.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP: San Diego-headquartered full-service law firm of comparable mid-size scale, serving similar business, real estate, and litigation clients across Southern California. Directly comparable geographic market, practice breadth, and client profile.
• Snell & Wilmer LLP: California-based multi-office full-service firm with strong business, real estate, and litigation practices serving middle-market and emerging-growth companies. Comparable in practice breadth and California regional positioning, though slightly larger in headcount.
• Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP: California-based full-service firm with notable real estate, land use, and business law practices overlapping SCMV's Real Property, Land Use, and Business Law groups. Direct competitor for California-based real estate and business clients.
• Best Best & Krieger LLP: California-based full-service firm with strong public sector, land use, environmental, and business practice areas — directly overlapping SCMV's Administrative/Land Use/Environmental Law, Business Law, and government client work. Comparable mid-size California positioning.
• Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP: California-headquartered full-service firm with strong litigation, corporate, employment, and white-collar defense practices across the West Coast. Overlaps with SCMV's litigation, employment, and white-collar defense groups while serving similar mid-market and enterprise clients.
• Duane Morris LLP: Multi-office full-service firm with significant California presence in San Diego and Los Angeles, practicing corporate, litigation, employment, and white-collar defense. Competes directly for similar California business and litigation mandates.
• Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP: California-based mid-size full-service firm with strong litigation, insurance, and employment practices — directly overlapping SCMV's Litigation, Insurance Law, and Employment Law groups at similar mid-market price points.

Broad incumbents

• Cooley LLP: Major California-headquartered full-service firm with significant M&A, securities, and litigation practices. A broader incumbent that competes with SCMV for middle-market M&A, securities, and white-collar matters but at a much larger scale and with a national footprint.
• Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Major California-based full-service firm with strong corporate, securities, real estate, and litigation practices. Competes for higher-end M&A and securities work that SCMV's Finance/Corporate & Securities group also targets, but with substantially greater resources.
• Latham & Watkins LLP: One of the largest California-based global law firms with premier M&A, securities, white-collar defense, and litigation practices. Represents the upper bound of competition for SCMV's most sophisticated matters — clients seeking the deepest bench gravitate toward firms of this scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scmvlaw
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SCMVlaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/scmvlaw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seltzer-caplan-mcmahon-vitek

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Seltzer Caplan McMahon & Vitek