What Drew Eckl & Farnham does

Drew Eckl & Farnham is a civil litigation defense law firm founded in 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia, by Charles L. Drew, W. Wray Eckl, and Clayton H. Farnham. The firm specializes in insurance defense, workers' compensation, transportation litigation, premises liability, professional malpractice, employment law, construction litigation, and general liability, serving insurance carriers, self-insured employers, transportation and trucking companies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, retail/hospitality businesses, and public entities. It maintains nearly 100 attorneys across three Georgia offices (Atlanta, Albany, and St. Simons Island), with attorneys licensed to practice in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and is a member of The Harmonie Group, an invitation-only national network of vetted defense firms.

The firm's service portfolio is organized around 14 distinct practice areas supplemented by four industry-focused verticals (Construction, Financial Services, Retail and Hospitality, and Trucking/Transportation). Complementing its core legal services, the firm publishes the Workers' Compensation Desk Manual (now in its 13th Edition, produced with the Georgia Workers' Compensation Association) and operates an online suite of Workers' Compensation calculators. The firm reports no proprietary technology platform; its tooling consists of standard practice management and legal technology systems, and it maintains a SOC 2 certification. Client-facing activity is supported through content marketing, client alerts, webinars, CLE participation, and community engagement programs including a 1L Diversity Fellowship.

Drew Eckl & Farnham operates on a traditional professional services revenue model, billing hourly for litigation defense, advisory counsel, and representation services. Pricing is engagement-specific and not publicly disclosed. Business development is relationship-driven, relying on referrals from existing clients, repeat institutional engagements, and participation in industry associations such as the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association (GDLA), the International Association of Defense Counsel, and the American Bar Association. The firm is a privately held limited liability partnership with no external institutional investors, private equity backing, or parent company; ownership and governance are vested in its equity partners under a Managing Partner structure currently led by Joseph C. Chancey.

Name

Drew Eckl & Farnham

Legal name

Drew Eckl & Farnham, LLP

Website

https://deflaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Drew Eckl & Farnham is a Georgia-based civil litigation defense law firm with nearly 100 attorneys serving insurance companies, self-insured employers, transportation firms, and corporations across the Southeast since 1983.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Litigation Defense Legal Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Liability (E&O) (FSAJAGAC), Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) (FSAJADAB)

Keywords

• Insurance defense
• Workers compensation
• Civil litigation defense
• Employment law
• Corporate legal counsel

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Traditional hourly billing for legal services including litigation defense, advisory counsel, and representation. Services provided to insurance companies, corporations, self-insured employers, and individuals across workers' compensation, insurance defense, transportation litigation, premises liability, professional malpractice, and public entity defense.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Drew Eckl & Farnham is a civil litigation defense law firm providing legal representation and counsel across practice areas including workers' compensation defense, insurance coverage and defense, transportation and trucking litigation, premises and general liability, construction litigation, employment law, professional malpractice, subrogation, appellate law, commercial real estate, and sports law. The firm serves insurance companies, self-insured employers, corporations, financial institutions, healthcare providers, construction companies, and public entities across the Southeast.

Product overview

Drew Eckl & Farnham is a civil litigation defense law firm offering a comprehensive suite of legal services organized as practice-area specialties and industry-focused practices. The firm's core portfolio spans 14 distinct legal service areas ( Appellate Law, Commercial Law, Commercial Real Estate Law, Commercial Transportation Law, Construction Litigation, Employment Law, First Party Insurance Matters, General Liability, Health and Safety/OSHA, Insurance Coverage, Professional Malpractice and Healthcare Litigation, Sports Law, Subrogation, and Workers' Compensation ) supplemented by 4 industry focus areas ( Construction, Financial Services, Retail and Hospitality, and Trucking/Transportation ). The firm also provides client-facing digital resources including the Workers' Compensation Calculators (a suite of online calculation tools) and the Workers' Compensation Desk Manual (a comprehensive reference publication now in its 13th Edition). The overall architecture is a unified law firm service model where practice areas serve as the primary organizational structure, with digital tools and publications positioned as complementary resources that enhance core legal service delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Workers' Compensation Services Workers' compensation defense representation for employers, insurers, and self-insureds across Georgia. Includes claims defense, coverage analysis, and litigation.
• Insurance Defense Services Defense representation for insurance companies and insureds across liability, first-party matters, coverage disputes, declaratory judgment actions, and rescission suits.
• Commercial Transportation Law Services Legal representation for commercial transportation industry clients including trucking companies on cargo claims, injury claims, and ELD compliance matters.
• Employment Law Services Employer litigation representation before State and Federal courts and Commissions, plus Employment Counsel partnerships for compliance and risk minimization.
• General Liability Services Representation for corporations, businesses, insurance companies, and governmental entities in casualty matters including indemnity, contract litigation, and personal injury.
• Construction Litigation Services Legal representation for contractors, architects, owners, subcontractors, and suppliers covering construction defects, coverage issues, and related claims.
• Professional Malpractice and Healthcare Litigation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked No. 15 on Atlanta Business Chronicle's List of Biggest Law Firms in Metro Atlanta for 2026

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 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.

• The Harmonie GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDrew Eckl & Farnham is a member of The Harmonie Group, an invitation-only national network of elite and vetted law firms providing defense services to corporations, TPAs, insurance companies, RRGs, and captives. Founded in 1993 at the Harmonie Club in New York City, the organization connects quality defense firms to serve the special needs of the risk industry. Members are identified through contacts in IADC, FDCC, DRI, ABA Sections, and Martindale Hubbell AV-rated firms. Harmonie lawyers practice in all fifty states.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers: Atlanta-headquartered insurance defense firm with similar civil litigation defense practice across workers' compensation, insurance coverage, transportation, and general liability. Directly comparable in scale and client mix.
• Hall Booth Smith: Southeast-based defense firm providing insurance defense, workers' compensation, and general liability representation across multiple states. Direct comparable in regional footprint and practice mix.
• Freeman Mathis & Gary: Atlanta-based litigation defense firm serving insurance carriers, employers, and corporations with comparable insurance defense, employment, and professional liability practices.
• Thomas, Kennedy, Sampson & Tompkins: Atlanta-based litigation defense firm with comparable insurance defense, premises liability, and general civil litigation practice serving insurance carriers and self-insureds.
• Bovis, Kyle, Roche & Linder: Atlanta-based civil litigation defense firm with comparable insurance defense practice and similar mid-size regional positioning.
• Hawkins Parnell & Young: Atlanta-headquartered national defense firm with strong insurance defense, toxic tort, and product liability practices serving similar corporate and insurance carrier clients.

Broad incumbents

• Ogletree Deakins: National labor and employment law firm with a major Atlanta presence. Comparable on the employment law and employment practices liability defense side, though it operates at much larger scale.
• Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete: National labor and employment defense firm with strong Southeast presence. Comparable on the employment law defense side serving similar employer clients.
• Fisher Phillips: National labor and employment law firm representing employers. Comparable on employment practices liability defense, though narrower in practice scope than DEF's full-service defense offering.

Regional players

• Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog: Carolinas-based defense firm with insurance defense and workers' compensation practice that overlaps with Drew Eckl & Farnham's Southeast regional footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drew-eckl-farnham
• Xx.com/def1983
• Facebookfacebook.com/drew-eckl-farnham-llp-224180100940619

Compliance1 record

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 Drew Eckl & Farnham