Hammond & Shinners

What Hammond & Shinners does

Hammond & Shinners, P.C. is a St. Louis-based professional law corporation founded in 1979 that specializes exclusively in labor and employee benefits law. The firm operates from a single headquarters in Des Peres, Missouri, and represents unions, Taft-Hartley employee benefit funds, injured workers, and probate/estate planning clients across Missouri and Illinois. Its bench includes nine attorneys led by Managing Principal Richard Shinners, with specialized practices in Labor Law (negotiation, arbitration, NLRB representation, litigation), Employee Benefits Law (ERISA compliance, plan drafting, fiduciary counsel for pension, health, welfare, vacation, and apprenticeship funds), Workers' Compensation (contingency representation of injured workers in Missouri and Illinois), and Probate & Estate Planning.

The firm's underlying technology stack is minimal and consistent with a traditional professional services practice: a WordPress website, Zoom for virtual consultations, and standard office operations. There is no proprietary platform, API, or AI tooling disclosed. Its go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on referrals from a stable network of union partners (including the International Union of Operating Engineers, UFCW Local 655, the Machinists, Unite Here!, IAF Local 73, and IBEW Local 1439), bar association lecture circuits (MATA, BAMSL, Missouri Bar), and BBB-accredited credibility signaling.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees: hourly and project-based fees for labor law and employee benefits matters, a contingency fee model capped at 25% in Missouri and 20% in Illinois for workers' compensation with no retainer or cost advance required, and standard estate planning/probate fee structures. The firm represents more than fifty employee benefit funds and six+ named labor unions, supplemented by a high-volume individual workers' compensation practice. No institutional ownership, parent company, funding rounds, or public listing exist; the firm is wholly partner-owned.

Name

Hammond & Shinners

Legal name

Hammond and Shinners, P.C.

Website

https://hammondshinners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hammond & Shinners is a St. Louis-based law firm founded in 1979 that represents labor unions, Taft-Hartley employee benefit funds, injured workers, and estate planning clients across Missouri and Illinois in labor law, ERISA/employee benefits, workers' compensation, and probate matters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor and Employee Benefits Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Labor law services
• Workers compensation representation
• Employee benefits law
• Taft-Hartley fund representation
• Probate estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Workers' Compensation: Workers' compensation claims handled on contingency fee basis with maximum fee of 25% in Missouri and 20% in Illinois. Clients are not required to pay a retainer nor advance costs of litigation except in unusual circumstances.
2. Legal Services - Labor & Employee Benefits: Representation of unions and Taft-Hartley employee benefit funds, including ERISA compliance, litigation, contract negotiations, and arbitration services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hammond & Shinners is a St. Louis-based law firm that delivers specialized legal services in labor law, employee benefits law, workers' compensation, and probate and estate planning. The firm represents labor unions, Taft-Hartley employee benefit funds, and injured workers in Missouri and Illinois, providing negotiation, arbitration, NLRB representation, litigation, and ERISA compliance services.

Product overview

Hammond & Shinners, P.C. is a law firm offering legal services as a unified practice rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The firm provides four interconnected legal service areas: Labor Law (representing unions in negotiations, arbitrations, NLRB matters, and litigation), Employee Benefits Law (representing Taft-Hartley employee benefit funds including pension, health, welfare, vacation, and apprenticeship funds), Workers Compensation (representing injured workers in Missouri and Illinois), and Probate and Estate Planning. These practice areas serve the firm's core clientele of working people, unions, and employee benefit funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Labor Law Legal representation for public and private sector unions in industries including construction, transportation, utility, and service; covers negotiation, arbitration, NLRB representation, and litigation for collective bargaining and union matters.
• Employee Benefits Law Legal representation for over fifty Taft-Hartley employee benefit funds covering pension, health, welfare, vacation, and apprenticeship funds; includes ERISA compliance, tax qualification, fiduciary responsibility, drafting plans and summary plan descriptions, contribution collection, and litigation.
• Workers Compensation Representation of injured workers in Missouri and Illinois workers' compensation claims; three specialized attorneys; no retainer or litigation cost advancement required; contingency fee capped at 25% in Missouri and 20% in Illinois.
• Probate and Estate Planning Legal services covering all aspects of probate practice including decedent's estates and guardianship estates, plus estate planning designed to avoid the need for probate upon death; handled by three attorneys (Richard Shinners, Bob Mandava, and Melissa McLaughlin).

Quantifiable outcome

• $4.2 million in backpay recovered in Service Employees International Union Local 2006 v. State of Missouri

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Union of Operating EngineerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUnion partner represented by firm for labor law matters including negotiations, arbitration, and NLRB representation
• UFCW Local 655coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFood and retail workers union partner represented by firm for labor law representation
• Association of Machinists and Aerospace WorkerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorManufacturing union partner represented for labor law matters including negotiations and arbitration
• Unite Here!coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHospitality workers union partner represented for labor law representation
• IAF Local 73coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorService employees union in St. Louis represented for labor law matters
• IBEW Local 1439coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorElectrical workers union in St. Louis represented for labor law matters

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Littler Mendelson P.C. World's largest labor and employment law firm with comprehensive workers' compensation, ERISA, and labor relations practices—representing a broader, more diversified scale competitor in overlapping service categories.
• Jackson Lewis P.C. Major national labor and employment firm with deep practices in workplace law, litigation, and benefits—competing for the same regional and institutional clients across overlapping service lines.
• Ogletree Deakins: One of the largest labor and employment law firms in the U.S., with extensive practices in NLRB representation, labor relations, and ERISA—offering broader geographic and resource reach across Hammond & Shinners' core service categories.
• Seyfarth Shaw LLP: AmLaw 100 firm with one of the largest labor and employment practices in the U.S., including substantial ERISA/employee benefits capabilities—an established incumbent in overlapping practice areas.
• Fisher Phillips: National labor and employment boutique with comprehensive workplace law capabilities, including traditional labor and employee benefits practices that overlap with Hammond & Shinners' service mix.

Regional players

• Polsinelli PC: Kansas City-headquartered AmLaw firm with a substantial St. Louis presence and an employee benefits/ERISA practice that competes for the same regional benefit fund and labor clients.
• Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner: St. Louis-headquartered global law firm with labor & employment and ERISA practices serving institutional clients in Missouri and Illinois—direct regional competitor for benefit fund and labor work.

Direct peers

• Bredhoff & Kaiser PLLC: Washington, DC-based law firm specializing in union-side labor law, ERISA, and Taft-Hartley employee benefit fund representation—the closest direct analog to Hammond & Shinners' core practice areas, with a comparable mission of representing working people and unions.
• Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP: National labor and employment law firm with practices spanning NLRB representation, benefits, and workplace litigation—a comparable mid-sized specialty firm competing for similar institutional and labor clients.
• Ford & Harrison LLP: Labor and employment specialty firm with practices in traditional labor law, ERISA, and workplace litigation—similar boutique-labor orientation to Hammond & Shinners though serving a broader geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HammondShinners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hammond-and-shinners-p.c.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Hammond & Shinners