Weld Riley, S.C.

What Weld Riley, S.C. does

Weld Riley, S.C. is a Wisconsin-domiciled regional law firm founded in 1978 as a branch office of a Milwaukee firm and formally incorporated in 1991 as Weld Riley, Prenn & Ricci, S.C. (renamed to its current form in 2016). The firm operates across five offices in northwestern and north central Wisconsin (Eau Claire, Menomonie, Black River Falls, Wausau, and Tomahawk) and employs 30+ attorneys practicing in labor and employment, business and corporate law, municipal law, school law, frac sand/mining and minerals, environmental law, banking and creditors' rights, civil litigation, criminal defense, estate planning, family law, real estate, and insurance defense. Its client base spans individuals, businesses, cooperatives, K-12 school districts and colleges, municipalities, and Fortune 100 mining and energy companies, with the firm serving approximately 90 K-12 school districts, 100+ municipalities, and one-fourth of Wisconsin school districts and one-third of Wisconsin counties.

The firm derives revenue almost exclusively from traditional professional-services billing: hourly rates, fixed fees for specific matters, and contingency arrangements for certain litigation, supplemented by a minor 1% administrative fee on online payments processed through LawPay. Distribution is direct and office-based, with no digital customer-acquisition channel beyond the firm's website, blog (The Weld Report), and basic online intake/payment forms. Marketing relies on content, community involvement, social media, and professional referrals rather than outbound sales.

Weld Riley is a private, partner-owned Wisconsin service corporation with no parent company, no external investors, and no funding rounds. Its principal strategic differentiators are its founding-membership status in the Wisconsin Mining Association, its deep embedded relationships with Wisconsin public-sector clients, its AV Preeminent Martindale-Hubbell rating, and long-tenured recognition in Best Lawyers in America and Wisconsin Super Lawyers. Recent strategic activity has centered on geographic expansion (opening its fifth office in Tomahawk in 2025), recruitment of lateral attorneys across multiple practice areas, and legislative engagement (notably Senate Bill 235, signed August 2025).

Name

Weld Riley, S.C.

Legal name

Weld Riley, S.C.

Website

https://weldriley.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Weld Riley, S.C. is a Wisconsin regional law firm with 30+ attorneys across five offices, serving municipalities, school districts, businesses, mining companies, and individuals in labor/employment, municipal, school, mining, and business law.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Business law
• Municipal law
• Labor employment law
• Estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Eau Claire

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Billing: Traditional law firm billing for legal services including hourly rates, fixed fees for specific matters, and contingency arrangements for certain litigation cases.
2. Online Payment Processing: Partnered with LawPay to accept online payments from clients with 1% administrative fee applied to balances due.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Weld Riley, S.C. is a Wisconsin-based regional law firm that provides full-service legal representation across multiple practice areas, including labor and employment, business and corporate law, estate planning, municipal law, frac sand/mining, environmental law, banking, civil litigation, school law, criminal defense, and family law. The firm operates through five office locations in northwestern and north central Wisconsin, serving individuals, businesses, government entities, municipalities, school districts, and cooperatives.

Product overview

Weld Riley, S.C. is a Wisconsin-based regional law firm offering a comprehensive suite of legal services through a multi-practice area model. The firm operates as a unified full-service legal platform rather than a single product, with distinct practice area modules covering Business & Corporate Law, Labor & Employment, Civil Litigation, Municipal/Government Law, Family Law, Criminal Defense, Real Estate, Probate & Estate Planning, and specialized areas like Frac Sand/Mining, School Law, and Insurance Defense. The firm has offices in Eau Claire, Menomonie, Black River Falls, Wausau, and Tomahawk, Wisconsin, and also provides legal knowledge resources through The Weld Report blog. Online client services include payment processing via LawPay and digital client intake forms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Labor & Employment Law Employer representation in labor and employment matters including collective bargaining, discrimination claims, wage issues, FMLA, OSHA, unemployment compensation, and unfair labor practices. Serves employers seeking defense and counsel in west and north central Wisconsin.
• Business & Corporate Law Full-service business legal counsel including entity formation, commercial financing, contracts, tax matters, business succession planning, and trademark/copyright registration for businesses and individuals.
• Municipal Law Governmental legal representation for cities, villages, towns, school districts, counties, and special municipal districts including legislation drafting, zoning, land use, public records matters, and municipal labor relations throughout northwestern Wisconsin.
• School Law Legal counsel for K-12 school districts, colleges, and CESAs covering employment issues, real estate, vendor contracts, conflicts of interest, open meetings, public records, student discipline, Title IX, special education, and school financing.
• Frac Sand, Mining & Minerals Law Legal representation for frac sand, gravel, and other metallic/non-metallic mining industries including zoning permits, regulatory compliance, DNR representation, environmental compliance, mining development agreements, and acquisitions.
• Civil Litigation Trial and appellate litigation services for individuals, businesses, cooperatives, school districts, and municipalities in commercial disputes, insurance defense, and employment defense matters.
• Probate & Estate Planning Estate planning, probate, and elder law services including wills, powers of attorney, revocable living trusts, estate tax planning, and Medicaid planning for individual clients.
• Divorce & Family Law Family law services including divorce, legal separation, adoption, child custody and placement, child support, spousal maintenance, and prenuptial agreements for individual clients.
• Criminal Defense Criminal defense representation including OWI/DUI, homicide, sexual assault, drug offenses, theft, and domestic violence matters with extensive jury trial experience for individual clients.
• Personal Injury Representation for accident victims in motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, and product liability claims for individual clients.
• Real Estate Law Commercial and residential real estate legal services including purchase, sale, leasing, financing, acquisitions, property development, and construction agreements.
• Banking & Financial Services Legal representation for banks, credit unions, and financial institutions in secured/unsecured credit agreements, commercial real estate financing, tax-exempt bond financing, and loan work-outs.
• Cooperative Law Legal advice for cooperative businesses including electric cooperatives, telecommunications cooperatives, credit unions, agricultural supply cooperatives, and food cooperatives covering formation, governance, mergers, acquisitions, lending, collections, real estate, taxation, and labor and employment matters.
• Administrative & Environmental Law Legal representation for individuals and businesses with permits, compliance matters, and administrative proceedings related to heavy industry including metallic and nonmetallic mining, biodiesel, ethanol, and petroleum industries.
• Insurance Defense Insurance defense litigation and administrative proceedings for insurance carriers and policyholders in personal injury, property damage, and workers' compensation claims.
• Bankruptcy, Creditor Rights & Insolvency Creditor representation in mortgage foreclosures, collections, garnishments, levies, and bankruptcy proceedings with focus on maximizing recovery and minimizing losses.
• Adoption Services Legal counsel for families, agencies, and pregnant women in stepparent/relative adoptions and agency adoptions including domestic and international placements.
• Mediation Services Civil mediation services using neutral third-party mediators to pursue agreeable dispute resolutions, minimizing financial and emotional burdens of trials for individuals and organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving approximately 90 K-12 school districts and 100+ municipalities
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• LawPayminorOthersWeld Riley partners with LawPay, an online payment processing solution specifically designed for law firms, to accept online payments from clients. The partnership ensures secure transactions and protects client trust accounts with a 1% administrative fee on online transactions.
• Wisconsin Association of Campground Owners (WACO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeld Riley serves as legal counsel for WACO and played a key role in drafting and passing Senate Bill 235, which clarifies Wisconsin law regarding campers as non-tenants. Attorneys Mark Hazelbaker and Anders Helquist collaborated on this legislation.
• Wisconsin Mining AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeld Riley is a founding member of the Wisconsin Mining Association, providing specialized frac sand and mining legal services throughout the state.
• UnitedHealthcareminorOthersUnitedHealthcare creates and publishes machine-readable transparency-in-coverage files on behalf of Weld Riley, S.C. as part of healthcare benefit administration.
• Wisconsin School Attorneys AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeld Riley attorneys, including Stephen Weld, are active members and former leadership in the Wisconsin School Attorneys Association, serving approximately 90 K-12 school districts.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Michael Best & Friedrich: Wisconsin-headquartered full-service law firm with comparable breadth across labor & employment, business, and government-related practices. Closest scale and geographic match to Weld Riley among Wisconsin firms.
• Davis|Kuelthau: Wisconsin-based full-service law firm serving businesses, municipalities, and individuals with comparable labor/employment, school law, and corporate practices. Similar size and regional positioning.
• Boardman & Clark: Madison-based regional law firm with strong school law, municipal, and labor/employment practices. Closest direct competitor in the Wisconsin school-district legal services market.
• O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing: Milwaukee-based full-service law firm with similar practice breadth across business, labor, real estate, and litigation. Comparable mid-market regional positioning in Wisconsin.

Broad incumbents

• Quarles & Brady: Major Wisconsin-based full-service law firm with overlapping labor/employment, municipal, and business practices. Significantly larger scale (national footprint), but competes for similar Wisconsin enterprise and government clients.
• Godfrey & Kahn: Wisconsin-based full-service business law firm with strong corporate, banking, and government practices. Comparable client mix in Wisconsin, with greater scale and Madison/Milwaukee concentration.
• von Briesen & Roper: Wisconsin-headquartered law firm serving businesses, municipalities, and individuals across the state. Comparable multi-practice regional model with overlapping municipal and school law work.
• Husch Blackwell: Midwest-rooted law firm with major operations in Wisconsin and significant labor/employment, school law, and mining/energy practices. Competes for the same enterprise and government clients across the upper Midwest.
• Foley & Lardner: Milwaukee-headquartered national law firm with strong government, education, and labor practices. Represents a scaled competitor for the same Wisconsin institutional and municipal clients.

Regional players

• Mallery & Zimmerman: Wisconsin-based law firm whose Wausau branch merged into Weld Riley. Operates in overlapping practice areas and geographies; relevant as a peer via shared client base and post-merger relationship.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/steve-weld-41756811

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 Weld Riley, S.C.