What Kastner Westman and Wilkins does

Kastner Westman & Wilkins, LLC (KWW) is a privately held boutique law firm founded in January 2000 by six partners in Akron, Ohio, that represents employers exclusively across the full spectrum of labor and employment law. The firm operates two Ohio offices (Akron as primary headquarters; Cleveland opened May 2026 in the Keith Building on Playhouse Square) and is staffed by approximately 22 attorneys and legal professionals, including shareholders, a shareholder emeritus, associates, senior counsel, law clerks, and paralegals. Service revenue is generated through professional fee-for-service engagements, supplemented by paid recurring training programs (HR InsideOut in-person workshops, HR ShopTalk virtual sessions, and Rise & Learn) priced at $150 per attendee per session with SHRM and HRCI credit pre-approval.

The firm delivers seven practice areas — Employee Benefits, Employment Law Counseling, Employment Litigation, Equal Employment Opportunity, Labor, Workers' Compensation, and Workforce Management — plus a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion offering and the training product line. It serves nine industry verticals (chemical and polymer, construction trades, government, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and distribution, non-profit management, professional services, and retail) across Ohio and the broader Midwest, with documented experience in collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, EEOC and NLRB defense, ADA and FMLA administration, wage and hour compliance, and workers' compensation defense at the Industrial Commission level. The firm holds no proprietary software platform; its primary intellectual capital is the OSBA Certified Specialist credentials held by multiple attorneys (out of approximately 110 statewide) and senior government and in-house counsel experience on the team.

KWW's go-to-market is sales-led and referral-driven, anchored by thought leadership through its KWW News legal blog, periodic email updates, in-person and virtual training events, and active participation in Ohio SHRM, the Akron Bar Association, Leadership Akron, and University of Akron School of Law programming. The firm is entirely owned and controlled by its attorney-shareholders with no disclosed outside investors, no subsidiaries, and no funding history. Strategic direction in recent years has centered on a managed leadership succession (James P. Wilkins to Shareholder Emeritus; John W. McKenzie as Managing Shareholder in 2024), selective bench-building, and the Cleveland expansion intended to capture the larger Cleveland enterprise market.

Name

Kastner Westman and Wilkins

Legal name

Kastner Westman & Wilkins, LLC

Website

https://kwwlaborlaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kastner Westman & Wilkins is a 22-person boutique law firm founded in 2000 that represents employers exclusively in labor and employment law across Ohio, operating from Akron and Cleveland headquarters and serving nine industry verticals including manufacturing, healthcare, government, and chemical and polymer companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services — Labor and Employment Law

NAICS

Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Labor and employment law
• Employer legal counsel
• Employment litigation defense
• Workers compensation defense
• HR compliance training

Headquarters

HQ city

Akron

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: KWW generates revenue by providing legal counsel and representation to employers in labor and employment law matters. Revenue is earned through professional service fees including litigation, counseling, training, and related legal services to employer clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kastner Westman & Wilkins is a boutique labor and employment law firm that represents employers exclusively in the full range of workplace legal issues, including labor and employment law, workers' compensation, and employee benefits. The firm delivers preventive counseling, litigation defense, labor negotiations, grievance arbitration, EEOC/NLRB representation, and workforce management training across seven practice areas and nine industry verticals, primarily in Ohio.

Product overview

Kastner Westman & Wilkins is a boutique labor and employment law firm that provides comprehensive legal services to employers. The firm offers seven core practice areas: Employee Benefits, Employment Law Counseling, Employment Litigation, Equal Employment Opportunity, Labor, Workers' Compensation, and Workforce Management. Additionally, the firm provides Diversity, Equity & Inclusion counseling and hosts training programs including HR InsideOut (in-person sessions) and HR ShopTalk (virtual sessions). The firm does not offer a software product but rather legal services, training, and counsel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Employee Benefits Legal counsel on employee benefit and tax matters for employers, including qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, pension programs, executive incentive plans, ACA compliance, welfare benefit plans, and ERISA litigation.
• Employment Law Counseling Preventive legal counseling for employers covering policies, procedures, handbooks, employment agreements, non-compete agreements, workplace investigations, OSHA compliance, wage and hour matters, and employment-related immigration.
• Employment Litigation Representation of management in employment-related lawsuits, including discrimination claims, trade secret/non-compete litigation, class and collective actions, and alternative dispute resolution in state and federal courts.
• Equal Employment Opportunity Defense of discrimination and retaliation charges before the EEOC and state agencies, leave management under ADA, FMLA, and workers' compensation, and affirmative action compliance for federal contractors.
• Labor Comprehensive labor relations services for employers, including collective bargaining negotiations, strike preparation, grievance arbitration, union avoidance strategies, NLRB proceedings, and public sector labor relations.
• Workers' Compensation Defense of workers' compensation claims for employers, including safety program development, claims management, Industrial Commission hearings, state court appeals, and coordination with ADA, FMLA, and OSHA requirements.
• Workforce Management Day-to-day HR counseling, employment practices audits, policy and handbook development, and Rise & Learn training programs for HR professionals on workplace issues.
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion DE&I counseling, training programs, and internal initiatives for employers, including conversations about equity, community outreach, and professional organization sponsorships.
• HR InsideOut In-person two-hour interactive training sessions for HR and legal professionals on advanced workplace issues, pre-approved for SHRM and HRCI credit hours.
• HR ShopTalk Virtual one-hour express training sessions for HR professionals on timely workplace topics, approved for SHRM and HRCI credit.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple attorneys recognized by Best Lawyers in America since 2019; five attorneys named to Best Lawyers 2026 edition.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Littler Mendelson: The largest U.S. labor and employment law firm with 1,600+ attorneys globally, representing employers exclusively. KWW competes for the same employer-side labor and employment mandates but at vastly smaller scale and with a strictly Ohio footprint.
• Seyfarth Shaw: Large AmLaw firm with a top-ranked labor and employment practice group serving employers nationally. Overlaps with KWW on wage and hour class actions, workplace investigations, and EEOC defense, but at materially larger scale and broader service portfolio.
• Fisher Phillips: National labor and employment firm exclusively representing employers. Direct competitor to KWW's management-side practice across traditional labor, employment litigation, and HR compliance work, with a multi-state footprint that targets the same Ohio corporate clients.
• Jackson Lewis: One of the largest U.S. management-side labor and employment firms with offices nationwide. Direct overlap with KWW on employer-side workplace law, preventive counseling, and litigation defense, though Jackson Lewis offers national reach KWW cannot match.
• Ogletree Deakins: Major national labor and employment law firm focused on employers. Competes with KWW for Ohio-based employer mandates involving OSHA, FLSA, NLRB, and EEOC matters, with significantly greater geographic coverage and headcount.

Regional players

• Benesch: Cleveland-headquartered full-service law firm with a substantial labor and employment practice group representing Ohio employers. Most direct regional competitor to KWW in the Northeast Ohio market, with comparable public-sector and private-sector client base.
• Roetzel & Andress: Akron-headquartered full-service law firm with a labor and employment practice serving Ohio and Florida employers. Direct hometown competitor to KWW in the Akron market with overlapping public and private sector client base.
• Ulmer & Berne: Cleveland-based full-service firm with a labor and employment practice serving Ohio employers. Competes with KWW for the same Northeast Ohio employer clients across employment counseling, litigation, and traditional labor matters.
• Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease: Ohio-based full-service firm with one of the state's largest labor and employment practices. Competes with KWW for Ohio employer mandates across traditional labor, employment litigation, and HR compliance, with broader geographic and practice coverage.
• Bricker & Eckler: Columbus-based full-service firm with a robust employment and labor practice serving Ohio employers, public sector entities, and school districts. Competes with KWW on public-sector collective bargaining and education-sector employment matters statewide.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 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 Kastner Westman and Wilkins