Boutwell Fay

What Boutwell Fay does

Boutwell Fay LLP is a U.S. limited liability partnership founded in 1994 and headquartered in Irvine, California, with additional offices in New York and Seattle. The firm is a niche ERISA and employee benefits law practice serving plan sponsors — employers and organizations that sponsor qualified retirement plans, health and welfare benefit plans, and executive compensation arrangements. The firm's client work is concentrated in regulatory compliance advisory, fiduciary defense, plan corrections under EPCRS, IRS/DOL/PBGC enforcement representation, and employee benefits issues arising in mergers and acquisitions. Coverage is federal, with the firm holding itself out as practicing in all 50 states.

The firm's "product" is professional legal services delivered through attorneys with specialized regulatory expertise rather than a software platform; no proprietary technology, API, or integrations are disclosed. It practices across roughly a dozen service areas, including qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, health and welfare/HIPAA/COBRA/ACA/fringe benefits, plan mistakes and corrections, employee benefits in M&A, IRS/DOL/PBGC enforcement defense, contracts and benefit claims/QDROs, benefits for tax-exempt and governmental organizations, fiduciary duties and governance, and executive compensation/stock option/incentive plans. Underlying "technology" is regulatory fluency plus a library of educational resources (FAQs, annual retirement and health plan limits, glossary, archived webinars and articles).

Boutwell Fay operates a sales-led, expertise-driven go-to-market. Demand generation is built on thought leadership content — an active blog, articles published in the Journal of Pension Benefits, recurring webinars, IFEBP teaching engagements, and LinkedIn/mailing list distribution — rather than self-serve or product-led motion. Revenue is generated through direct legal service engagements with plan sponsor clients, billed under customary professional services pricing; pricing is not publicly disclosed, and the firm maintains no disclosed revenue, ARR, or funding. The firm is privately held by its partners, with no parent, PE, or VC ownership indicated.

Name

Boutwell Fay

Legal name

Boutwell Fay LLP

Website

https://boutwellfay.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Boutwell Fay LLP is a U.S. ERISA and employee benefits law firm founded in 1994, serving plan sponsors with compliance, fiduciary defense, plan correction, and M&A benefits advisory across offices in Irvine, New York, and Seattle.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 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 - ERISA & Employee Benefits Counsel: Boutwell Fay LLP generates revenue through providing legal counsel and advisory services to plan sponsors on ERISA compliance, fiduciary defense, and employee benefits matters. The firm serves as national ERISA & Employee Benefits Counsel with specialization in plan sponsor compliance and fiduciary defense. Services cover qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, plan corrections, government audits, executive compensation, and M&A employee benefits issues.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Boutwell Fay LLP is a nationally recognized law firm providing ERISA and employee benefits legal counsel to plan sponsors and employers. The firm delivers specialized legal services across qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, plan corrections, government audits, fiduciary defense, executive compensation, and employee benefits matters in mergers and acquisitions.

Product overview

Boutwell Fay LLP is a nationally recognized ERISA and employee benefits law firm providing legal services. The firm does not offer a software product or platform; instead, it provides legal counsel across multiple service areas including qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, plan corrections and government audits, M&A employee benefits, IRS/DOL/PBGC enforcement defense, fiduciary duties and governance, and executive compensation. The practice areas function as distinct legal service offerings rather than modular software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Qualified and Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Groom Law Group: One of the most prominent boutique ERISA and employee-benefits law firms in the U.S., serving plan sponsors on retirement, health and welfare, fiduciary, and tax-exempt plan matters — a direct head-to-head competitor to Boutwell Fay in the same niche.
• Wagner Law Group: Boutique ERISA, employee benefits, and executive compensation firm with a national practice. Closely comparable to Boutwell Fay in size, specialization, and plan-sponsor focus.
• Miller & Chevalier Chartered: Washington, D.C.-based law firm with a deep ERISA and employee-benefits practice advising on retirement plans, fiduciary issues, and benefits tax matters — a closely matched direct peer for Boutwell Fay's plan-sponsor client base.

Broad incumbents

• Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath: Large national full-service firm with a sizable employee-benefits and ERISA practice group. Competes for the same plan-sponsor mandates Boutwell Fay targets, but offers a much broader corporate, tax, and litigation platform.
• Vedder Price: National law firm with a recognized employee-benefits and executive-compensation practice serving plan sponsors. Comparable to Boutwell Fay's practice areas but operating as a broader full-service firm.
• Seyfarth Shaw: Large full-service firm with a deep employee-benefits group advising on ERISA compliance, plan design, and benefits disputes. Targets overlapping plan-sponsor clients from a much larger institutional base.
• Morgan, Lewis & Bockius: Global law firm with one of the largest ERISA and benefits practices in the country. Represents the upper bound of the competitive set Boutwell Fay faces for mid-to-large plan-sponsor engagements.
• Katten Muchin Rosenman: National full-service firm with a strong employee-benefits and fiduciary practice, competing for plan-sponsor work that Boutwell Fay also pursues, but with a deeper bench across adjacent practice areas.
• Davis Wright Tremaine: National law firm with a well-regarded employee-benefits and ERISA practice, including retirement, health and welfare, and fiduciary work — directly comparable practice scope to Boutwell Fay's offerings.
• McDermott Will & Emery: Global full-service firm with a top-tier employee-benefits practice that regularly handles ERISA litigation, fiduciary matters, and benefits M&A — competing for the same high-stakes plan-sponsor mandates as Boutwell Fay.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/boutwell-fay-llp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Boutwell Fay