Kinkead & Stilz

What Kinkead & Stilz does

Kinkead & Stilz, PLLC is a Kentucky-based professional services law firm founded in 1997 in Lexington by five founding members, including the Stilz family principals and Shelby Kinkead. The firm operates from five offices across the Commonwealth of Kentucky (Lexington headquarters, plus Ashland, Mount Sterling, Somerset, and Paintsville) and employs 30+ attorneys plus a Chief Financial Officer. Its practice is organized into six core areas — Business Law, Estate Planning, Litigation, Natural Resources, Real Estate, and Tax — with the litigation practice carrying particular depth in medical malpractice defense, civil rights defense, and trust and estate litigation.

The firm is differentiated by two wholly-owned subsidiaries: K & S General Exchange, LLC (a Qualified Intermediary for 1031 tax-deferred real property exchanges, established in 2004) and K&S Dispute Resolutions (KSDR), a mediation and arbitration service staffed by certified neutrals across 25+ practice areas. The tax practice also operates an in-house tax preparation department that prepares nearly 500 returns annually across individual, pass-through, fiduciary, corporate, federal estate, Kentucky inheritance, and non-profit return types — an unusual integration of legal and tax service delivery within a single firm.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees (hourly and alternative fee arrangements for legal work), per-return tax preparation fees, and transaction fees from 1031 exchange referrals sourced from accountants, financial institutions, and attorneys throughout Central Kentucky. Go-to-market is relationship-driven and community-embedded, relying on direct attorney engagement across office locations, CLE programming, civic partnerships (e.g., God's Pantry Food Bank), bar association involvement, and earned-media recognition (Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent). The firm is privately held with member-attorney ownership and no external investors or parent company.

Name

Kinkead & Stilz

Legal name

Kinkead & Stilz, PLLC

Website

https://ksattorneys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Kinkead & Stilz is a Lexington, Kentucky-based law firm founded in 1997 with 30+ attorneys across five offices, serving healthcare providers, businesses, families, government entities, and financial institutions with legal services spanning litigation, estate planning, business, real estate, natural resources, and tax.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Primary revenue from professional legal services across business law, estate planning, litigation, natural resources, real estate, and tax practice areas. Fee arrangements include hourly, alternative fee arrangements, and 1031 Qualified Intermediary services through K & S General Exchange, LLC.
2. Tax Preparation Fees: Revenue from preparing approximately 500 tax returns per year across individual, partnership, S-corporation, fiduciary, corporate, federal estate, Kentucky inheritance, and non-profit tax returns.
3. 1031 Qualified Intermediary Fees: Revenue from K & S General Exchange, LLC acting as Qualified Intermediary for 1031 tax-deferred exchanges and reverse exchanges, established in 2004.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Kinkead & Stilz is a Kentucky-based professional law firm delivering legal counsel across six practice areas: Business Law, Estate Planning, Litigation, Natural Resources, Real Estate, and Tax. It also operates K & S General Exchange, LLC (a Qualified Intermediary for 1031 tax-deferred exchanges) and K&S Dispute Resolutions, an in-house mediation and arbitration service, plus an in-house tax preparation department handling roughly 500 returns annually.

Product overview

Kinkead & Stilz (K&S) is a single professional services firm offering legal counsel organized into six core practice areas — Business Law, Estate Planning, Litigation, Natural Resources, Real Estate, and Tax — each of which is broken out into named sub-practice areas (e.g., Medical Malpractice Defense, Construction Litigation, Probate/Estate and Trust Administration, Tax Preparation) that together constitute the firm's portfolio of service offerings. Layered on top of these practice areas are two specialized affiliate/branded services: K & S General Exchange, LLC (a Qualified Intermediary for 1031 tax-deferred exchanges) and K&S Dispute Resolutions (KSDR), which provides certified mediation and arbitration services across more than 25 subject-matter areas. The firm also operates a Tax Preparation service that prepares roughly 500 returns per year across individual, pass-through, fiduciary, corporate, estate, inheritance, and non-profit return types. No software product, SaaS platform, or technology product is offered; all offerings are professional legal services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• K&S Dispute Resolutions (KSDR): The firm's certified mediation and arbitration services division, with mediators handling matters across numerous legal areas including personal injury, insurance, business, employment, healthcare, equine, construction, and more.
• K & S General Exchange, LLC

Products and services

• Business Law Practice Area Full-service business law offering covering business financing and restructuring, business formation/dissolution, buy/sell agreements and succession planning, employment and non-competition agreements, equine law, general business consulting, and the purchase and sale of business interests, for closely-held businesses and business owners.
• Estate Planning Practice Area Estate planning practice covering estate tax and Kentucky inheritance tax planning, powers of attorney and advance directives, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, probate/estate and trust administration, and wills and trusts, for individuals, couples, blended families, and families with special-needs beneficiaries.
• Litigation Practice Area Broad litigation practice offering arbitration, board and licensure defense, civil rights litigation, commercial litigation, construction litigation, employment litigation, mediation, medical malpractice defense, nursing home defense, professional negligence and legal ethics, real estate litigation, trust and estate litigation, and workers' compensation, for healthcare providers, businesses, individuals, and government entities.
• Natural Resources Practice Area Specialized natural resources practice focused on Kentucky's coal, oil, gas, and timber law, covering disputes, transactional work, and administrative and appellate representation in circuit and federal courts.
• Real Estate Practice Area Real estate practice covering 1031 exchanges, commercial leasing, construction litigation, real estate litigation, transactions and financing, and zoning and development, for commercial and residential real estate developers, landowners, landlords, and tenants.
• Tax Practice Area Tax practice offering tax litigation, controversy, and audit support, tax planning, and tax preparation services. Prepares nearly 500 tax returns annually covering individual, pass-through, fiduciary, corporate, federal estate, Kentucky inheritance, and non-profit returns.
• Tax Preparation Service Annual tax preparation service preparing nearly 500 returns covering individual income tax, pass-through entities (partnerships and S corporations), fiduciary income tax, corporate income tax, federal estate tax, Kentucky inheritance tax, and non-profit informational returns (990, 990-EZ, 990-T, 990-N).
• 1031 Exchange Service 1031 tax-deferred exchange support, including standard and reverse exchanges, with a 45-day identification window and 180-day closing window for replacement property, provided through K & S General Exchange, LLC.
• K&S Dispute Resolutions (KSDR) Mediation and Arbitration Service Alternative dispute resolution service offering certified mediators and arbitrators with experience on both sides of the bar, handling mediation and arbitration across 25+ practice areas including Personal Injury, Insurance, Business, Commercial, Employment, Healthcare, Construction, Equine, and Trust & Estate disputes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Defense verdict in $10M+ Perry County medical malpractice case (11-1 jury verdicts on standard of care)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered ongoing professional association relationship supporting cle programming and legal community engagement., community event partnership supporting estate planning education and lead generation among prospective clients., community-level partnership; ongoing annual summer food drive and volunteer initiative supporting brand visibility in central and eastern kentucky., flagship integration; expanded the firm into eastern kentucky and added four attorneys (kenneth williams jr., david f. latherow, geoffrey d. marsh, dustin c. haley) plus the ashland office. and wholly-owned subsidiary of kinkead & stilz established in 2004 to act as qualified intermediary for 1031 tax-deferred exchanges..

• Fayette County Bar Association (FCBA)ongoing professional association relationship supporting cle programming and legal community engagement.GTM or Marketing Partner · 11 June 2026Kinkead & Stilz attorney Bethany Breeze Davenport co-developed a pre-recorded CLE on Kentucky Senate Bill 50 with Abby Schuler of TrueGuarnieriAyer, LLP, hosted by the Fayette County Bar Association (FCBA). The CLE provides comprehensive materials on the legal impact of Senate Bill 50 (effective July 14, 2026).
• Legacy @ Lafayette (Phoenix Senior Living)community event partnership supporting estate planning education and lead generation among prospective clients.GTM or Marketing Partner · 11 June 2026Kinkead & Stilz participated in the Legacy @ Lafayette workshop on June 11, 2026, providing legal insights on Kentucky Senate Bill 50 alongside Merrill Lynch advisor Julio Levisohn and other presenters. Bethany Breeze Davenport led a deep dive on self-proving electronic wills, blended family inheritance structures, and simplified probate bypass for vehicles.
• God's Pantry Food Bankcommunity-level partnership; ongoing annual summer food drive and volunteer initiative supporting brand visibility in central and eastern kentucky.GTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2026Kinkead & Stilz partners with God's Pantry Food Bank in Lexington to fight food insecurity across Central and Eastern Kentucky. The firm conducts an annual summer food drive, fundraising campaign, and on-site volunteer day at God's Pantry's Lexington warehouse. The 2026 volunteer day is scheduled for July 23, 2026. Barry Stilz is quoted as a spokesperson.
• Williams, Hall & Latherowflagship integration; expanded the firm into eastern kentucky and added four attorneys (kenneth williams jr., david f. latherow, geoffrey d. marsh, dustin c. haley) plus the ashland office.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Effective September 1, 2024, Williams, Hall & Latherow — an Ashland, Kentucky based law firm specializing in insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, employment law, civil rights defense, and nursing home defense — merged into Kinkead & Stilz. The transaction added four attorneys and the firm's Ashland office, expanding K&S's geographic reach into Eastern Kentucky and significantly bolstering its medical malpractice and civil rights defense bench.
• K & S General Exchange, LLCwholly-owned subsidiary of kinkead & stilz established in 2004 to act as qualified intermediary for 1031 tax-deferred exchanges.OEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2004Wholly-owned subsidiary established in 2004 to serve as a Qualified Intermediary (QI) in 1031 tax-deferred real property exchanges. Receives referrals from accountants, financial institutions, and attorneys throughout Central Kentucky. Handles both standard and reverse 1031 exchanges. The firm is precluded from acting as QI for any entity or individual it has represented in the prior 24 months.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• McBrayer PLLC: Kentucky-based law firm with comparable practice breadth including business law, litigation, estate planning, and healthcare. Closely matched in size, Kentucky focus, and full-service professional services positioning.
• Dinsmore & Shohl LLP: Cincinnati-based regional firm with significant Kentucky offices and overlapping business, litigation, healthcare, and tax practices. Comparable as a multi-office regional competitor chasing similar Kentucky enterprise and middle-market clients.
• Frost Brown Todd: Multi-state regional law firm with a strong Kentucky (Lexington, Louisville) presence and similarly diversified business, litigation, real estate, and tax practices. Comparable as a Kentucky-anchored full-service competitor pursuing both organic and lateral growth.
• Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC: Kentucky-headquartered regional law firm with comparable full-service business, litigation, real estate, and estate planning offerings. Both serve Kentucky-based healthcare, financial, and public-sector clients with similar professional service positioning.
• Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP: Kentucky-headquartered regional firm with overlapping business law, litigation, healthcare, and real estate practice groups serving clients across Kentucky and the broader Midwest. Direct comparable in scale and Kentucky-centric footprint.
• Boehl Stopher & Graves, LLP: Kentucky-based regional firm with directly overlapping business, real estate, litigation, estate planning, and tax practices. Competes for similar Kentucky enterprise and individual clients at comparable scale.

Broad incumbents

• Dentons: Global law firm with a sizable Kentucky presence offering the full range of corporate, litigation, tax, and real estate services. Competes for the same Fortune 500, healthcare, and government clients K&S serves, but at far greater scale and geographic reach.

Regional players

• Reminger Co., LPA: Regional defense firm with a strong medical malpractice, nursing home, and professional liability practice across Ohio, Kentucky, and adjacent states. Directly comparable for the medical malpractice defense segment where K&S has concentrated expertise.
• Jackson Kelly PLLC: Regional law firm headquartered in West Virginia with overlapping litigation, healthcare, and natural resources practices serving Kentucky and adjacent states. Comparable practice mix with a focus on Appalachian-region clients similar to K&S's Eastern Kentucky book.

Emerging players

• Ogletree Deakins: Larger but selective national firm with deep employment law and litigation practices extending into Kentucky. Comparable for civil rights, employment, and healthcare defense work K&S performs for institutional clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KinkeadandStilz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Kinkead & Stilz