First Utility
Combs Waterkotte is a privately-held criminal defense law firm representing individuals facing state and federal charges across Missouri and Illinois through six office locations and a digital-first intake model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersWarwick, United Kingdom
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What First Utility does
Combs Waterkotte is a privately-held criminal defense law firm providing state and federal legal representation to individuals across Missouri and Illinois. Founded by Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte, the firm operates from six office locations — St. Louis (headquarters), Clayton, Kansas City, and Branson in Missouri, plus Belleville and Chicago in Illinois — with five dedicated local phone lines and 24/7 intake availability. The practice covers criminal defense (felonies, misdemeanors, violent crimes, drug charges, sex crimes, gun charges, juvenile crimes, theft, probation violations), DWI/DUI defense across multiple charge scenarios, orders of protection defense, domestic violence defense, and federal crimes defense. The firm self-reports 15,000+ cumulative client cases, more than one million jail days prevented for clients, 500+ perfect Google reviews, and 60+ combined years of trial experience across the team. Revenue is generated through professional legal fees; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with free initial consultations and payment-plan options marketed to broaden access for individual defendants.
The firm's go-to-market is direct-to-consumer, emphasizing rapid response (15-minute average, 24-hour guaranteed response), free consultations, and multi-channel digital acquisition. Customer acquisition channels include a YouTube channel with hundreds of educational legal videos, a 'Defending Freedom' podcast, a blog with strategy content, free downloadable legal books on DWI/DUI, contesting orders of protection, and choosing an attorney, plus earned media features across Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, CNN, Washington Post, USA Today, New York Times, MSN News, Court TV, and AP News. The firm publicly positions against larger competitors by emphasizing personalized attention ('you are why we exist') versus being treated as 'just a desk file.'
The principal proprietary technology disclosed is an AI-powered chatbot trained on the firm's entire website content, deployed as a 24/7 intake and inquiry-handling tool. The firm has no disclosed parent company, no institutional investors, no funding history, and no public ticker. All sources supporting this description are attributable to a single first-party source (Combs Waterkotte website material).
First Utility firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- First Utility
- Legal name
- Combs Waterkotte
- Website
- https://first-utility.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Combs Waterkotte is a privately-held criminal defense law firm representing individuals facing state and federal charges across Missouri and Illinois through six office locations and a digital-first intake model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
First Utility industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Retail Energy Supply
- NAICS
- Utilities (221), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211)
- SIC
- Electric Services (4911), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Green Tariffs & Utility Renewable Supply Programs (EUAGADAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Regulated Natural Gas Utility (LDC) Customer Acquisition & Switching (EUAAADAA)
Keywords
Where First Utility is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Warwick
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
First Utility business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Legal Services - Professional Fees: The firm generates revenue through legal fees for criminal defense representation. The firm markets 'affordable payment options' and 'DWI Lawyer With Payment Plans,' suggesting flexible payment arrangements for clients. Initial consultations are offered at no cost to potential clients.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Other | Free initial consultation |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
First Utility product offering
Product offeringCore offering
First Utility is an independent UK energy supplier that provides gas and electricity services to residential customers, helping them save money on their energy bills. The company supplies energy directly to households across the United Kingdom as an alternative to the incumbent Big Six energy providers.
Product overview
Combs Waterkotte is a criminal defense law firm providing legal representation across Missouri and Illinois through a network of office locations. The firm operates as a single-service legal practice focused on criminal defense, offering specialized services in criminal defense (felonies, misdemeanors, violent crimes, drug charges, sex crimes, gun charges, juvenile crimes), DWI/DUI defense (multiple charge types), and orders of protection defense. Additional offerings include federal crimes defense and educational resources such as free legal books and video content. The firm also provides an AI chatbot for initial client inquiries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Gas and Electricity Supply Independent retail supply of gas and electricity to UK households, positioned to help customers reduce their energy bills through competitive pricing relative to incumbent suppliers.
Companies that use First Utility
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
First Utility technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
First Utility partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
First Utility competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- E.ON Next: UK retail brand of E.ON SE and one of the Big Six incumbent suppliers. Offers comparable gas and electricity supply, smart metering, and EV tariffs to UK residential customers, competing head-to-head with First Utility.
- Shell Energy Retail: UK retail energy arm of Shell plc, established through its 2017-2018 acquisition of First Utility. Direct retail energy competitor and, by corporate history, a successor entity to the subject of this profile; operates with a much larger parent balance sheet and customer book.
- EDF Energy: UK arm of French state-owned utility EDF and one of the Big Six incumbent energy suppliers. Offers comparable gas and electricity retail supply to UK residential and business customers, including low-carbon tariffs backed by its nuclear fleet.
- SSE plc (Energy Services): UK-listed integrated utility that sold its retail energy book to Ovo Energy in 2020. Historically comparable in size and structure to First Utility as a mid-tier UK retail supplier; now focused on networks and renewables.
- ScottishPower: UK subsidiary of Iberdrola and one of the Big Six. Direct competitor in UK retail electricity and gas supply, including renewable tariff offerings under the Iberdrola group's generation portfolio.
- British Gas (Centrica): Largest UK energy retailer by customer count, part of Centrica plc. Direct retail competitor to First Utility across residential gas, electricity, and home services, operating at materially greater scale across generation, services, and retail.
Direct peers
- Utilita: Smaller UK independent energy supplier focused on prepayment and smart-meter customers. Competes for similar value-conscious residential segments as First Utility, with comparable scale and independent ownership profile.
- Ovo Energy: Major UK independent energy supplier with overlapping residential customer base and similar challenger positioning. Recently expanded through acquisition of SSE Energy Services' retail book, making it a more direct scale competitor to First Utility.
- So Energy: Mid-sized UK independent challenger energy supplier, comparable in customer base, scale, and renewable tariff positioning to First Utility. Targets similar value-conscious residential customers and operates as a focused retail-only independent.
- Octopus Energy: One of the UK's largest independent renewable-focused energy retailers with a multi-million customer base. Direct comparable to First Utility in target market (UK residential), product (retail gas and electricity supply), and challenger positioning, but materially larger and tech-led.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks3 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
First Utility social profiles
Digital presenceFirst Utility financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
First Utility leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
First Utility funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
First Utility M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about First Utility
What does First Utility do?
First Utility is an independent UK energy supplier that provides gas and electricity services to residential customers, helping them save money on their energy bills. The company supplies energy directly to households across the United Kingdom as an alternative to the incumbent Big Six energy providers.
Is First Utility a public or private company?
First Utility is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was First Utility founded?
First Utility was founded in 2004. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is First Utility based?
First Utility is headquartered in Warwick, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does First Utility make money?
One revenue line is on record: legal Services - Professional Fees.
Who are First Utility's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are E.ON Next, Shell Energy Retail, EDF Energy, SSE plc (Energy Services), ScottishPower and British Gas (Centrica). Direct peers are Utilita, Ovo Energy, So Energy and Octopus Energy.
Does First Utility have an API?
No public API is recorded for First Utility.
What industry is First Utility in?
First Utility's product category is Retail Energy Supply. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAGADAJ, Green Tariffs & Utility Renewable Supply Programs, with a secondary code of EUAAADAA, Regulated Natural Gas Utility (LDC) Customer Acquisition & Switching. Its NAICS code is 221 and its SIC code is 4911.