Cowles And Thompson
Cowles & Thompson, P.C. is a privately-held, Dallas-based full-service law firm founded in 1978 serving Fortune 100 companies, middle-market businesses, financial institutions, and individuals across 26+ practice areas including commercial litigation, insurance defense, bankruptcy, employment, family, and corporate law throughout Texas and nationally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1978
- HeadquartersDallas, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Cowles And Thompson does
Cowles & Thompson, P.C. is a privately-held, full-service law firm founded in 1978 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with a second office in Plano. The firm operates across 26+ practice areas, with material concentrations in Commercial Litigation, Corporate and Business Law, Insurance Litigation, Tort Litigation, Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights, Employment Law, Construction Law, Family Law, Estate Planning, and Appellate Litigation. Its litigators have handled 20,000+ litigation matters, 500+ appellate matters, 3,800+ healthcare claims, and 1,000+ bankruptcy proceedings — including some of the largest in U.S. history — and it has worked with more than 60% of the Fortune 100 alongside middle-market companies, startups, financial institutions, and individual clients across the DFW region, Texas, and nationally.
The firm's revenue model is a professional services fee structure, billed primarily on hourly rates and fixed-fee engagements, with pricing varying by practice area, attorney seniority, and matter complexity (specific rates are not publicly disclosed). There is no technology platform or productized offering; the underlying 'product' is attorney time and judgment delivered through direct attorney-client engagements at the firm's two physical offices, supported by a content-marketing and thought-leadership engine (blogs, practice-area newsletters, and earned-media recognition). The firm is shareholder-owned under Managing Shareholder David J. Metzler, with no institutional investor, private equity, or venture capital involvement, and no parent company or acquisition history.
The go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven: enterprise and middle-market clients are acquired and retained via attorney reputation, peer referrals, and Chambers USA / Best Lawyers / Texas Super Lawyers / Martindale-Hubbell AV credentials (the firm has held Chambers USA Commercial Litigation honors for five consecutive years, 2022–2026). Distribution is purely direct — by phone, contact form, and professional referral — with no APIs, integrations, applications, or proprietary technology products in the offering. The customer base is horizontally segmented across enterprise (Fortune 100), middle-market, individuals, and financial institutions.
Cowles And Thompson firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cowles And Thompson
- Legal name
- Cowles & Thompson, P.C.
- Website
- https://cowlesthompson.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1978
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Cowles & Thompson, P.C. is a privately-held, Dallas-based full-service law firm founded in 1978 serving Fortune 100 companies, middle-market businesses, financial institutions, and individuals across 26+ practice areas including commercial litigation, insurance defense, bankruptcy, employment, family, and corporate law throughout Texas and nationally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cowles And Thompson industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Full-Service Legal Services
- NAICS
- Legal Services (5411)
- SIC
- Services-Legal Services (8111)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Corporate & Commercial Law (BPAHAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) & Securities Law (BPAHAAAI), Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)
Keywords
Where Cowles And Thompson is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dallas
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Cowles And Thompson business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Legal Services – Professional Fees: Revenue generated from legal representation services billed on an hourly rate or fixed-fee basis across all practice areas including litigation, corporate transactions, family law, employment law, bankruptcy, estate planning, and more.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Cowles And Thompson product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cowles & Thompson, P.C. is a full-service Dallas-based law firm providing legal representation across 24 distinct practice areas, including Commercial Litigation, Corporate and Business Law, Family Law, Employment Law, Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights, Construction Law, Insurance Litigation, Estate Planning, and Appellate Litigation. The firm serves Fortune 100 companies, middle-market businesses, financial institutions, and individuals through offices in Dallas and Plano, Texas, with engagement typically billed on hourly or fixed-fee arrangements.
Product overview
Cowles & Thompson, P.C. is a full-service law firm offering legal representation across 24 distinct practice areas. The firm's core service is legal counsel delivered through practice-specific teams including Commercial Litigation, Corporate and Business Law, Family Law, Employment Law, Construction Law, Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights, Insurance Litigation, Tort Litigation, Probate Litigation, Estate Planning, Appellate Litigation, and various specialized litigation areas. The firm serves clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 100 companies across Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and nationally. Established in 1978, the firm's practice areas work together to provide comprehensive legal representation with specialized expertise in each domain.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Commercial Litigation Full-service commercial litigation representation including contract disputes, business tort claims, complex multi-party litigation, construction litigation, intellectual property litigation, employment litigation, environmental law, and real estate disputes.
- Corporate and Business Law Business formation, mergers and acquisitions, disposition of assets, employment issues, and outside general counsel services for startups to Fortune 500 companies.
- Family Law Divorce, collaborative divorce, custody and visitation, property division, adoption, annulment, prenuptial agreements, and protective orders.
- Employment Law Labor and employment representation including hiring, policy drafting, employee discipline and termination, harassment, discrimination claims, wage/hour litigation, and defense of employment-related litigation.
- Construction Law Construction and development representation from project inception through completion, including contract negotiation, dispute resolution, and litigation for owners, developers, contractors, and subcontractors.
- Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Representation of debtors, creditors, trustees, and committees in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy matters, including creditor's rights and restructuring.
- Intellectual Property Trademark registration and enforcement, copyright registration, trade secret protection, and intellectual property litigation services.
- Insurance Litigation Coverage and insurance litigation representing property and casualty insurance companies, professional liability underwriters, and reinsurance companies in complex coverage and bad faith matters.
- Tort Litigation Defense of tort matters including automobile accidents, premises liability, product liability, wrongful death, and transportation/trucking suits.
- Probate Litigation Will contests, trust disputes, guardianship disputes, removal of executors and trustees, and heirship determinations.
- Estate Planning, Wills and Probate Wills, trusts, estate tax planning, trust administration, probate representation, and lifetime planning including living wills and powers of attorney.
Quantifiable outcome
- Chambers USA 2022-2026 Honoree – Commercial Litigation
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Cowles And Thompson
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cowles And Thompson technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Cowles And Thompson partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cowles And Thompson competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Thompson & Knight LLP: Historic Dallas-founded full-service firm (now part of Holland & Knight) with substantial overlap in energy, litigation, and corporate practices targeting Texas enterprise clients.
- Haynes and Boone, LLP: Large Dallas-based full-service firm with overlapping practice areas in commercial litigation, bankruptcy, corporate, employment, and insurance. Strong comparable on Chambers-recognized commercial litigation.
- Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP: Dallas-based full-service firm of similar mid-size scale, competing for middle-market corporate, litigation, and family-law engagements in the DFW market.
- Kane Russell Coleman Logan PC: Dallas-based full-service firm with comparable headcount and overlapping practice areas including commercial litigation, real estate, corporate, and bankruptcy.
- Brown Fox PLLC: Dallas mid-market full-service firm targeting similar middle-market and enterprise clients across litigation, corporate, employment, and family law.
- Locke Lord LLP: Dallas-rooted full-service firm competing across commercial litigation, insurance, real estate, and corporate — a natural peer on DFW enterprise and middle-market matters.
- Winstead PC: Dallas-based full-service firm with similar middle-market and Fortune corporate client mix, competing directly in commercial litigation, real estate, and corporate transactions.
- Jackson Walker LLP: Dallas-headquartered full-service law firm of comparable regional scale, serving Texas-based Fortune-rank corporates across litigation, corporate, real estate, and labor. Most direct head-to-head competitor for DFW enterprise clients.
Broad incumbents
- Baker Botts L.L.P. Major Texas-founded full-service firm with substantial Dallas presence; overlaps with Cowles Thompson on commercial litigation, energy, and corporate matters but operates at materially greater scale.
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP: Larger Dallas-headquartered global firm with significantly greater scale; competes for the same Fortune 100 mandates but offers broader geographic and practice reach.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cowles And Thompson social profiles
Digital presenceCowles And Thompson financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cowles And Thompson leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Cowles And Thompson funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cowles And Thompson 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 Cowles And Thompson
What does Cowles And Thompson do?
Cowles & Thompson, P.C. is a full-service Dallas-based law firm providing legal representation across 24 distinct practice areas, including Commercial Litigation, Corporate and Business Law, Family Law, Employment Law, Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights, Construction Law, Insurance Litigation, Estate Planning, and Appellate Litigation. The firm serves Fortune 100 companies, middle-market businesses, financial institutions, and individuals through offices in Dallas and Plano, Texas, with engagement typically billed on hourly or fixed-fee arrangements.
Is Cowles And Thompson a public or private company?
Cowles And Thompson is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Cowles And Thompson founded?
Cowles And Thompson was founded in 1978. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cowles And Thompson based?
Cowles And Thompson is headquartered in Dallas, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cowles And Thompson make money?
One revenue line is on record: legal Services – Professional Fees.
Who are Cowles And Thompson's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Thompson & Knight LLP, Haynes and Boone, LLP, Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP, Kane Russell Coleman Logan PC, Brown Fox PLLC, Locke Lord LLP, Winstead PC and Jackson Walker LLP. Broad incumbents are Baker Botts L.L.P. and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
Does Cowles And Thompson have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cowles And Thompson.
What industry is Cowles And Thompson in?
Cowles And Thompson's product category is Full-Service Legal Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAAAA, Corporate & Commercial Law, with a secondary code of BPAHAAAI, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) & Securities Law. Its NAICS code is 5411 and its SIC code is 8111.