O'Connor and Associates

What O'Connor and Associates does

O'Connor and Associates is a privately held boutique law firm headquartered at 1 Embarcadero Center, Suite 1200, San Francisco, California, founded in 2006 by John D. O'Connor after decades of managing larger firms. The firm employs between 1 and 10 people, organized around a principal (John D. O'Connor), one Of Counsel attorney (Joseph D. Calhoun III), and two attorneys (Jeffrey D. Kirk and Benjamin J. Pekarek). It delivers civil litigation, transactional, and dispute resolution services to individuals, partnerships, and companies of all sizes, operating as plaintiffs or defendants in federal and state courts, arbitration tribunals, and ADR forums across approximately 20 states.

The firm's service portfolio comprises seven practice areas: Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights, Business & Commercial Litigation, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property & Trade Secret Litigation, Labor & Employment, Real Estate Litigation, and a specialized Attorney Fee Expert Services practice. The Attorney Fee Expert practice provides Lodestar analysis, fee certification, billing audits, and litigation representation in attorney fee disputes for both law firms and clients, with John O'Connor recognized by NALFA as the Nation's Top Attorney Fee Expert. Documented case results include a $165 million counterclaim settlement following an eight-week jury trial in Nevada, a $6.3 million judgment for Don Nelson in a contract dispute, an $18.7 million attorney fee award in a class action, and a $2.7 million judgment against Wham-O for unpaid legal fees.

The firm operates on a professional services billing model with quote-based, non-publicly-disclosed pricing, and acquires clients through a sales-led, consultative GTM motion centered on referrals, professional reputation, attorney credentials, and a FindLaw-powered online presence. It holds no patents, trademarks, technology products, or AI capabilities; competitive differentiation rests entirely on senior attorney experience, peer recognition (Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating for 25+ years, Northern California SuperLawyer), and a deliberately boutique scale. The firm is independent and founder-owned with no institutional investment, parent company, or subsidiary relationships.

Name

O'Connor and Associates

Legal name

O'Connor and Associates

Website

https://joclaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

O'Connor and Associates is a privately held boutique law firm in San Francisco, founded in 2006 by John D. O'Connor, serving individuals, partnerships, and companies across approximately 20 states in civil litigation, business disputes, and a specialized attorney fee expert witness practice.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services (Boutique Litigation Law Firm)

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) & Securities Law (BPAHAAAI), Litigation Support & Expert Witness (Valuation-Related) (BPAHANAG)

Keywords

• Civil litigation services
• Commercial litigation
• Attorney fee expert
• Creditors rights
• Intellectual property litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: Professional legal services billing for litigation, transactions, and dispute resolution. Services provided to individuals, partnerships, and companies of all sizes, representing clients as plaintiffs or defendants in various court and ADR forums.
2. Attorney Fee Expert Services: Expert witness and consultancy services for attorney fee disputes. Includes Lodestar analysis, fee certification/defense, and litigation representation for both law firms and clients in fee disputes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

O'Connor and Associates is a boutique San Francisco law firm providing legal representation and litigation services in federal and state courts and ADR forums. The firm offers six litigation practice areas—Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights, Business & Commercial, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property & Trade Secret, Labor & Employment, and Real Estate—plus a nationally recognized Attorney Fee Expert practice delivering expert witness testimony, Lodestar analysis, and representation in fee disputes. Services are billed on a quote-based professional services engagement model.

Product overview

O'Connor and Associates is a boutique San Francisco law firm offering a portfolio of distinct legal service practice areas: Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights, Business & Commercial Litigation, Civil Litigation, Intellectual Property & Trade Secret Litigation, Labor & Employment, and Real Estate Litigation. The firm also offers a specialized Attorney Fee Expert Services practice providing expert witness and consultancy services for attorney fee disputes. These services operate as individual legal service offerings under a single firm umbrella rather than a unified product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights Legal representation for creditors during collection processes, from prelitigation actions to court judgments and post-judgment collection, including wage garnishments, bank levies, fraudulent transfer lawsuits, and representation during bankruptcy proceedings. Targeted at individual and business creditors seeking to protect their right to payment.
• Business & Commercial Litigation Business and commercial litigation services covering contract disputes, shareholder issues, partnership disagreements, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and merger and acquisition litigation. Targeted at businesses and individuals involved in complex commercial disputes.
• Civil Litigation Civil litigation services across multiple industries in state and federal courts, including alternative dispute resolution, appellate work, and business and commercial disputes. Targeted at plaintiffs and defendants across industries.
• Intellectual Property & Trade Secret Litigation Intellectual property litigation covering trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, noncompetition covenants, and patent infringement claims. Targeted at businesses and individuals needing IP protection and enforcement.
• Labor & Employment Litigation Employment law litigation representing employers and employees in cases involving discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, retaliation, and disability accommodation matters. Targeted at employers and employees in employment disputes.
• Real Estate Litigation Commercial and residential real estate litigation including lease disputes, construction defects, purchase and sale agreements, fraud claims, and mechanic's liens. Targeted at parties in real estate disputes.
• Attorney Fee Expert Services Attorney fee expert witness and consultancy services including Lodestar analysis, fee-shifting statutes, contractual attorney fee clauses, class action attorney fees, and representation in attorney fee disputes for both law firms and clients. Provided by John O'Connor, voted the Nation's Top Attorney Fee Expert by NALFA. Targeted at law firms and clients involved in attorney fee disputes.

Quantifiable outcome

• $165 million counterclaim settlement in hotel/casino lease dispute after eight-week jury trial in Nevada
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FindLaw (Internet Brands)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFindLaw provides business development solutions and website services for O'Connor and Associates. The firm partners with FindLaw, an Internet Brands business, for online presence and client acquisition. This partnership handles marketing technology and website infrastructure.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Klinedinst PC: California litigation boutique with practice areas spanning business litigation, IP, employment, and creditors' rights — overlapping multiple O'Connor practice areas and competing for similar clients in California.
• Stubbs Alderton & Markiles LLP: Southern California boutique business litigation firm handling complex commercial disputes, partnership disputes, and employment matters — comparable boutique litigation positioning with similar client segments.
• Wendel Rosen LLP: East Bay (Oakland) boutique law firm serving closely held businesses with litigation, real estate, and business disputes — directly comparable to O'Connor's middle-market business litigation focus in the Bay Area.
• Farella Braun + Martel LLP: San Francisco-based boutique business litigation firm with a similar combination of business disputes, real estate litigation, and IP work. Comparable in size, geographic anchor, and target clientele of middle-market businesses and high net worth individuals.
• Severson & Werson APC: San Francisco boutique firm specializing in commercial litigation, real estate, and bankruptcy/creditors' rights — overlapping directly with several of O'Connor's core practice areas including creditors' rights and civil litigation.
• Bartko LLP: San Francisco boutique litigation firm with overlapping IP/trade secret, employment, and complex commercial litigation practices serving business clients — a comparable Bay Area boutique competitor.
• Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP: Los Angeles-based full-service business law firm with comparable real estate litigation, business disputes, and IP litigation offerings — competing for similar middle-market clientele across California.

Broad incumbents

• Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP: National litigation firm with commercial litigation and creditors' rights practices — broader-incumbent alternative serving similar business clients with deeper geographic coverage and larger staffing.
• Haynes Boone (formerly known as part of national litigation boutiques): National law firm with strong business litigation practice and California presence — offers comparable commercial litigation and dispute resolution services at broader scale, serving as a larger-firm alternative for similar client matters.
• Duane Morris LLP: Large national law firm with significant San Francisco presence offering comparable business litigation, real estate, employment, and IP practices — provides the broader-incumbent alternative to boutique firms like O'Connor for clients seeking larger bench capacity.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tr?id=442563859276995&ev=PageView&dpo=LDU&dpoco=0&dpost=0

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 O'Connor and Associates