Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger

What Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger does

Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP (SFGH) is a privately held limited liability partnership law firm headquartered at 30 North LaSalle Street in Chicago, with a secondary office in New York. Founded in 1981, the firm operates across eight practice areas organized as "Centers of Excellence": Restructuring, Insolvency & Special Situations (RISS); Business & Finance; Data Security and Privacy; Labor & Employment; Litigation & Dispute Resolution; Wealth Preservation & Succession Planning; Federal Income Tax Planning & Litigation; and Real Estate & Community Development. Its core practice historically centers on advising businesses in financial distress — Chapter 11 proceedings, out-of-court restructurings, and asset sales — alongside employment, complex commercial litigation, and transactional matters.

The firm generates revenue through traditional professional fee arrangements, billed via hourly rates, fixed fees, or contingency depending on the practice and matter. Its go-to-market is sales-led and partner-driven, relying on a 41-year brand, attorney publications, industry conference and webinar speaking (e.g., Financial Poise, West LegalEdcenter), and repeat/referral relationships rather than marketing spend. Documented clients span healthcare (e.g., Central Iowa Healthcare Chapter 11), investment advisory, entertainment, and medical practices, alongside publicly referenced work for both privately held middle-market companies and Fortune 500 enterprises.

Notable recent development: SFGH has announced a merger with Raines Feldman Littrell LLP, intended to expand combined national reach coast-to-coast; the firm's standalone web presence and billing currently redirect to the combined entity. Recognizing partners include Jonathan Friedland, Howard Helsinger, Christopher Horvay, Matthew Schiff, Richard Sugar, and Elizabeth Vandesteeg (Super Lawyers), with practice leadership held by figures such as Matthew B. Schiff (Labor & Employment Chair), Kathryn "Katie" Nadro (Data Security & Privacy; CIPP/US), and Michelle Huhnke (Wealth Preservation).

Name

Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger

Legal name

Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP

Website

https://sfgh.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP is a Chicago-based law firm with eight practice areas including restructuring, employment, litigation, and data privacy, serving privately held businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and public sector employers from Chicago and New York offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411), All Other Legal Services (541199)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal Practice Management & Case Management (BPAEAPAC)

Keywords

• Legal advisory services
• Restructuring insolvency law
• Corporate litigation services
• Labor employment law
• Data privacy compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Professional Fees: Traditional law firm revenue generated through professional legal fees, typically billed hourly, fixed-fee arrangements, or contingency arrangements depending on practice area and client needs. Services span restructuring, litigation, employment, tax, privacy, and real estate law.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP is a Chicago-based law firm providing legal advisory services across eight practice areas: Restructuring/Insolvency & Special Situations (RISS), Business & Finance, Data Security and Privacy, Labor & Employment, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Wealth Preservation & Succession Planning, Federal Income Tax Planning & Litigation, and Real Estate & Community Development. The firm serves privately held businesses, middle-market companies, public sector employers, and Fortune 500 corporations through its offices in Chicago and New York.

Product overview

Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP is a law firm offering legal services through eight distinct practice areas: Restructuring, Insolvency & Special Situations (RISS), Business & Finance, Data Security and Privacy, Labor & Employment, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Wealth Preservation & Succession Planning, Federal Income Tax Planning & Litigation, and Real Estate & Community Development. The firm operates from offices in Chicago and New York, serving clients ranging from privately held businesses to Fortune 500 companies across the nation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Restructuring, Insolvency & Special Situations (RISS) Legal advisory services for businesses facing financial distress, including Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, out-of-court restructurings, and asset sales in distressed situations. Serves middle-market companies and financially distressed enterprises.
• Business & Finance Comprehensive business and finance legal counsel including corporate transactions, M&A, private equity, and commercial lending matters for businesses and investors.
• Data Security and Privacy Data security and privacy legal services including breach response, policy drafting, compliance with state, federal, and international privacy laws (CCPA, GDPR), and vendor management for businesses handling personal information.
• Labor & Employment Labor and employment law representation for management and executives, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation claims, wage and hour disputes, and collective bargaining.
• Litigation & Dispute Resolution Civil and commercial litigation services including contract disputes, trade secrets, fiduciary duty claims, and arbitration in state and federal courts.
• Wealth Preservation & Succession Planning Estate planning, wealth preservation strategies, and business succession planning for individuals and families.
• Federal Income Tax Planning & Litigation Federal income tax planning and litigation support, including tax advice compliance and representation before tax authorities.
• Real Estate & Community Development Real estate transactions and community development legal services for commercial and residential matters.

Quantifiable outcome

• Won over $500,000 for entertainment company client in breach of contract litigation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 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.

• Raines Feldman Littrell LLPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFGH has joined Raines Feldman Littrell LLP, expanding the firm's national reach from coast to coast. This merger combines SFGH's established practices with Raines Feldman's platform to create a larger national firm.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Much Shelist, P.C. Chicago mid-market firm focused on business transactions, restructuring, employment, and litigation for middle-market and emerging companies—closely parallel to SFGH's positioning and practice areas.
• Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa: Chicago-based full-service mid-market firm with comparable practice areas in business, real estate, employment, and tax. Directly comparable in size, geography, and client segment.
• Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered: Chicago business law firm serving middle-market and family-owned businesses in corporate, restructuring, real estate, and litigation—strong overlap with SFGH's RISS and Business & Finance practices.
• Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC: Multi-office business law firm serving middle-market and closely held companies in business, restructuring, employment, and IP—directly comparable to SFGH on client segment and full-service mid-market positioning.
• Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC: Chicago-based mid-market firm serving privately held businesses and Fortune 500 clients across corporate, restructuring, real estate, and litigation—directly overlapping SFGH's practice mix and client profile.
• Raines Feldman Littrell LLP: Direct merger partner of SFGH; combines mid-market business, restructuring, employment, and litigation practices. Now the parent platform of SFGH, making it the most directly comparable peer.

Broad incumbents

• Akerman LLP: National full-service law firm with deep restructuring, employment, and privacy practices serving mid-market and Fortune 500 clients across multiple U.S. offices—broader incumbent that competes for the same client mandates as SFGH.
• BakerHostetler: Large national firm with nationally recognized restructuring, data privacy, and labor & employment practices. Directly comparable to SFGH at the practice-area level but with significantly broader scale.
• Freeborn & Peters LLP (now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner): Chicago-rooted mid-market firm that merged into global BigLaw; historically the closest peer archetype for SFGH in terms of practice mix and client profile, now operating at much larger scale.

Regional players

• Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman, P.L. Florida-based multi-office mid-market firm with similar business, real estate, employment, and litigation practices serving both private businesses and large institutional clients. Comparable in size and structure but a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sugarfelsenthal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2446048

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger