Shea Law

What Shea Law does

Shea Law, PLLC is a privately held, family-led Michigan law firm headquartered in Southfield that has been providing legal services to Michigan residents for more than two decades. The firm's practice is organized around five core areas: Estate Planning, Litigation, Probate & Trust Administration, Business Planning, and Elder Law. Estate planning and related services (wills, trusts, asset protection, probate avoidance, guardianship selection) serve as the day-to-day practice backbone for individual and family clients, while a separately emphasized complex litigation department handles class actions and high-stakes disputes.

The litigation practice is the firm's primary reputation driver. Founder and Managing Partner David J. Shea has held lead counsel or discovery committee roles in federal class actions yielding combined settlements of approximately $1.136 billion, including the $470 million University of Michigan Dr. Robert Anderson sexual abuse settlement (partnered with former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox), the $626 million City of Flint Water Crisis settlement, and a $40 million Oakland County tax equity settlement with active Wayne County litigation continuing. The firm markets these results prominently alongside "As Featured In" placements in dbusiness, Super Lawyers, Crain's Detroit Business, Leading Lawyers, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and Crystal Awards to drive inbound interest.

The business model is professional services fee-for-service, with quote-based pricing on individual matters and no publicly disclosed rate card or standardized tiers. Revenue is generated through direct client consultations delivered at the firm's Michigan office, supported by a website-based intake funnel with consultation CTAs and Google Reviews as social proof. The firm operates without disclosed proprietary technology, APIs, or AI tooling, distributing legal services solely through direct attorney engagement with no app, no self-serve product, and no third-party integrations. The firm is independently owned by the Shea family, with no external investors or parent company identified.

Name

Shea Law

Legal name

Shea Law, PLLC

Website

https://sadplaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shea Law, PLLC is a family-led Michigan law firm in Southfield offering estate planning, probate, business planning, elder law, and complex litigation services to individuals, families, and litigation clients across the state.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE), Trust & Estate Dispute Resolution & Fiduciary Litigation Support (FSAEAKAJ)

Keywords

• Estate planning services
• Complex litigation
• Probate administration
• Business law counsel
• Elder law services

Headquarters

HQ city

Southfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Shea Law generates revenue through client fees for legal services including estate planning, litigation, probate and trust administration, business planning, and elder law. Services are provided on a professional services basis with billing for legal counsel delivered to individuals, families, and businesses in Michigan.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Shea Law is a Michigan law firm that provides legal counsel across five integrated practice areas: Estate Planning, Litigation, Probate & Trust Administration, Business Planning, and Elder Law. The firm serves Michigan individuals, families, and businesses with services ranging from wills, trusts, and asset protection to complex litigation and class action representation, including high-profile settlements in the University of Michigan abuse case, Michigan tax equity class action, and Flint Water Crisis class action.

Product overview

Shea Law is a Michigan-based law firm offering a unified suite of legal services organized around five core practice areas: Estate Planning, Litigation, Probate & Trust Administration, Business Planning, and Elder Law. The firm is recognized as a top family-led law firm in Michigan with a nationally known complex litigation department and a well-earned reputation in estate planning. The practice areas operate as integrated service offerings under the Shea Law brand, providing accessible and affordable legal services to Michigan residents for more than two decades.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Estate Planning

Quantifiable outcome

• $470 million settlement for University of Michigan sexual abuse survivors
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 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.

• Former Michigan Attorney General Mike CoxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDavid Shea partnered with former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox in the University of Michigan sexual abuse case to hold the university accountable for abuse by Dr. Robert Anderson, resulting in a $470 million settlement on behalf of survivors.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Trust & Will: Digital-first estate planning service targeting the same middle-market consumers Shea Law serves with traditional estate planning, with a tech-enabled lower-cost model.

Direct peers

• Rocket Lawyer: Online legal platform offering subscription-based estate planning, business formation, and legal document services — overlapping with Shea Law's consumer and small-business practice areas.
• Warner Norcross + Judd: Michigan-based mid-size full-service law firm with comparable estate planning, litigation, and business practice areas serving a similar Michigan client base.
• SmithAmundsen: Detroit-office regional law firm with overlapping business planning, litigation, and estate-related practice areas competing for the same Michigan middle-market and family clients.
• Foster Swift: Michigan-based mid-size firm offering estate planning, elder law, business, and litigation services — a close functional peer in size, geography, and service mix.
• LegalZoom: Online legal services platform that directly competes in Shea Law's estate planning core service via low-cost standardized wills, trusts, and probate documents.
• Kitch Drutchas Wagner Valitutti & Sherbrook: Detroit-area law firm with comparable size and overlapping litigation and business counseling services targeting Michigan-based individuals and businesses.

Broad incumbents

• Honigman LLP: Major Michigan-headquartered full-service firm; competes for the same HNW estate planning and complex litigation matters but at a substantially larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Bodman PLC: Michigan-based business and litigation firm that competes for the same business planning and complex litigation clients Shea Law serves, but with a larger institutional footprint.
• Dickinson Wright: Large Michigan-based full-service law firm with overlapping litigation, business, and trust/estate practices; a broader incumbent competing in the same Michigan HNW market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sheaaiellopllc
• Facebookfacebook.com/sadplaw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Shea Law