What Schaerr Jaffe does

Schaerr Jaffe LLP is a Washington, D.C.-domiciled boutique litigation firm founded in January 2014 by Gene Schaerr after he stepped down as chair of Winston & Strawn's nationwide Supreme Court and appellate practice. The firm was established to serve clients needing elite appellate and trial representation without the conflicts, leverage structures, and inefficiency inherent in large full-service firms. Erik S. Jaffe, formerly a sole practitioner with involvement in over 100 Supreme Court matters, merged his practice into the firm in 2018. Today the firm fields 24 attorneys across four U.S. offices (Washington DC headquarters, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City) and an academic affiliate bench of six scholars from Stanford, BYU, UCLA, UC-Berkeley, Liberty University, UT-Austin, and (forthcoming) St. Thomas University. Attorney composition includes 7 Partners, 2 Senior Counsel, 3 Counsel, 5 Associates, plus senior paralegals and summer associates.

The legal product is organized into six practice areas: U.S. Supreme Court practice (certiorari petitions, merits briefing and oral argument, amicus curiae work), appellate litigation in federal and state appellate courts, trial litigation (state and federal), media (defamation defense, anti-de-platforming), investigations (internal, regulatory, congressional, FCPA, Section 117), and governmental and regulatory affairs. The firm's recent docket includes a SCOTUS cert grant in International Partners for Ethical Care v. Ferguson (co-counseled with America First Legal), a Ninth Circuit preliminary injunction win in City of Huntington Beach v. Newsom, and trial representation of the University of Florida in two First Amendment matters within two weeks. The firm has collectively argued nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and reports success in every Federal Circuit. The matter portfolio is heavily weighted toward constitutional law, religious liberty, First Amendment, election law, and federal regulatory challenges.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees for litigation and regulatory representation, with billings reflecting the premium commanded by SCOTUS and appellate specialization. Marquee disclosed clients span four verticals: businesses (AT&T, Fox Corporation, Hobby Lobby, Suzuki Motor Corporation, X Corp.), governments (State of Georgia, State of Utah, New Orleans District Attorney's Office), religious institutions (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Brigham Young University, University of Notre Dame, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod), and associations (U.S. Chamber of Commerce). Distribution is entirely direct, with no intermediaries or resellers; client acquisition is reputation-driven through referrals, landmark-case visibility, attorney media appearances (including the Hugh Hewitt Show), and published thought leadership. No public revenue disclosure exists.

Name

Schaerr Jaffe

Legal name

Schaerr Jaffe LLP

Website

https://schaerr-jaffe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Schaerr Jaffe LLP is a Washington, D.C. boutique litigation firm founded in 2014, specializing in U.S. Supreme Court, appellate, and high-stakes trial litigation. The firm serves businesses, state governments, associations, and religious institutions from offices in DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation & Dispute Resolution (BPAHAAAB)

Keywords

• Appellate litigation services
• Supreme court practice
• Trial litigation representation
• Constitutional law advocacy
• Religious freedom law

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: The firm generates revenue through legal fees for trial litigation, appellate litigation, investigations, and regulatory proceedings. As a boutique firm, they provide tailored legal services directly to clients, including businesses, governments, associations, and religious institutions seeking high-stakes litigation representation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Schaerr Jaffe is a Washington, D.C. boutique law firm providing high-stakes trial and appellate litigation services across six practice areas: U.S. Supreme Court practice, Appellate Litigation, Trial Litigation, Media, Investigations, and Governmental and Regulatory Affairs. The firm represents businesses, governments, associations, and religious institutions in complex constitutional, statutory, and commercial matters in state and federal courts nationwide. Services are tailored to each client matter with experienced counsel drawn from former Supreme Court clerks, White House counsel, and top law professors.

Product overview

Schaerr Jaffe is a Washington, D.C. boutique law firm providing legal services rather than a technology product. The firm's core offering consists of high-stakes trial and appellate litigation across multiple practice areas, including U.S. Supreme Court practice (with certiorari petitions, merits representation, and amicus briefs), Appellate Litigation, Trial Litigation, Media, Investigations, and Governmental and Regulatory Affairs. Services are tailored to each client's needs, representing businesses, governments, associations, and religious institutions in complex legal matters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• U.S. Supreme Court Practice Supreme Court litigation services including certiorari petitions, merits briefing, oral argument, and amicus briefs before the nation's highest court. Services span both petitioner-side work (preparing cert petitions to maximize chances of Supreme Court review) and respondent-side work (opposing cert and defending favorable lower court judgments). The firm has argued nine cases in the U.S. Supreme Court across its practice areas.
• Appellate Litigation Complex appellate litigation in federal and state courts of appeal, including issue framing, preservation, briefing, and oral argument. The firm has successfully appealed in every Federal Circuit Court and represents clients across a wide range of subject areas in intermediate appellate courts.
• Trial Litigation Full-service trial litigation representation in state and federal courts, including pleadings, emergency relief, evidence development, and bench/jury trials. The firm represents clients at trial and has demonstrated ability to obtain emergency appellate relief and reverse adverse jury verdicts.
• Media Practice Legal representation for media entities including defense against defamation claims, blocking programming efforts, and litigation to prevent de-platforming. The firm has represented media clients such as Fox Corporation and X Corp.
• Investigations Internal, regulatory, and congressional investigations representation spanning national security to domestic policy, including FCPA, UK Bribery Act, and Section 117 matters. The firm represents clients facing government investigations at federal and state levels.
• Governmental and Regulatory Affairs Regulatory proceedings representation including government contracts, bid protests, rule making, and campaign finance compliance. The firm represents clients before Congress and the Executive Branch on complex legislative and regulatory issues, combining litigation and legislative advocacy services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Won over 75% of federal appeals argued by Gene Schaerr in recent years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.

• America First LegalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2026Co-counsel partnership on major constitutional cases including International Partners for Ethical Care v. Ferguson, a landmark Supreme Court case. The firms collaborate on litigation challenging government policies on constitutional and parental rights grounds.
• X Corp.notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to defend free speech, as covered by Financial Times regarding work defending a university student in free speech matters.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Sidley Austin LLP: Global Am Law 50 firm with a premier Supreme Court and appellate practice (where Gene Schaerr previously coordinated the appellate practice 1993-2005); competes for many of the same elite matters.
• Williams & Connolly LLP: Elite D.C. litigation firm with strong appellate and trial practice; Erik Jaffe previously worked at Williams & Connolly and the firm competes for similar high-stakes matters.
• Jones Day: Global Am Law 50 firm with broad appellate and constitutional litigation practice; associate Miranda Sherrill joined Schaerr Jaffe from Jones Day's D.C. office.
• Mayer Brown LLP: Global Am Law firm with a renowned Supreme Court and appellate practice; Donald Falk joined Schaerr Jaffe from Mayer Brown's appellate practice after 30 years.
• Gibson Dunn: Global Am Law firm with a top-tier appellate and Supreme Court practice representing many of the same enterprise and institutional clients on constitutional matters.

Direct peers

• Cooper & Kirk PLLC: Washington D.C. boutique specializing in Supreme Court and appellate litigation with a similar talent base of former SCOTUS clerks; competes directly for the same federal-circuit and SCOTUS matters.
• Consovoy McCarthy PLLC: Boutique appellate and SCOTUS practice founded by former Thomas clerk with similar conservative-constitutional focus and similar elite client base; widely viewed as the closest analog to Schaerr Jaffe.
• Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick PLLC: Boutique appellate firm specializing in Supreme Court and complex federal appellate litigation, with comparable lawyer count and practice scope.
• Goldstein & Russell PC: Small D.C. appellate boutique founded by former SCOTUS clerks with comparable Supreme Court practice focus and similar client engagement model.

Emerging players

• The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty: Nonprofit public-interest law firm specializing in religious-liberty litigation before SCOTUS; competes for similar religious-freedom matters and shares several former counsel with Schaerr Jaffe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/schaerrjaffellp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schaerr-jaffe-llp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Schaerr Jaffe