Law firms in Missouri grow revenue, lateral hires and national reach

1. Polsinelli

Polsinelli reported another standout year in 2024, growing its gross revenue by $107.9 million — a 11.4 percent increase over the prior year — to reach $964 million.

“We had a great year,” said CEO and Chairman Chase Simmons. “Our financial metrics, ranging from revenue to profits, were very strong. But we did it in a year we also made huge investments in our business and had a lot of lateral growth as well.”

The firm added a net 133 lawyers last year, including nearly 50 attorneys to launch a Philadelphia office and strengthen its Los Angeles team. Simmons said that while the firm has historically emphasized balanced headcount growth, 2024 saw “a little more on partner laterals versus associates than we have in recent years.”

Polsinelli’s long-term financial trajectory has been fueled by focusing on its core practices: healthcare, real estate, private equity, finance, life sciences, technology and energy.

“That focus has benefited our bottom line,” Simmons said.

Strategic investments in past years have also contributed. Many of the firm’s newer offices — in cities where Polsinelli invested five to 10 years ago — have matured into full-service operations, according to Simmons. Looking ahead, the firm remains focused on delivering for clients across practices and geographies.

“Our priority is always to respond to the needs of our clients and position ourselves to be trusted advisors to them,” Simmons said. “We have done that well this year, and we need to continue it into 2026.”

2. BCLP

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) reported a solid 2024, with total revenue reaching $859.6 million — a 2.3 percent increase from 2023 — and gains across key metrics like revenue per lawyer (up 11.6 percent) and profit per equity partner (up 8.4 percent).

This measured growth was driven by a deliberate shift to focus on core practice areas and by strengthening its global platform through targeted lateral hiring and a significant combination in the Pacific Northwest. In 2024, BCLP combined with Seattle firm Harrigan Leyh Farmer & Thomsen, tripling its presence in Seattle and adding more than a dozen trial lawyers. Former Seattle Mayor and U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan also joined as a partner to lead the firm’s U.S. White Collar practice.

Across the U.S. and internationally, BCLP added 23 lateral partners in 2024 and expects continued lateral growth in 2025. The firm said that these moves reflect an intentional strategy to prioritize client service and operational efficiency while maintaining a long-term approach to growth.

In St. Louis, Managing Partner Ryan Davis said the office achieved another record revenue year.

“We have represented St. Louis-based clients for decades and are proud of the impact we have made,” Davis said. “We are excited and well-positioned for the future.”

BCLP’s client relationships also continue to be a source of strength, with 40 percent of its clients working with the firm for more than 20 years and top clients being served across multiple regions.

3. Husch Blackwell

Husch Blackwell surpassed $707.8 million in gross revenue in 2024 — a 15.6 percent increase over the prior year.

“2024 was a terrific year for our firm,” said Chief Executive Jamie Lawless, who stepped into the role in 2024. “We’ve been growing consistently and sustainably for a very long period of time, really without a meaningful combination in almost 10 years.”

The firm also crossed a major milestone, with profits per equity partner exceeding $1 million for the first time.

“We did that by calibrating our financials and running the firm like a business,” Lawless said.

Husch Blackwell’s growth was supported by the addition of 126 lateral attorneys and 71 first-year associates in 2024. The firm’s practice areas saw broad-based growth, with 60 percent of them reporting double-digit increases — particularly in energy, commercial and business litigation, labor and employment and bankruptcy. The firm also opened a Nashville office and expanded an IP boutique in Minneapolis that has since tripled in size.

“We talk a lot about being uncommon and our uncommon culture,” Lawless said. “Our commitment to our clients, colleagues and communities is bar none.”

Lawless said the firm remains focused on leveraging that growth across its national platform while continuing to operate with financial discipline.

“We’re in this game for the long, long run,” she said.

4. Shook, Hardy & Bacon

Shook, Hardy & Bacon continued its upward trajectory in 2024, increasing firmwide gross revenue by 9 percent to just over $500.9 million. Equity partner compensation also grew to $251.4 million.

“We really had a strong year,” said Chair Madeleine McDonough. “Honestly, every year for the last many years we’ve done better than the year before.”

The firm’s performance was driven by strategic lateral hiring and expansion in core practice areas, including government investigations, strategic counseling and data privacy. It also launched an art law group and expanded complex litigation and class action work.

Notable hires joined in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston and Boston.

“I think now we have more attorneys outside of Kansas City than in Kansas City,” McDonough said.

The firm also expanded its contingency fee work in 2024 and strengthened its pro bono commitment.

“We’ve really enhanced that increasingly,” she said, noting the firm now ranks around 40th nationally in pro bono among the 100 largest firms.

While no new offices are planned in the near term, the firm will continue expanding by hiring “partners that we have worked with for a very long time and have great trust and confidence” in.

One area that sets SHB apart, McDonough said, is its deep trial experience.

“We literally try more cases than any other large law firm that I know of,” she said. “While we have the complete litigation expertise, it’s also the trial expertise that I think separates us.”

5. Kutak Rock

Kutak Rock posted gross revenue of $332.5 million in 2024, an increase of 10.4 percent over the previous year’s $301.2 million. Net compensation to equity partners rose to $167.5 million. The firm employed 540 full-time equivalent attorneys across 19 offices nationwide, with 53 of those attorneys based in Missouri.

The firm’s headcount in Missouri also included 38 support staff, contributing to a nationwide support staff total of over 400. The firm has presence in major markets like Kansas City, Denver, Los Angeles, Omaha, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

In 2024, Kutak Rock expanded internally by adding 36 new associates in practice groups including real estate, public finance, corporate law, litigation and tax credits. These hires joined offices in cities such as Kansas City, Denver and Little Rock, Arkansas.

In January of this year, the firm also announced the election of 19 new partners from its attorney ranks in 10 offices, including Kansas City, Denver, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Omaha, Rogers, Spokane, Springfield and Tallahassee.

6. Spencer Fane

Spencer Fane posted the highest revenue growth among Missouri’s top firms in 2024, with gross revenue rising 20.7 percent to $321.9 million. Equity partner compensation climbed to $76.3 million, and the firm added nearly 80 attorneys to bring its total full-time lawyer headcount to 593.

Much of that growth stemmed from a wave of geographic expansion. The firm completed mergers in Utah, Nevada and New Mexico, opened a Washington, D.C. office and added a large group of laterals in Silicon Valley.

“We definitely increased head count significantly in 2024,” said Chair and Managing Partner Patrick Whalen.

The firm also continued a broader internal overhaul aimed at decentralizing its structure and distributing decision-making power more widely across offices and leadership levels.

“We implemented in the last year and a half around our redesign to really break the mold on how law firm structure looks in terms of being highly decentralized, distributing … decision making throughout the firm, and not have it be bureaucratic or hierarchical,” Whalen said.

Internally, Whalen said Spencer Fane continues to prioritize culture and retention alongside expansion. He pushed back on the idea that law firm growth inevitably comes at the cost of internal cohesion.

“The typical philosophy … is that significant growth is going to dilute culture, and a lot of history can demonstrate that point,” he said. “Well, our trend is exactly the opposite, that as we’ve grown, our engagement levels have gone up, our retention levels have gone up.”

7. Stinson

Stinson recorded $315.9 million in gross revenue in 2024, up more than 11 percent from the year prior, continuing a years-long pattern of growth across its national platform.

“2024 was a terrific year for our firm, and we are incredibly proud of our performance,” said Managing Partner Allison Murdock. “It became apparent that by fall that we were on pace to achieve over 300 million in total revenue … and we’re really excited to finish over 315 million.”

Key drivers of the record year included strong client demand and ongoing lateral growth. Stinson added about 60 attorneys in 2024, matching its lateral hiring totals from the year before. The firm’s newest office in Tampa, opened in 2023, contributed to platform-wide expansion.

“Our growth in 2024 was through laterals,” Murdock said. “We didn’t do any combinations last year, but really throughout our entire platform that was the focus.”

Stinson opened a new Century City, Los Angeles office in March 2025 and continues to monitor economic shifts while moving “full steam ahead.”

Practice areas such as labor and employment, real estate, bankruptcy and mergers and acquisitions have remained active, helping the firm maintain momentum in early 2025.

“We’ve always been focused not only on growing our top line revenue but making sure that we are operating in a fashion that ensures that we’re profitable,” Murdock said. “Last year was just an incredible year for us.”

8. Thompson Coburn

Thompson Coburn’s gross revenue rose 7 percent in 2024 to $286 million, continuing a trend of steady growth. The firm has now exceeded its income targets for 34 consecutive years and set revenue records for the past four.

Chair Chris Hohn, who stepped into the role in 2024, called it “an excellent year” and said the success reflects long-term execution of a growth-focused strategy.

“2024 represented our fourth year of record revenues,” Hohn said. “We’re continuing a long-term trend of increasing our revenue and revenue per lawyer.”

That strategy includes both geographic and lateral expansion. Since 2019, the firm has added offices in New York, Dallas and Birmingham. In 2024, Thompson Coburn brought in its largest-ever class of lateral partners — nearly half of whom were referred by current attorneys.

“The best way to bring in successful new lateral partners is for our current partners to tap into their network,” Hohn said. “We’ve had a lot of success with that.”

The firm is also pursuing growth through three task forces focused on expanding core practices in existing markets, evaluating potential expansion in the Southeast and strengthening firmwide business development efforts.

Internally, Hohn said the firm’s collaborative, transparent culture has paid off.

“All of our partners know everything about everyone’s practice,” he said, citing that about 20 percent of billable hours cross office lines. “It showcases that people really want the right team on the job — no matter where they sit.”

9. Lathrop GPM

Lathrop GPM posted gross revenue of $200.5 million in 2024, up 4.1 percent from $192.6 million in 2023. The firm’s headcount included 344 full-time equivalent attorneys, with 112.5 based in Missouri. Support staff totaled 248 firmwide, including 102 in Missouri.

Equity partners numbered 62, with net compensation of $84.6 million in 2024, while non-equity partners received $29.4 million. The firm’s attorney headcount included 93 non-equity partners and 93 of-counsel attorneys.

In 2024, Lathrop GPM completed its merger with Hopkins Carley, strengthening practice areas such as real estate, corporate law and litigation. The combination brought new offices in Redwood Shores and San Jose and included leadership appointments within the real estate and financial services practice groups, including Monique Jewett-Brewster, head the financial services practice group. Jewett-Brewster is the first African American to lead a practice group at Lathrop GPM, according to the firm.

In May of this year, the firm expanded into California’s Central Valley with a new office in Sacramento. The opening of this office came on the heels of the combination and contributed to a reported increase in headcount of more than 20 percent. The Sacramento office focuses on industries including agriculture, health care and water rights.

10. Armstrong Teasdale

Armstrong Teasdale saw a dip in gross revenue in 2024, but Managing Partner Richard W. Engel Jr. said the headline figure doesn’t tell the full story. The firm closed offices in London, Boston and Salt Lake City and exited practices such as its New York condo co-op group — moves Engel said were essential to financial health.

“Overall, I would say that we had a very good year,” Engel said. “Our revenue per lawyer and our profits per equity partner … are probably the best measure on the financial health of a law firm, and we’re seeing it even more so in 2025.”

Armstrong Teasdale’s revenue per lawyer rose 12 percent year-over-year by early 2025, and profits per equity partner followed suit. Exiting underperforming markets allowed the firm to refocus on four core practice areas, said Engel: IP litigation, commercial litigation, corporate/M&A and the related services that support those practices, like tax and employee benefits.

The firm also launched a new program, Profit Sharing Partners, designed to offer income partners a stake in the firm’s growth. Engel said the move aims to reduce transience and better align all partners with the firm’s financial goals.

“It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “The folks that we have now are enthusiastic … it’s about 75 or 80 all of a sudden they’re going to be jumping in.”

Engel said the firm’s strategic plan is clear: “We’re growing in the areas that are going to fit within the financial metrics that we’ve set for ourselves.”