Seyfarth Shaw

Seyfarth Shaw LLP (/ˈsaɪfɑːrθ/ SY-farth)^[3] is an international AmLaw 100 law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in Chicago in 1945 by Henry Seyfarth, Lee Shaw, and Owen Fairweather, Seyfarth Shaw initially focused on the area of labor and employment law.^[4]

Seyfarth Shaw was founded in Chicago in 1945 by attorneys Henry Edward Seyfarth, Lee Charles Shaw, and Owen Fairweather.^[5] Seyfarth graduated from the University of Illinois in 1928 and received his J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School two years later. Lee Shaw enrolled at the University of Michigan, where he played football as an offensive and defensive lineman alongside future President Gerald Ford. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago in 1936 and two years later earned his J.D. degree at the university's law school. The third founding partner, Owen Fairweather, earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and then graduated cum laude from the University of Chicago Law School in 1938.^[6]

After World War II ended in August 1945, Shaw and Fairweather returned to Chicago following a brief stint with the National War Labor Board and together with their senior colleague, Seyfarth, they set up a boutique law firm specializing in labor law.^[7] In 1947, Lee Shaw helped draft the Taft-Hartley Act.^[8]

With coverage across the U.S. and several international outposts in London, Australia and Asia, Seyfarth opened its first new U.S. office in decades in Charlotte in 2019.^[9] This was followed by its Seattle office launch in 2020.^[10]

The American Lawyer ranks Seyfarth 61st on its annual AmLaw 200 ranking of the largest U.S. law firms by revenue.^[11] The National Law Journal's "NLJ 500" 2025 list ranks Seyfarth 63rd among the largest law firms in the United States.^[11] Top Legal 500,^[12] U.S. News & World Report^[13] and Best Lawyers 2025 “Best Law Firms” awarded Seyfarth’s IP group a National Tier 1 ranking.^[14]