Spencer Fane is pleased to announce being shortlisted by the Financial Times’ (FT’s) for the Innovative Lawyers North America 2025 awards, an accomplishment that comes on the heels of the firm having redesigned its organizational structure in ways that prioritize talent, collaboration and leadership throughout the firm.
Each year, FT publishes its Innovative Lawyers North America report to highlight law firms, in-house legal teams, and attorneys at the forefront of industry innovation. Following an intensive, multipronged review process of submissions, FT and its research partner, RSGI, select a shortlist from across the nation in areas such as data and technology use, social impact, people strategies, and financial growth.
As a finalist, Spencer Fane is distinguished for the inventive internal restructure the firm has implemented over the past year, which deliberately breaks away from the traditional law firm model and reemphasizes a culture-first growth strategy via parallel lines of leadership. This evolution has already produced organizational wide results while Spencer Fane continues growing its national footprint, including mass engagement of the internally facing Talent Team Leaders with the firm’s 600-plus attorneys as well as the creation of over 90 externally facing Market Teams to directly align talent with specific client needs.
The firm was also selected for its ongoing progress in terms of cultivating talent, nurturing its culture, and managing its business. In terms of talent, for example, the firm recently achieved an industry-leading 81 percent of its attorneys earning Best Lawyers in America recognition. Regarding culture, Spencer Fane was the only firm in the nation to achieve a perfect score in the U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Companies to Work For: Law Firms list. And in terms of its business momentum, The American Lawyer has recognized the firm as the fastest-growing in the AmLaw 200, calling it “a case study on how a law firm can add market share, climb the rankings, and grow profits, all at the same time.”
Innovative Lawyers North America winners will be announced at FT’s awards ceremony on December 8 in New York City.
View the full shortlist of 2025 honorees here.