Top Law Firms 2025: BCLP

Oldest Law Firm in St. Louis

The firm now called BCLP is a worldwide operation, but its predecessor firm Bryan Cave traces its founding to 1873. Then known as King, Phillips & Stewart, it existed in a building across the street from the firm’s current St. Louis office, according to the firm’s website.

The firm has evolved quite a bit since then. Part of its name comes from partner P. Taylor Bryan, who was added to the firm’s name in 1916. Rhodes Cave joined the firm the following year, creating the roots of the name that exists to this day.

The legacy Bryan Cave firm long ago grew beyond its St. Louis roots, culminating in the 2018 merger with London-based Berwin Leighton Paisner that created today’s global firm BCLP. The St. Louis office remains its largest in the United States.

The firm has more than 1,200 lawyers in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. According to Missouri Lawyers Media’s annual Money publication, BCLP had a revenue growth of 2.3 percent to $859.6 million in 2024, while continuing to expand in Seattle through a combination with Harrigan Leyh Farmer & Thomsen.