Five Years of Showing Up: SWMW Law Again Named One of St. Louis’s Most Philanthropic Small Businesses
There’s a difference between a firm that writes a check and a firm that shows up.
For five consecutive years, SWMW Law has done both – and St. Louis has taken notice.
The firm has once again been named a finalist in the St. Louis Business Journal’s 2026 Corporate Philanthropy Awards in the small-company category, marking its fifth straight year earning this distinction. It’s a milestone that speaks to something deeper than dollars donated or hours logged. It speaks to who we are.
In 2025 alone, SWMW Law donated more than $100,000 to area nonprofits and its employees gave more than 1,000 hours of their time to causes close to their hearts. Since 2021, the team has collectively volunteered nearly 5,000 hours – cooking meals for people experiencing homelessness and those battling cancer, building community gardens, delivering holiday gifts to children in foster care, championing diversity in the arts and in the workplace, standing alongside area veterans, and assisting with cleanup efforts from the tornado that ravaged St. Louis on May 16, 2025. Five thousand hours of choosing to show up.
Built on a Belief That People Come First
When SWMW Law’s founding partners started their practice in 2012, they did so with a clear conviction: that the law, at its best, is an act of service. Our clients – mesothelioma and lung cancer victims, people harmed by the negligence of others, and individuals navigating some of the hardest moments of their lives – deserved more than representation. They deserved advocates who truly cared.
That same conviction has never been confined to the courtroom.
“At the foundation of our firm is one guiding principle: people come first,” said Member Lauren Williams. “Philanthropy isn’t a line item or a public relations strategy – it’s an expression of who we are. When someone in our community is struggling or when a cause directly affects or reflects what our clients are facing, we feel a responsibility to be there.”
That spirit of service runs deep – not just in the firm’s culture, but in the individual lives of the people who make up SWMW Law. Several of the firm’s attorneys bring their commitment to community well beyond office hours, holding leadership positions on some of St. Louis’s most impactful philanthropic boards and organizations. From the Emerging Leaders Board and Leadership Board of the American Lung Association, to serving as President of the Board of Directors for The St. Louis Black Repertory Theater – the nation’s largest professional African-American theatre organization – SWMW attorneys are shaping the city they serve. They lend their time and expertise to the board of New Opportunities, the St. Louis Hall of Fame Committee, the Community Organization to Engage, Uplift & Restore (COEUR), the Young Professionals Council for Places for People – a behavioral health nonprofit dedicated to serving those at risk – and gala committees across the region. Many also donate their legal expertise through pro bono work, ensuring that access to justice isn’t limited by what someone can afford.
A Culture That Gives – Voluntarily, Joyfully, Consistently
What makes SWMW Law’s story especially moving isn’t the numbers. It’s the people behind them.
In recent years, the firm has deepened its commitment to employee-driven philanthropy, creating regular opportunities for attorneys and staff to volunteer alongside one another. The result has been something that can’t be manufactured: a workplace culture where giving back isn’t an obligation, it’s a point of pride.
Central to that culture is a belief that the best giving is personal. SWMW Law invites its employees to bring the causes closest to their hearts to the table – and then the firm shows up for them. Whether it’s an organization tied to a personal loss, a community in which a team member grew up, or a mission that aligns with their values, employees recommend where they want to serve and the firm follows their lead. It’s a simple idea with a profound message: your passion matters here.
“Our leadership team couldn’t be prouder of the heart our employees bring to this work,” Williams said. “They don’t volunteer because they have to. They do it because they genuinely care – about their neighbors, about their city, about making life a little better for someone who needs it. That kind of compassion is rare, and it defines us as a firm.”
What Five Years Really Means
Being named a finalist once is an honor. Being named a finalist five times in a row is a statement.
It says that SWMW Law’s commitment to community isn’t seasonal or situational. It says that even as the challenges facing St. Louis evolve, this team’s willingness to meet them head-on does not waver.
“Regardless of what our neighbors and clients are up against, we will be here,” Williams said. “That’s not a promise we make lightly. It’s one we’ve worked hard to keep – and one we intend to keep for years to come.”
SWMW Law will be recognized at the St. Louis Business Journal’s Corporate Philanthropy Awards ceremony in April.
To learn more about the 2026 Corporate Philanthropy Awards finalists, click here.