A Thought Leader in Legal Recruiting, Law Firm M&A, and Rainmaking and AI Consulting

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For more than 25 years, Frederick has been the linchpin behind countless lateral moves of associates, partners, groups and entire law firms. His insights have graced platforms like Forbes, Bloomberg Law, and American Lawyer Magazine. He currently writes the "Shelton Shares" column for Attorney at Law magazine.
Mr. Shelton stands as an unparalleled authority in the realms of legal recruiting, law firm M&A, Rainmaking Consulting, and Legal-Specific AI consulting. His leadership roles have been diverse and impactful. He has served as the CMO of a multifaceted law firm, Executive Director of a Patent Boutique and Director of Legal at a 2,000 FTE corporation. He now serves as the CEO of Shelton & Steele, a firm that has broken the legal recruiting model with innovative approaches to working with both clients and candidates.
Mr. Shelton was quoted in American Lawyer in 2017 and later published an article in 2019 stating that Virtual and Hybrid New Law Models were the future of law. Those predictions were made prior to COVID, which ended up proving his foresight to be accurate.

In 2019, he also published an article stating that Artificial Intelligence would have a game-changing impact on the practice of law. He reiterated this position in January of 2023, in an article about how Chat GPT and Generative AI would immediately begin the impact he predicted, years earlier. (links to his articles are below). This foresight is also proving accurate.
He has since, personally interviewed and spent hours with founders and c-levels of legal-specific AI companies that ranged from startups to Thomson Reuters, Cisco, Microsoft and Google. There are few journalists in the country who have been so widely published on the subject of Legal AI.

Frederick is currently predicting that the entire structure of law firms and delivery of legal services, will be radically impacted and improved by the new Alternative Business Structure, which now allows non-attorneys to own equity in law firms. He also predicts that this structure will spread beyond Arizona, to other states and that these entities will capture the best talent when it comes to attorneys, non-attorney C-Level ranks, and professional staff.

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A Journey from Adversity to Inspiration

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Frederick's personal journey is as inspiring as his professional one. Once a homeless teen, he was uplifted by a stranger's act of kindness, when a minister took him off the streets until he was old enough to join the U.S. Navy. This experience birthed Shelton & Steele's motto: “All ships rise with the tide. We shall not endeavor to have the largest ship. We will be the tide.” A testament to his belief in collective growth and giving back.
 

Beyond the Boardroom

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Frederick is committed to driving change, fostering growth within the legal industry and advocating for ESG (Environmental & Social Governance) and also the Corporate Conscience Movement. CCM is a Thought Leadership Movement whose members believe that leadership, inspiration and philanthropy should not be left to government alone. That those of us who are Benevolent Capitalists and patriots, should lead by example with meaningful actions, as well as generous contributions of our time and donations - even if they cut into the almighty profit margin.
 

Frederick's passions extend beyond the legal world. He is an avid

league tennis player, who has competed multiple times in the

USTA State, Sectional and National Championships.
Frederick is an artist and writer. He has also been a paid, stand-up

comedian at iconic venues like The Comedy Store and the

Mandalay Bay Casino on the famous Las Vegas Strip.

His philanthropic spirit shines through both donations and

his volunteer work, previously at Nellis and Creech Air Force

bases, and now in his beloved city of San Antonio.

In Frederick Shelton, the legal industry finds a visionary, the

world sees a changemaker, and aspiring professionals

discover a role model.