The Berry Law Firm has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States for the fourth year in a row.

The Lincoln-based law firm added 32 employees so far in 2020, including 24 new hires since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, helping to solidify its place on Inc. magazine’s annual business rankings.

“While this award is worth celebrating, rapid business growth is just a secondary outcome of fighting hard for our clients every day,” CEO John Berry Jr. said “This growth represents years of building referrals and name recognition.”

In fact, while many companies shed employees due to the shrinking economy, COVID-19 didn’t deter the firm from going all in on summer law clerks. Berry Law hired eight law students to clerk while still maintaining safety measures to ensure the health of its employees.

The student law clerks worked remotely from home for a number of weeks before finishing their clerkships at the office in a large conference room that allowed them to safely socially distance while also allowing them to work with the attorneys for valuable in-person training.

“I learned the importance of collaboration not only with the overseeing attorneys but also with my fellow law clerks,” said Katie Andersen, a student at Notre Dame Law School. “I left Berry Law with friendships and relationships that will last long into my career as a practicing attorney.”

Along with Berry Law, 24 other Nebraska-based companies made the 2020 Inc. 5000 list, including City+Ventures, which saw growth of more than 4,500%.

To be considered for the 38th annual Inc. 5000 list, a company must have started earning revenue by March 31, 2016, and had no less than $100,000 in revenue for that year. A company must also have had revenue exceeding $2,000,000 in 2019, and the 2019 earnings must be greater than the 2016 earnings.

Inc. editor Leigh Buchanan wrote for the magazine that only 11% of the firms on the list had cut staff since the pandemic, while nearly half were hiring talented employees let go by other firms. As of July, 80% of the companies expected to be profitable in 2020.

“From 2016 to 2019, the Inc. 5000 achieved a median revenue of $10.2 million and a median compound growth rate of 165.3 percent,” Buchanan said. “These founders were buoyed by smarts and gumption, sure, but also by a lift-all-boats economy. That era is worlds away from the economic decline that hit the U.S. alongside the pandemic in March.”

For more on the Inc. 5000, including the full list, visit inc.com/inc5000/2020.

Nebraska’s Inc. 5000 Companies