What Hagens Berman does

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a privately held plaintiffs' class-action law firm founded in 1993 by managing partner Steve W. Berman in Seattle, Washington. The firm represents individual consumers, investors, employees, and whistleblowers in class action litigation against corporate defendants, and is also retained by multiple State Attorneys General to represent states in complex litigation. Practice areas span antitrust, securities fraud, consumer protection, automotive defects, pharmaceutical fraud, environmental contamination, data breach and privacy, employment law, whistleblower qui tam actions, and newer specialties including high tech, anti-terrorism, first responder, and veterans litigation. The firm operates from ten offices — eight across the United States (Seattle headquarters plus Phoenix, Berkeley, Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and San Diego) plus London (Hagens Berman EMEA LLP, established 2021) and Paris (HBSS France, established 2021).

The firm's revenue model is professional services on a contingency fee basis: clients pay no upfront cost, and the firm collects a percentage only upon successful settlement or judgment. This aligns firm incentives with class member outcomes and is the dominant revenue stream, supplemented by government retainer work for state clients. Distribution is direct through attorney-client relationships and a systematic intake engine comprising the firm's website, HB Insider newsletter, press releases, blog, and a dedicated tipline (888-381-2889). The firm has secured cumulative settlements and verdicts exceeding $345 billion, including the $22.78 billion NCAA Name, Image and Likeness settlement (largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history), the $14.7 billion VW emissions settlement, the $260 billion State Tobacco settlement, and the $1.6 billion Toyota sudden acceleration settlement.

The firm's competitive position rests on a deep track record, brand recognition as one of the Top 10 Plaintiff Firms (National Law Journal), and a senior talent bench led by Steve Berman (Law360 Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar, multiple Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year designations, Lawdragon Hall of Fame). The partnership structure — Berman as Managing Partner alongside executive committee members Thomas M. Sobol and Robert B. Carey, with regional managing partners Fayrouze Masmi-Dazi in Paris and Sergei Purewal in London — supports both U.S. and EMEA operations. The firm has 51-100 employees and operates as a limited liability partnership without disclosed external or private equity ownership.

Name

Hagens Berman

Legal name

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP

Website

https://hbsslaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a privately held U.S. plaintiffs' class-action law firm founded in 1993 that represents consumers, investors, employees, and whistleblowers in class actions against corporate defendants on a contingency fee basis, with offices across the U.S. and in London and Paris.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Class action litigation
• Plaintiffs law firm
• Antitrust litigation
• Consumer protection law
• Securities class actions

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Contingency Fee Litigation: The firm operates primarily on a contingency fee basis for class action lawsuits, where fees are only collected if the case results in a settlement or judgment in favor of the class. This aligns firm interests with clients and eliminates upfront costs for plaintiffs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a national plaintiffs' class-action law firm that represents consumers, investors, employees, and whistleblowers in class action litigation against corporations on a contingency fee basis. The firm pursues cases across antitrust, consumer protection, securities fraud, automotive defects, pharmaceutical fraud, environmental contamination, employment, and data privacy matters, with total settlements exceeding $345 billion.

Product overview

Hagens Berman is a national plaintiffs' class-action law firm offering legal services across multiple practice areas including securities litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, automotive defects, pharmaceutical fraud, and environmental litigation. The firm operates as a unified legal services practice rather than a software product platform, providing investigation and litigation services to represent consumers, investors, employees, and whistleblowers harmed by corporate misconduct.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Antitrust Class Action Litigation Class action lawsuits alleging price-fixing, monopolistic practices, and anticompetitive behavior across tech, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, and other industries, representing affected consumers, purchasers, and competitors.
• Securities Class Action Litigation (Investor Fraud) Legal representation for investors in securities fraud class action lawsuits, including claims related to misrepresentation, accounting fraud, and market manipulation.
• Consumer Rights / Consumer Protection Class Actions Class action representation for consumers harmed by defective products, fraudulent business practices, and consumer protection violations.
• Automotive Class Action Litigation Class actions addressing vehicle defects, emissions cheating, sudden unintended acceleration, and automotive safety issues affecting vehicle owners.
• Emissions Litigation Class actions addressing vehicle and industrial emissions violations, including the landmark VW/Porsche/Audi diesel emissions case ($14.7 billion settlement).
• Pharmaceutical Fraud Litigation Litigation against pharmaceutical companies for drug pricing schemes, off-label marketing, and concealment of drug safety risks.
• Environmental Class Action Litigation Class actions addressing environmental contamination, emissions violations, and environmental health hazards affecting communities.
• Employment Class Action Litigation Class actions addressing wage-fixing, wage suppression, discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination affecting workers.
• Data Breach & Privacy Class Action Litigation Legal representation for individuals affected by corporate data breaches and privacy violations.
• Whistleblower / Qui Tam Representation Representation for whistleblowers reporting corporate fraud, False Claims Act violations, and regulatory misconduct.
• Governmental Representation (State Attorneys General) Retention as outside counsel by State Attorneys General to represent their states in complex, high-stakes litigation matters.
• High Tech Litigation Class actions and complex litigation targeting technology companies for anticompetitive conduct, privacy violations, and consumer harms.
• Intellectual Property Litigation Plaintiff-side intellectual property litigation representing individuals and classes harmed by IP misuse.
• Sports Litigation Class action representation in sports-related matters, including the NCAA Student-Athlete Name, Image and Likeness antitrust settlement ($22.78 billion).
• Personal Injury Litigation Plaintiff-side personal injury representation for individuals harmed by corporate negligence or defective products.
• Civil & Human Rights Litigation Class and impact litigation addressing civil rights and human rights violations.
• Sexual Abuse & Harassment Litigation Class actions representing victims of sexual abuse and harassment in institutional settings.
• Child Sexual Abuse Litigation Representation for victims of child sexual abuse, including cases against institutional defendants.
• First Responder Litigation Class actions on behalf of first responders harmed by defective equipment, toxic exposures, or other corporate misconduct.
• Veterans & Military Servicemember Litigation Class actions representing veterans and active-duty servicemembers harmed by corporate or governmental misconduct.
• Anti-Terrorism Litigation Litigation on behalf of victims of terrorism seeking recovery from state sponsors and supporters of terrorist acts.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLCminorOthersCo-counsel relationship in chicken products consumer class action litigation.
• Kirby McInerneyminorOthersCo-investigating law firms in Sportradar securities litigation alongside Hagens Berman.
• Glancy Prongay & Murray LLPminorOthersCo-investigating law firms in Sportradar securities litigation alongside Hagens Berman.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: National plaintiffs' class-action and mass-tort firm with a comparable practice footprint in consumer protection, antitrust, securities, and personal injury. Direct competitor for lead-counsel appointments in major class actions and a similarly recognized top-tier plaintiff shop.
• Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd: Largest US securities class action firm by recoveries, also active in antitrust and consumer class actions. Closest direct peer to Hagens Berman on securities litigation and a frequent rival in lead-plaintiff contests.
• Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check: Plaintiff-side class action firm specializing in securities fraud, corporate governance, and antitrust. Competes with Hagens Berman directly for lead counsel roles in securities class actions and shareholder litigation.
• Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann: Premier securities class action and shareholder rights firm, regularly named among top plaintiff firms. Direct peer in securities litigation and an oft-co-counsel or competitor on major securities matters.
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll: Plaintiff-side impact litigation firm with strong practices in antitrust, securities, consumer protection, and human rights. Already a documented co-counsel partner with Hagens Berman and a direct rival for major class action matters.
• Motley Rice: National plaintiffs' firm known for asbestos, tobacco, and large-scale mass tort/class action work. Comparable in scale and ambition to Hagens Berman on consumer-protection and mass-tort matters, including shared DNA on tobacco-related cases.
• Susman Godfrey: Top-tier commercial trial firm with a strong plaintiff-side practice in antitrust, IP, and consumer class actions. Comparable to Hagens Berman on big-bet commercial litigation and known for high-stakes verdicts.
• Scott+Scott: International plaintiffs' firm with deep antitrust and securities class action practices. Already a documented co-investigator with Hagens Berman in securities matters and a direct competitor in antitrust class actions.
• Weitz & Luxenberg: Plaintiffs' mass tort and class action firm with strong practices in personal injury, environmental, and consumer matters. Comparable peer on mass-tort and personal-injury class actions, including environmental litigation overlapping Hagens Berman's practice.

Broad incumbents

• Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan: Large global litigation firm representing both plaintiffs and defendants in commercial disputes, including antitrust and securities. Operates in the same courtroom tier as Hagens Berman on big cases but as a much broader, defense-inclusive commercial shop rather than a dedicated plaintiff firm.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/91411
• Xx.com/classactionlaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/hbsslaw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hagens Berman