What Nichols Kaster does

Nichols Kaster, PLLP is a privately held, plaintiff-side employment and civil rights law firm founded circa 1970-1974, headquartered in the IDS Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a second office in San Francisco. The firm maintains 50+ attorneys and staff and serves clients nationwide despite operating from only two physical locations, representing individuals and consumer classes against employers, corporations, and government institutions. Its client base consists of hourly and salaried employees, discrimination and harassment victims, whistleblowers, and consumers affected by deceptive practices - all engaged through free consultations and predominantly contingency-fee retainers.

The firm's practice is organized into five core service areas: Employee Rights, Wage & Hour, Financial Services Litigation, Civil Rights & Impact Litigation, and Whistleblower/False Claims (qui tam). It handles both individual matters and class actions across state and federal courts, arbitration forums, and administrative agencies (EEOC, Minnesota Department of Human Rights), with a publicly listed docket spanning high-profile matters against Apple, FedEx, ByteDance, Northwestern University, Cigna, Kaiser, Anthem, Total Quality Logistics, and Union Pacific. Marketing is built on extensive educational content (blog categories spanning ADA, FMLA, Overtime, Wrongful Termination, Discrimination, and Wage Fixing), strong SEO presence, client testimonials, and sustained national recognition - including First Tier U.S. News & World Report rankings, Best Lawyers in America designations (10 partners in the 2026 edition), 12 attorneys on the 2025 Lawdragon 500 list, and honors from ALM, the National Trial Lawyers, and the American Association for Justice.

The firm operates a contingency-based professional services model with revenue derived from contingency fees (no recovery, no fee), hourly billing, and occasional flat fees depending on case type. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and free initial consultations serve as the primary intake funnel (phone 877-344-4628 and online contact forms). Non-revenue-generating pro bono work supports mission positioning. As a Professional Limited Liability Partnership (PLLP) organized in Minnesota, the firm is owned and managed by its partners; no external parent company, private equity backing, or institutional investors are identified in the available data, and no funding rounds, acquisitions, or restructuring events are reported.

Name

Nichols Kaster

Legal name

Nichols Kaster, PLLP

Website

https://nka.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Nichols Kaster is a plaintiffs-side employment and civil rights law firm with 50+ attorneys and staff across Minneapolis and San Francisco, representing individuals and consumer classes nationwide in wage theft, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and qui tam matters on a contingency-fee basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plaintiff Employment Law

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Plaintiff employment law
• Wage hour litigation
• Civil rights litigation
• Whistleblower qui tam
• Class action lawsuits

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Representation Services: The firm generates revenue by providing legal representation to individuals in employment law cases including wage theft, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and civil rights violations. Fees may be structured on contingency basis (no fee unless recovery), hourly rates, or flat fees depending on case type. The firm has recovered millions of dollars for clients including many million- and multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts.
2. Pro Bono Legal Services: The firm provides pro bono legal services to underserved communities, which while not directly revenue-generating, supports their mission and community standing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nichols Kaster, PLLP is a plaintiff-side employment and civil rights law firm providing legal representation to individuals and classes against employers, corporations, and government institutions. Core services include representation in wage and hour violations, employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, whistleblower/qui tam actions, and civil rights impact litigation, delivered through individual representation and class action lawsuits.

Product overview

Nichols Kaster, PLLP is a plaintiffs-side employment and civil rights law firm offering comprehensive legal services to employees and consumers. The firm's core practice areas include Employee Rights, Wage & Hour, Financial Services Litigation, Civil Rights & Impact Litigation, and Whistleblower/Qui Tam services. These practice areas function as integrated service lines that often overlap in complex cases—particularly class action litigation where wage violations intersect with civil rights claims. The firm handles individual and group cases in state and federal courts, arbitration, and before government agencies (EEOC, Minnesota Department of Human Rights). The practice areas are organized by legal specialty rather than product modules, with case-specific matters (Antarctica Support Workers, Anthem cases, Apple litigation, etc.) falling under these umbrella service categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Employee Rights Legal Services Legal representation for employees facing workplace violations including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination. For individual workers and groups of employees.
• Wage & Hour Legal Services Legal representation in wage theft, unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, minimum wage violations, overtime miscalculation, and wage-fixing cases. For hourly and salaried workers.
• Financial Services Litigation Legal representation in financial services-related disputes and litigation matters, including ERISA/401(k) mismanagement cases against financial institutions.
• Civil Rights & Impact Litigation Class action and impact litigation for civil rights violations affecting broad groups of people. For consumers and underserved communities.
• Whistleblower - False Claims (Qui Tam) Legal Services Legal representation for whistleblowers reporting fraud against the government under the False Claims Act and qui tam provisions. For individual relators.
• Class Action Litigation Group legal representation in class action lawsuits addressing systemic workplace, financial services, or civil rights violations affecting multiple individuals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Millions recovered for clients in settlements and verdicts
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP: Hagens Berman is a national plaintiffs' firm with a notable employment and consumer class action practice, including wage & hour and discrimination matters. Its mid-sized, plaintiff-side focus on large corporate defendants makes it a strong comparable to Nichols Kaster.
• Keller Rohrback L.L.P. Keller Rohrback is a plaintiffs' firm with a deep employment and ERISA practice, including wage & hour and 401(k) mismanagement cases. It is a close peer to Nichols Kaster in employee benefits and class action employment litigation.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: Lieff Cabraser is a leading national plaintiffs' firm with a significant employment practices group covering wage & hour, civil rights, and ERISA class actions. It overlaps directly with Nichols Kaster in complex plaintiff-side employment class actions against major corporate defendants.
• Outten & Golden LLP: Outten & Golden is a nationally recognized plaintiff-side employment law firm representing employees in discrimination, wage & hour, whistleblower, and class action matters. It is a direct competitor to Nichols Kaster in the same plaintiff-side employment and civil rights niche, with similar contingency-fee business model and national case docket.
• Berger Montague PC: Berger Montague is a national complex litigation and class action firm with a substantial employment law and consumer protection practice. Its wage & hour, ERISA, and civil rights class actions are directly comparable to Nichols Kaster's plaintiff-side employment work.
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC: Cohen Milstein is a prominent plaintiffs' firm with strong employment discrimination, civil rights, and qui tam practices. It is comparable to Nichols Kaster in pursuing impact-oriented cases against large institutions on contingency.
• Girard Sharp LLP: Girard Sharp is a plaintiffs' class action firm with active employment, consumer, and civil rights practices. Its size, plaintiff-side focus, and class action docket against major corporations are highly comparable to Nichols Kaster.
• Scott Cole & Associates: Scott Cole & Associates is a California-based plaintiff-side employment law firm handling wage & hour, discrimination, and class action matters. It overlaps directly with Nichols Kaster's West Coast employment and class action work from its San Francisco office.

Broad incumbents

• Littler Mendelson P.C. Littler Mendelson is the world's largest labor and employment law firm, representing employers globally. It is a broad incumbent that frequently opposes plaintiff firms like Nichols Kaster in wage & hour, discrimination, and class action litigation.
• Jackson Lewis P.C. Jackson Lewis is one of the largest U.S. employment law firms, representing management/employers across all 50 states. It is the largest defense-side counterpart to Nichols Kaster, often appearing as opposing counsel in plaintiff employment actions, including in the recent hire of senior litigator Paul Lukas from Nichols Kaster.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/voice4employees
• Facebookfacebook.com/NicholsKaster
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nichols-kaster-pllp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Nichols Kaster