Hartley

What Hartley does

Hartley LLP is a San Diego-based plaintiff-side commercial litigation firm founded in 2004 by Jason S. Hartley, operating exclusively on a contingency fee basis where the firm assumes litigation risk and is compensated as a percentage of recovery. The firm specializes in antitrust, class action, consumer protection, data breach, securities, and wage and hour litigation, serving as court-appointed co-lead counsel in multi-district litigations against major corporations including Cargill, JBS, Tyson, BASF, Visa/Mastercard, and Zelis. Hartley LLP has recovered over $1 billion for clients across its case portfolio, including participation in the $6.26 billion Payment Card Interchange Fee Antitrust Litigation—the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history—and standalone recoveries exceeding $604 million (Capacitors), $135 million (Beef MDL), $82.5 million (Varsity Cheer), and $48.95 million (Railway Employees). The firm operates with approximately 10-15 attorneys out of a single downtown San Diego office and sustains its practice through co-counsel relationships with leading plaintiff firms including Joseph Saveri, Hausfeld, Lieff Cabraser, and Paul LLP, plus direct representation of Fortune 500 enterprises and small businesses victimized by anticompetitive conduct.

Revenue mechanics rest on contingency economics: no upfront client fees, compensation as a percentage of settlement or judgment, and multi-year case timelines tied to litigation milestones. Go-to-market is referral-driven and reputation-driven, with the firm being one of only four San Diego attorneys named to Daily Journal's Top 40 Plaintiff Attorneys in California and one of a small number of firms recognized by Chambers Spotlight as a Top Antitrust Law Firm in San Diego. Customer acquisition flows through attorney referrals, industry contacts, direct outreach to companies harmed by anticompetitive conduct, and co-counsel invitations from larger plaintiff firms seeking specialist antitrust capacity. Hartley LLP's distribution surface spans federal and state courts nationwide, with active or recent MDLs in Minnesota (Beef), Massachusetts (Zelis), California (capacitors, payment card, data breach), and Pennsylvania (Railway).

Name

Hartley

Legal name

Hartley LLP

Website

https://hartleyllp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hartley LLP is a San Diego-based plaintiff-side commercial litigation firm operating on contingency fees, specializing in antitrust, class action, and data breach cases. The firm serves businesses and individuals victimized by anticompetitive conduct and has recovered over $1 billion for clients across major MDLs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contingency Fee Legal Services: Hartley LLP operates exclusively on a contingency fee basis. The firm assumes the risk of litigation costs and only receives compensation if the case is successful. This model aligns the firm's interests with clients and enables businesses and individuals who cannot afford hourly legal fees to pursue antitrust and class action claims.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hartley LLP is a plaintiff-side commercial litigation law firm that represents victims of anticompetitive conduct, including price-fixing conspiracies, monopolization, wage-fixing/no-poach agreements, consumer protection violations, and data breach negligence. The firm operates exclusively on a contingency fee basis, assuming litigation risk in exchange for a percentage of any recovery. Practice areas span antitrust, class action, consumer protection, data breach, securities, and wage and hour litigation in federal and state courts.

Product overview

Hartley LLP is a plaintiff's commercial litigation law firm based in San Diego, California, offering legal services primarily in antitrust, class action, consumer protection, and unfair competition matters. The firm operates on a contingency fee basis, assuming litigation risk in exchange for a share of recoveries. Their practice areas include antitrust litigation (price-fixing, monopolization, pay-for-delay pharmaceutical cases), class action litigation, consumer protection, data breach litigation, securities litigation, and wage and hour disputes. The firm has recovered billions of dollars for plaintiffs in cases against major corporations across various industries including beef processing, payment cards, pharmaceuticals, and technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Antitrust Litigation Services Plaintiff-side antitrust litigation representation handling price-fixing conspiracies, monopolization claims, Sherman Act Section 1 and Section 2 cases, pay-for-delay pharmaceutical matters, and tying/bundling claims for businesses and consumers in federal and state courts.
• Class Action Litigation Services Class action representation for plaintiffs in antitrust class actions, consumer protection class actions, wage and hour class actions, data breach class actions, and securities class actions, including serving as court-appointed lead and co-lead counsel in MDL proceedings.
• Commercial Contingency Representation Plaintiff-side commercial litigation representation on a contingency fee basis for businesses in complex commercial disputes, breach of contract claims, and shareholder litigation, with the firm assuming litigation risk in exchange for a percentage of recovery.
• Consumer Protection Services Plaintiff representation in unfair competition, false advertising, and consumer protection claims for consumers and businesses, including class actions involving deceptive trade practices and unfair business acts.
• Data Breach Litigation Plaintiff representation in data breach and negligence cases against companies that failed to protect consumer personal information, including class actions such as T-Mobile and PowerSchool data breach proceedings and UC San Diego Health privacy complaints.
• Securities Litigation Plaintiff securities fraud litigation representing shareholders in private litigation and class actions regarding investment losses, including kickback scheme cases that artificially inflate stock value.
• Wage and Hour Litigation Plaintiff representation of employees and employers in wage and hour disputes including FLSA claims, California state wage and hour statutes, and no-poach/wage-fixing class actions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $1 billion in total recoveries for clients
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Paul LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 August 2025Co-lead counsel with Paul LLP in Zelis antitrust litigation. Jason Hartley appointed co-lead counsel by Judge Murphy in District of Massachusetts in class action antitrust lawsuit against Zelis and health insurers.
• Joseph Saveri and Paul LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2024Co-lead counsel relationship in Jackson Hewitt no-poach antitrust case. Hartley LLP and Joseph Saveri and Paul LLP together served as court-appointed co-lead counsel representing tax preparers in antitrust litigation against Jackson Hewitt's no-poach agreements.
• Karon LLCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2021Co-counsel in Los Osos High School privacy violation case. Jason Hartley and Jason Lindner worked with Daniel R. Karon and Beau D. Hollowell of Karon LLC.
• Tousley Brain Stephens PLLCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 September 2021Co-counsel in T-Mobile data breach class action. Jason Hartley worked with Jason Dennett and Kim Stephens of Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC filing complaint on behalf of nationwide class.
• Lieff Cabraser and Fine Kaplan and BlackcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2020Co-counsel relationship in railway employees no-poach class action. Lead class counsel with Lieff Cabraser and Fine Kaplan and Black obtained final approval of $48,950,000 settlement for Wabtec and Knorr Bremse employees.
• Hausfeld LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2020Co-lead counsel relationship in In re Diisocyanates Antitrust Litigation. Plaintiffs are represented by co-lead counsel Hartley LLP and Hausfeld LLP in polyurethane chemical price fixing MDL.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hartley-llp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Hartley