Kanner and Whiteley

What Kanner and Whiteley does

Kanner and Whiteley, L.L.C. is a private litigation boutique law firm headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, founded in 1981 by Allan Kanner. The firm represents state governments, municipalities, public entities, consumer plaintiffs, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in complex litigation, with a particular specialization in environmental law, natural resource damages, consumer protection, pharmaceutical fraud, antitrust, and insurance disputes. The firm operates on a contingency fee basis for class action and complex plaintiff matters, advancing litigation expenses and earning fees only upon successful settlement or verdict, and also provides professional services representation to government clients under negotiated arrangements. The firm's underlying 'technology' is human expertise: attorneys with multi-jurisdictional licenses (14+ states and territories), a 60+ article body of environmental law scholarship authored by the founder, and a four-decade track record of court-appointed lead or co-lead counsel roles in federal multi-district litigation (MDL).

K&W's distribution is built on three channels: direct engagement by state attorneys general and corporate clients; court appointments as lead or co-lead counsel in MDL proceedings; and referrals based on judicial reputation and industry recognition (Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Lawdragon 500, Martindale-Hubbell AV rating since 1987, U.S. News Best Law Firms Tier 1). Notable client outcomes include approximately $10 billion recovered for the State of Louisiana from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a $225 million natural resource damages settlement for the State of New Jersey against ExxonMobil, a $129 million jury verdict in Bonilla v. Trebol Motors, and an $89 million settlement in In re Synthroid Marketing Litigation. The firm has 7 attorneys (including founder Allan Kanner, managing member Conlee Whiteley, and member Cynthia St. Amant) plus support staff including paralegals and a controller, and has continued to add associate and paralegal capacity through 2025. There are no external investors, no parent company, and no public capital structure; ownership rests with the partners.

Name

Kanner and Whiteley

Legal name

Kanner & Whiteley, L.L.C.

Website

https://kanner-law.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kanner and Whiteley is a New Orleans-based litigation boutique founded in 1981, representing state governments, municipalities, consumer plaintiffs, and businesses in complex environmental, class action, pharmaceutical fraud, and insurance litigation, with court-appointed MDL leadership roles nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Contingency Fee: The firm represents clients in class action and complex litigation on a contingency fee basis, where fees are earned upon successful settlement or verdict. Courts have noted the firm takes cases 'on a contingency basis and advancing all of the necessary litigation expenses.'
2. Legal Services - Government Representation: Representation of state governments and public entities in environmental litigation, natural resource damages, and consumer protection cases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Kanner & Whiteley is a litigation boutique law firm that represents state governments, municipalities, businesses, and consumer plaintiffs in complex and class action litigation. The firm's practice centers on environmental litigation, natural resource damages claims, consumer protection and pharmaceutical fraud class actions, antitrust litigation, insurance coverage disputes, False Claims Act/whistleblower matters, and public entity representation. Services are delivered through direct attorney engagement and court-appointed leadership in multi-district litigation, often on a contingency fee basis for plaintiff work.

Product overview

Kanner & Whiteley is a litigation boutique law firm offering legal services across multiple practice areas. The firm operates as a unified legal practice providing Environmental Litigation, Complex Litigation and Class Actions, Representation of Public Entities, Consumer Protection Law, False Claims Act/Whistleblower Protection, Insurance Law, Commercial Litigation, Labor Law, and Agricultural Law services. Rather than a product-based architecture, the firm functions as a coordinated team of attorneys who collaborate across cases, with attorneys often serving in leadership roles (such as Lead Counsel or Co-Lead Counsel) in major multidistrict litigation (MDL) matters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Environmental Litigation Legal representation in environmental contamination cases, including natural resource damages, claims against polluters, and regulatory compliance matters, for state governments, tribes, and private entities.
• Complex Litigation and Class Actions Management and litigation of complex cases involving multiple parties and districts, including multidistrict litigation (MDL) and class action proceedings, serving as lead counsel in major MDL cases.
• Representation of Public Entities Legal representation for governmental entities including school boards, counties, municipalities, and state governments in environmental, consumer protection, and other litigation matters.
• Consumer Protection Law Investigation and litigation of consumer fraud cases, including class actions against companies engaged in deceptive marketing practices, defective products, and pharmaceutical fraud.
• False Claims Act and Whistleblower Protection Legal representation for whistleblowers with knowledge of false claims and regulatory violations under the False Claims Act, pharmaceutical laws, and environmental whistleblower protection laws.
• Insurance Law Representation of property owners, businesses, and public entities in insurance claims following disasters, improper claim payments, and insurance litigation matters including first-party and third-party insurance disputes.
• Commercial Litigation Legal representation for commercial clients in various legal disputes, including matters involving industrial, manufacturing, and corporate clients.
• Labor Law Legal representation for labor unions in various litigation matters including employment disputes and worker protections.
• Agricultural Law Legal representation for agricultural clients including farmers and agricultural businesses in disputes involving product liability, crop damage, and related matters.

Quantifiable outcome

• $10 billion settlement for Louisiana in Deepwater Horizon litigation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Various Law Firms (Co-Counsel Relationships)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerK&W forms strategic partnerships with firms of varying size and specialty across the nation to handle complex litigation and class actions. The firm regularly serves as lead or co-lead counsel working alongside other law firms in multi-district litigation, pharmaceutical litigation, environmental cases, and consumer fraud matters.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Motley Rice: South Carolina plaintiff litigation boutique renowned for asbestos, environmental, and consumer fraud MDL leadership — directly comparable profile of national mass tort and class action work.
• Keller Rohrback: Seattle complex-litigation boutique with a strong environmental and consumer protection class action docket, including PFAS representation; direct overlap with K&W's environmental and consumer work.
• Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman: National plaintiffs' complex litigation firm with strong consumer fraud, pharmaceutical, and mass tort practices; comparable contingency-fee plaintiff-side boutique operating model.
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll: Washington, D.C. plaintiffs' firm with leading class action, consumer protection, and public entity practices; comparable in MDL leadership and contingency model.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: San Francisco plaintiff complex-litigation firm with extensive MDL leadership in pharmaceutical, consumer, and antitrust class actions; mirrors K&W's complex litigation and class action core.
• Robins Kaplan LLP: Minneapolis-based complex litigation firm with a nationally recognized plaintiffs' class action and mass tort practice; comparable court-appointed MDL leadership profile.
• Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro: Seattle-based plaintiffs' class action firm with major verdicts in consumer protection, pharmaceutical, and antitrust matters — overlapping with K&W's consumer protection law practice.
• Weitz & Luxenberg: New York plaintiff mass tort boutique specializing in environmental contamination (mesothelioma, talc, opioid) and class actions; comparable in court-appointed leadership roles and contingency model.
• Baron & Budd: Texas-based plaintiff litigation boutique long known for environmental contamination, mass tort, and class action work, with a virtually identical practice footprint to K&W's environmental/NRD core.
• Seeger Weiss LLP: New Jersey plaintiffs' mass tort and class action boutique with deep pharmaceutical and environmental MDL experience — directly overlapping with K&W's pharmaceutical/NRD docket.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 Kanner and Whiteley