What Girard Sharp does

Girard Sharp LLP is a San Francisco-based plaintiff-side class action and complex litigation boutique founded in 1995 by Daniel C. Girard. The firm represents individuals, institutional investors, public retirement systems, union health plans, school districts, municipalities, and Native American tribes in high-stakes multidistrict litigation, with practice areas spanning antitrust (pharmaceutical pay-for-delay, price-fixing, PBM pricing), securities fraud (post-merger stock-drop cases), consumer protection (defective products, data breaches, privacy violations), insurance and financial fraud, and sexual abuse and women's advocacy. Attorneys are repeatedly appointed by federal and state courts as lead, co-lead, or interim lead counsel in MDLs and class actions — credentials that function as the firm's primary case-acquisition channel.

The firm has recovered billions of dollars for plaintiff classes, headlined by nearly $2 billion in combined settlements in the JUUL Labs MDL, $600 million+ in the Capacitors Antitrust Litigation, a $375 million verdict against Meta, $235 million from Altria in the JUUL trial, $215 million in the USC/Tyndall sexual abuse class action, and a $195 million settlement in the Xyrem Antitrust Litigation. Girard Sharp generates revenue almost exclusively through contingency fee arrangements as court-appointed plaintiffs' counsel, with fees awarded as a percentage of class recoveries or judgments. Distribution operates through three primary channels: court-appointed leadership, co-counsel relationships with tier-one plaintiff firms (Susman Godfrey, Lieff Cabraser, Lowey Dannenberg, Korein Tillery, Robins Kaplan, Tycko & Zavareei, among others), and direct investor outreach via financial-news-wire investigation notices.

The firm operates from a single headquarters in San Francisco (601 California St., Suite 1400) with 11–50 employees and no satellite offices, subsidiaries, or external investors. In January 2025, Dena Sharp — who joined as an associate in 2006 and became a named partner in 2018 — succeeded founder Daniel C. Girard as Managing Partner, with Girard transitioning to Senior Advisor and Of Counsel. The firm is a privately held California LLP with no institutional ownership, no funding rounds, and no disclosed M&A activity. Girard Sharp has no AI/ML or proprietary technology products, operating on standard legal-technology and document-review infrastructure.

Name

Girard Sharp

Legal name

Girard Sharp LLP

Website

https://girardsharp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Girard Sharp is a San Francisco-based plaintiff-side class action and complex litigation boutique (founded 1995) that represents individuals, institutional investors, and government entities in antitrust, securities, consumer protection, data breach, and sexual abuse MDLs, recovering billions in settlements and verdicts through court-appointed lead counsel roles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Contingency Fees: Girard Sharp generates revenue primarily through contingency fee arrangements in class action and securities litigation cases. Attorneys are appointed by courts as lead or co-lead counsel and earn fees as a percentage of settlements or judgments recovered for plaintiff classes. The firm also handles select individual cases and institutional plaintiff matters.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Girard Sharp is a plaintiff-side national class action and complex litigation law firm that represents individuals and institutions in securities fraud, antitrust, consumer protection, data breach, product liability, insurance, and sexual abuse matters. Attorneys are routinely appointed by federal and state courts as lead or co-lead counsel in multidistrict litigation and earn fees on a contingency basis as a percentage of settlements or judgments recovered. The firm also issues investigation notices through financial news outlets inviting affected investors and consumers to seek representation.

Product overview

Girard Sharp is a San Francisco-based national class action and complex litigation law firm. The firm does not offer technology products; rather, it provides legal services including securities litigation, antitrust litigation, consumer protection, product liability, data breach litigation, sexual abuse advocacy, and investment fraud representation. The firm's legal services are organized into practice areas including Antitrust, Investments, Finance, Insurance, Consumer, and Sexual Abuse and Women's Advocacy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Antitrust Litigation Plaintiff-side antitrust class action practice representing consumers, union health funds, and institutions in pharmaceutical price-fixing and pay-for-delay cases (Xyrem, Lidoderm, Restasis, Capacitors, Passenger Vehicle Replacement Tires) and other anticompetitive conduct matters, securing hundreds of millions in settlements.
• Investments and Securities Litigation Plaintiff-side securities and shareholder litigation for retail and institutional investors harmed by corporate misrepresentations in merger transactions, securities fraud, and fiduciary breaches. Cases include Maxar Technologies, DXC Technology, Sears Holdings, Allergan, GWG Holdings, Amcor/Berry, Arcadium/Livent, and James Hardie shareholder litigation.
• Finance and Investment Fraud Litigation Plaintiff representation in investment fraud and Ponzi scheme cases, including the Woodbridge Investments litigation that secured a $54 million settlement for victims, JPMorgan Precious Metals Spoofing Litigation ($60 million), and EB-5 immigrant investor fraud recovery from Raymond James ($150 million).
• Insurance Litigation Plaintiff-side insurance litigation, including cost-of-insurance rate litigation against USAA Life Insurance Company that secured a $90 million settlement, and life insurance and annuity class actions on behalf of policyholders.
• Consumer Protection Litigation Plaintiff-side consumer class actions involving defective products (Apple MacBook Keyboard Litigation - $50 million), data breaches (OPM Data Security Breach - $63 million; Salesforce Data Breach Litigation; Accellion Data Breach Litigation), privacy violations (Blue Shield of California Privacy Litigation - 19 consolidated class actions), and product liability matters (Pacific Fertility - $15 million jury verdict; Nexus 6P Products Liability Litigation).
• Sexual Abuse and Women's Advocacy Litigation Plaintiff representation of sexual abuse survivors, fertility patients, and women's health clients. Includes the JUUL multidistrict litigation recovering nearly $2 billion for consumers, school districts, municipalities, and Native American tribes; the Uber sexual assault MDL ($8.5 million first bellwether verdict); and sexual abuse class actions against USC and Dr. George Tyndall ($215 million) and UCLA gynecologist Dr. James Heaps ($73 million).

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly $2 billion recovered in JUUL litigation for consumers, school districts, municipalities, and Native American tribes
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Susman GodfreycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGirard Sharp serves as co-lead counsel with Susman Godfrey in the Accellion Data Breach Litigation. The partnership represents plaintiffs in complex data breach class actions, with the court appointing both firms to lead the litigation following competitive applications.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & BernsteincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGirard Sharp partnered with Lieff Cabraser as co-lead counsel in the JUUL Labs MDL, recovering nearly $2 billion. The firms also worked together on the Xyrem Antitrust settlement and other major cases.
• Lowey Dannenberg P.C.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGirard Sharp appointed interim lead counsel with Lowey Dannenberg, Korein Tillery, and Robins Kaplan in the Passenger Vehicle Replacement Tires Antitrust Litigation against Goodyear, Michelin, and Bridgestone.
• Korein Tillery P.C.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel with Girard Sharp in tire antitrust litigation representing consumers who purchased replacement tires directly from defendants.
• Robins Kaplan LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel in tire antitrust litigation representing consumers who purchased replacement tires from major tire companies.
• Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel with Girard Sharp in Arcadium Lithium securities litigation on behalf of former Livent shareholders.
• Malmfeldt Law Group P.C.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel in Arcadium Lithium case alongside Girard Sharp and Fine, Kaplan and Black.
• The Hall FirmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdam Polk of Girard Sharp appointed Co-Lead Counsel alongside David Hall of The Hall Firm in In re James Hardie Industries PLC Shareholder Litigation. Gary Klinger of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman appointed Liaison Counsel.
• Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips GrossmanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGary Klinger of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman appointed Liaison Counsel in James Hardie shareholder litigation.
• Tycko & Zavareei LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdam Polk of Girard Sharp serving as Co-Lead Counsel alongside Sabita Soneji of Tycko & Zavareei in Salesforce Data Breach Litigation.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & BernsteincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJason Lichtman of Lieff Cabraser joins Adam Polk and Sabita Soneji as Co-Lead Counsel in Salesforce Data Breach Litigation.
• Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdam Polk appointed co-lead counsel with Amber Schubert of Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe in consolidated Blue Shield of California Privacy Litigation encompassing 19 data privacy class actions.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Motley Rice: Mount Pleasant-based plaintiff mass tort and complex litigation firm with significant securities, consumer, and antitrust practices. Direct competitor for plaintiff MDL leadership in similar case types to those pursued by Girard Sharp.
• Susman Godfrey: Houston-based elite plaintiff litigation boutique with parallel class action, antitrust, and complex litigation practices. Co-lead counsel with Girard Sharp on the Accellion Data Breach Litigation and comparable on other MDLs.
• Pomerantz LLP: New York-based plaintiff securities litigation firm with historic leadership in shareholder class actions and merger-related securities cases. Closely comparable to Girard Sharp's active Amcor/Berry, Capital One/Discover, and Arcadium/Livent matters.
• Robins Kaplan LLP: Minneapolis-based complex litigation firm with significant plaintiff antitrust, securities, and consumer class action practices. Co-counsel with Girard Sharp in tire antitrust MDL leadership and frequent co-lead counsel on plaintiff MDLs.
• Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check: Radnor-based securities litigation boutique serving institutional investors in shareholder class actions and derivative suits. Closely comparable to Girard Sharp's Investments practice and securities MDL leadership.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: San Francisco-based national plaintiff class action and complex litigation firm with overlapping antitrust, securities, consumer, and mass tort practices. Direct co-counsel partner on JUUL and other major MDLs alongside Girard Sharp.
• Lowey Dannenberg P.C. New York-based plaintiff antitrust and securities firm with strong pharmaceutical antitrust and consumer protection practices. Co-counsel with Girard Sharp on Tire Antitrust Litigation and overlapping court appointments in MDL leadership roles.
• Korein Tillery P.C. St. Louis-based plaintiff complex litigation boutique focused on antitrust and mass tort work. Co-counsel with Girard Sharp in the Tire Antitrust Litigation MDL and active in parallel plaintiff MDL leadership appointments.
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll: Washington DC-based plaintiff litigation firm with deep securities, antitrust, consumer protection, and human rights practices. Direct competitor for court-appointed MDL leadership roles and similar plaintiff-side complex litigation positioning.
• Labaton Sucharow: New York-based plaintiff securities litigation firm that frequently serves as lead counsel in shareholder class actions and merger-objection cases. Direct overlap with Girard Sharp's investor-focused securities practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/girardsharp
• Facebookfacebook.com/girardsharplaw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/girardsharp
• Instagraminstagram.com/girardsharp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Girard Sharp