Adley Burstyner

What Adley Burstyner does

Adley Burstyner is a Melbourne-based Australian law firm founded in 2016 by David Burstyner that specializes in commercial and civil dispute resolution with a particular focus on group claims and class actions. The firm represents individuals, small to medium enterprises, and private entrepreneurs who lack the resources to pursue litigation individually against well-capitalized defendants, with active matters spanning dairy/agriculture (Fonterra Class Action, $25M settlement November 2022), banking/financial services (ANZ cartel investigation), hospitality (Dominant Brewers' Tap Contracts), construction (Combustible Cladding), agriculture/flood (Hume Dam), and retail/franchise (unfair contract terms). The firm operates a sales-led go-to-market motion, capturing potential claimants via expression of interest forms on its website and earned media coverage in outlets such as ABC News and The Age.

The business model is professional services revenue generated through legal fees structured predominantly as no win/no fee (conditional costs agreements), fixed fees, and litigation funding arrangements. Third-party funders — notably Litigation Lending Services on the Fonterra matter — finance litigation costs in exchange for a success fee from any recovery, enabling access to justice for claimants who cannot afford upfront legal costs. The firm assembles custom legal teams per matter from a network of lawyers and barristers developed by David Burstyner over 20+ years in practice, scaling up (30+ lawyers on the largest case) or down as required, and deliberately avoids central business district overhead to offer adjusted costs while maintaining premium dispute resolution performance. Operationally, the firm is a founder-owned private Australian law firm with no parent company, external institutional investment, or disclosed revenue.

Name

Adley Burstyner

Legal name

Adley Burstyner

Website

https://adleyburstyner.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Adley Burstyner is a Melbourne-based Australian plaintiff law firm founded in 2016 by David Burstyner that runs group claims and class actions for individuals, SMEs, and entrepreneurs against larger corporate defendants, funded via no win/no fee and litigation funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Class Action and Group Claim Legal Services

akta.pro primary industry

Claims Advocacy & Loss Recovery Services (FSAEADAH)

Keywords

• Class action litigation
• Group claim services
• Commercial dispute resolution
• No win no fee
• Class action law firm

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Group Claims: Adley Burstyner provides legal representation for group claims and class actions. Revenue is generated through legal fees, which may be structured as no win/no fee arrangements, conditional costs agreements, or fixed fees. Litigation funders may also contribute to costs in exchange for success fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Adley Burstyner is an Australian law firm specializing in group claims and class actions, providing legal representation for individuals and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) pursuing collective litigation against larger corporations. The firm handles cases including shareholder/investor claims, franchise disputes, dairy farmer compensation, flood damage claims, combustible cladding building defects, and anti-trust/cartel damages, operating under no win/no fee arrangements and litigation funding structures.

Product overview

Adley Burstyner is a law firm specializing in group claims (class actions) for individuals and businesses in Australia. The firm offers a portfolio of legal services centered on group litigation across multiple case types: Fonterra Class Action (dairy farmer milk price claims), Dominant Brewers' Tap Contracts Action (craft brewery market access), Hume Dam Flood Action (flood damage claims), Combustible Cladding Claims (building defect claims), ANZ Cartel Class Action (share purchaser claims), and Unfair Contract Terms/Franchisor Behavior Claims (small business protection). All services operate under no win-no fee or litigation funding arrangements, with cases managed by partner David Burstyner and a network of external lawyers and barristers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Group Claims Legal Services Overall legal representation services for group litigation and class actions, enabling multiple claimants to pursue collective legal action against the same party. Services are offered under no win/no fee arrangements and litigation funding structures, making them accessible to clients who cannot afford upfront legal costs.
• Fonterra Class Action Class action against Fonterra for dairy farmers who suffered losses from the May 2016 milk price clawback and step-down, seeking compensation for lost income and consequential losses. The case settled in November 2022 with distributions to farmers approved by the Court.
• Dominant Brewers' Tap Contracts Action Class action investigation and legal representation for independent craft breweries harmed by dominant brewers' (CUB and Lion) restrictive tap contracts that allegedly limited craft brewery access to venues.
• Hume Dam Flood Action Class action legal services for individuals and businesses who suffered flooding losses from the Hume Dam in October 2016, alleging negligent operation of the dam by its controllers.
• Combustible Cladding Claims Legal claims services for Victorian apartment owners and Owners' Corporations seeking rectification and compensation for losses caused by defective combustible cladding on buildings.
• ANZ Cartel Class Action Class action legal investigation and representation for purchasers of ANZ shares during the period 6 August to 8 September 2015 who may have suffered losses due to alleged criminal cartel conduct.
• Unfair Contract Terms and Poor Franchisor Behaviour Claims Legal assistance for small businesses and franchisees experiencing loss from unfair contract terms in standard form contracts or due to franchisor wrongdoing, leveraging remedies available under unfair contract term legislation.

Quantifiable outcome

• $25 million settlement for dairy farmers in Fonterra class action
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Harwood AndrewscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarwood Andrews is Victoria's oldest and largest rural and regional law firm, supporting the Fonterra class action alongside Adley Burstyner. They bring 175 years of experience with strong rural and regional presence to support dairy farmer claims.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Allens: Major full-service Australian law firm with a substantial commercial litigation and class action defense practice. Comparable as a deeper-pocketed Australian incumbent that frequently appears on the opposing side of Adley Burstyner's matters.
• King & Wood Mallesons: One of the largest Asia-Pacific law firms with a strong commercial litigation practice. Comparable as a broad incumbent that handles large-scale disputes and frequently defends class actions brought against corporate clients.
• Herbert Smith Freehils: Global full-service law firm with deep Australian commercial litigation and class action defense capabilities. Comparable as a well-resourced incumbent likely to appear on the defendant side of group claims pursued by Adley Burstyner.

Others

• Omni Bridgeway (formerly IMF Bentham): Major global litigation funder with deep Australian operations. Comparable as a current or potential capital partner for Adley Burstyner's cases, and David's prior employer in The Hague was part of this broader litigation funding ecosystem.
• Burford Capital: Largest publicly traded litigation funder globally, active in Australian class actions. Comparable as a potential or current capital partner funding the kind of group claims Adley Burstyner litigates.

Direct peers

• Shine Lawyers: Major Australian plaintiff firm running class actions and group claims. Comparable as a firm pursuing group litigation on contingency-style fee arrangements, often against large corporations across consumer and financial products.
• Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan: Global litigation-only firm with a strong class action and group claims practice. Comparable as a specialist litigation outfit running complex, high-stakes class actions for plaintiff groups, often against well-resourced corporate defendants.
• Maurice Blackburn: One of Australia's leading plaintiff law firms and a dominant class action practice. Directly comparable as an Australian firm running shareholder, consumer, and group claims against large corporate defendants, often on no win/no fee terms.
• Slater and Gordon: Large Australian plaintiff firm with a significant class action practice (e.g., shareholder and financial product class actions). Comparable as a sales-led plaintiff firm running group claims against listed corporates and financial institutions.
• Phi Finney McDonald: Specialist Australian class action and commercial litigation firm. Highly comparable as a boutique-style plaintiff firm focused on group proceedings, shareholder claims, and competition damages, mirroring Adley Burstyner's model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/adleyburstyner
• Facebookfacebook.com/adleyburstyner
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adley-burstyner

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Adley Burstyner