Education:

• Fairfield University
• London School of Economics General Course Program
• University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (JD)
• Georgetown Law Advance eDiscovery Institute

Bar affiliations & court admissions: 

• Bar of the State of California
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits
• U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Central Districts of California, the Southern District of Texas, the Eastern District of Michigan, and the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

A.J. de Bartolomeo joined Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP as Of counsel in July 2025; she is resident in the firm’s Oakland, California office. A.J. has collaborated closely and effectively as co-counsel with senior attorneys at Kaplan Fox for decades, achieving strong results together in the areas of securities, antitrust and consumer class actions.

As a co-founder and shareholder of Tadler Law LLP, a WBENC-certified, women-owned boutique law firm established in 2019, Ms. de Bartolomeo brings over thirty years of experience litigating complex class, collective, and mass tort matters in courts across the country to her role at Kaplan Fox.  She has built a national reputation as a zealous and passionate advocate. As one former jurist remarked, “[S]he is not only extremely intelligent but is tireless in her representation of her clients and no one cares more about doing a great job for her clients than A.J.”[1] 

Recognized for both her legal acumen and strategic judgment, Ms. de Bartolomeo has, since 2009, been appointed by courts as Lead or Co-Lead Counsel, or as a member of Plaintiffs’ Executive or Steering Committee in numerous high-profile multidistrict litigations (MDLs) including in antitrust, securities and consumer class actions, as well as mass torts, and bankruptcy proceedings.  She has played key roles on Law and Briefing committees, including in Daubert and class certification briefing. Ms. de Bartolomeo has been consistently recognized among the top tier of attorneys with a Martindale Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated for outstanding achievement and demonstration of the highest legal ability and professional ethics every year since 2004, ranked by Chambers and Partners since 20192020-2025, and been recognized by her peers as a Northern California Super Lawyer every year since 2013.

Ms. de Bartolomeo is committed to advancing opportunities for women lawyers.  She is the former Chair of the Women’s Trial Lawyer Caucus of the American Association of Justice (2015-2016), where she oversaw the caucus’s work in leadership training, student scholarship, membership and political outreach, and other pro-civil justice functions. She is an active member of the American Bar Association Sections on Tort Trial and Insurance Practice and the Consumer Attorneys of California. She is a former member of the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Ms. de Bartolomeo is frequently an invited speaker before industry organizations and public corporations on the subjects of best settlement practices and procedures in complex litigation and MDL practice, ESI protocols and compliance, Daubert challenges, Federal Rule 37, corporate litigation risk management and compliance procedures, and ethical procedures for client and case management.  She has also authored articles on ESI protocols and compliance, Daubert challenges, and class action settlement procedures and best practices.

Ms. de Bartolomeo has repeatedly received recognition by legal industry rating organizations, including: Martindale Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review (2004– present); Chambers USA (Band 1 Ranking in e-Discovery) (2023-2025), (Band 3 (2021-2022), and (Band 4 (2019-2020)); and Top E-Discovery and Information Governance Practice and Band-4 Notable Practitioner by Chambers USA (2021); Best Lawyers in Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs (2020-2025); Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, 2022 Edition (2022);; 2020 edition U.S. News – Best Lawyers in America; Northern California Super Lawyer 2013-present; and Top 50 Women Lawyers in Northern California, 2017.

A.J. Is a graduate of Fairfield University (Economics and Politics), the London School of Economics General Course Program (Economics), and University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (Juris Doctorate). A.J. is also a proud graduate of the Georgetown Law Advanced eDiscovery Institute (2019). 


[1]  Judge David R. Herndon (Ret.), U.S. District Court, S.D. Ill.