Jeff Kaliel

Jeffrey Kaliel is a veteran attorney with more than 15 years of legal experience and over a decade focused on complex class-action litigation. He has built a reputation for handling demanding, high-value matters with rigor and credibility, earning the respect of courts, peers, and clients alike. His work reflects a long-standing commitment to public accountability, consumer protection, and principled advocacy, shaped by both professional and military service.

Kaliel is a principal attorney at KalielGold, a Washington, D.C.-based civil litigation firm known for its work in large-scale class actions in federal and state courts. Over the firm’s history, its cases have resulted in settlements and verdicts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. These outcomes include significant victories addressing predatory financial practices and other conduct that harms consumers on a broad scale across multiple industries.

Before entering the legal profession, Kaliel served in the United States Army, where he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. He completed airborne and mountain warfare training and deployed to Iraq in 2003 during the second Iraq War. His military service instilled discipline, leadership, and resilience that continue to influence his approach to litigation and client representation under high-pressure conditions.

After law school, Kaliel participated in the Department of Homeland Security Honors Program, where he worked in the appellate litigation section. He assisted with the internal investigation into the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in preparation for congressional review. He later served as a Special U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of California, prosecuting cases related to border and federal enforcement issues.

Kaliel earned his undergraduate degree in political science from Amherst College, graduating summa cum laude, and spent a year studying philosophy at Cambridge University in England. He received his law degree from Yale Law School in 2005. Since then, he has led numerous state and national class actions, prevailed on certification and dispositive motion practice, and used advanced, data-driven discovery methods to present complex damages models clearly and persuasively.

A core focus of Jeff Kaliel’s practice is combating predatory financial services that disproportionately impact vulnerable and low-income consumers. His work requires deep financial literacy combined with the ability to translate technical concepts into clear arguments for judges, juries, and opposing counsel. In addition to his litigation work, he has supported nonprofit organizations dedicated to transparency and consumer welfare. Outside of practice, he enjoys spending time with his family and exploring the Washington, D.C. region.