Introducing Barnes Law
Consumer Class Actions, Personal Injury, and Public Interest Litigation
Protecting rights. Pursuing justice.
For more than two decades of private practice and public service, Jay Barnes has worked to protect consumers and those who have been harmed by others. In the first decade of his career, Jay worked out of a small firm in his home community of Jefferson City, Missouri, focusing on personal injury, criminal defense, and small business litigation. His passion for making his community better led him to run for state representative in 2010. Both as an elected official and in private practice, he worked on behalf of consumers. As a lawyer, he was drawn to class action litigation, where he could fight for the rights of many individuals, both in Missouri and nationally. In 2011, he filed his first class action to protect the privacy rights of individuals, making him an early leader in this important area of law. In 2018, Jay’s passion for consumer issues led him to work at one of the largest plaintiffs' firms in the country. Working with teams under his leadership, Jay spent nearly eight years leading consumer class action litigation at the highest levels, pursuing justice for individuals, often fighting some of the largest companies in the world.
At every stage of his career, Jay has litigated every client's case as if his own rights were at risk and his own future at stake, pursuing justice with a persistence and dedication that is rarely matched. Jay believes at his core that class actions are critical for a fair system of justice and society as a whole. Yet he is also passionate about being able to help individuals in his own community and beyond when they have suffered life-changing harms.
To bring his vision to fulfillment, Jay opened Barnes Law in 2026. At his own firm, where he has the freedom to pursue his vision, Jay brings the same level of skill and tenacity he has always brought to cases and the experience he has gained litigating against the biggest companies and some of the best lawyers in the world.
As he has always done, Jay values a team approach when the stakes are high and looks forward to working with other talented lawyers to obtain justice for his clients.
Representative Cases
- In re Meta Healthcare Privacy Litigation - Jay is preliminarily appointed as co-lead counsel in a case involving Meta's unauthorized collection of patient data from thousands of healthcare provider websites and apps in the United States.
- Doe v. Google - Jay represents a putative class alleging Google intercepted patient data from thousands of healthcare provider websites in the United States without consent.
- In re Facebook Internet Tracking Litigation, 956 F.3d 589 (9th Cir. 2020) - Jay served as a member of the executive committee in this case against Facebook for tracking users across the Internet even after they had signed-out of Facebook, resulting in a settlement of $90 million and Facebook's agreement to destroy all of the information it had collected from signed-out users during the Class Period.
- Hospital Privacy Cases - Doe v. Sutter; Doe v. Partners; Doe v. Virginia Mason; Doe v. BJC; Doe v. Mercy Health; Doe v. University Hospitals - Jay served as co-lead counsel in cases against healthcare providers in California, Washington, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Missouri for sharing patient data with Meta and Google, resulting in settlements in excess of $60 million.
- Smith v. Atkins Nutritionals - Jay represented a nationwide settlement class alleging false and misleading marketing by the Atkins Nutritionals relating to claims that "maltitol" in its snack bars had no impact on blood sugar. As a result of the case, Atkins eventually removed maltitol from all of its products and paid millions of dollars in reimbursement for consumers who purchased products with the ingredient.
- Janson v. LegalZoom – Jay represented a class of Missouri residents seeking refunds from LegalZoom for the unauthorized practice of law, resulting in a settlement of $7.8 million and injunctive relief requiring LegalZoom to involve actual attorney in certain products.
- In re Google RTB - Jay served on the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee of this case alleging Google sold and shared the personal information of every Google Accountholder in violation of express contract promises. The case resulted in a groundbreaking injunctive relief settlement.
- Rignanian v. LiveRamp - Jay represents a putative class of consumers for LiveRamp's unauthorized interception of their communications and personally identifiable information that is sold to other companies and used to compile consumer dossiers.
- Michie v. The Trade Desk - Jay represents a putative class of consumers for The Trade Desk's unauthorized interception and sale of their communications and personally identifiable information that is also used to compile consumer dossiers.
Experience
Legal Practice
- Barnes & Associates - 2006-2018
- Simmons, Hanly, Conroy - 2018-2026
- Barnes Law - 2026
- Member of the Missouri State Bar - 2006-Present
- Member of the California State Bar - 2025-Present
- Second, Third, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal
Service
- State Representative, Missouri House - representing Jefferson City and Cole County - 2010-2018
- As a state representative, Jay led the House Oversight Committee for five years, including the Special Investigative Committee on Oversight, which was charged with investigating a former governor of the state of Missouri, which culminated in that governor's resignation. At the end, the Kansas City Star noted, "Missourians owe a debt to Barnes, and all members of the [Former Governor's Name] committee, for their hard work, seriousness of purpose, transparency, and bipartisan approach."
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch quoted colleagues who described Barnes as "principled," saying that "confidence in him is universal" and that he was "tenacious, sometimes approaching stubborn. Jay, I think, is a pretty smart person, and when Jay Barnes is convinced he's right he can be immovable."
- Catholic Charities of Mid-Missouri, Board of Directors - 2023-2025
- Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, Board of Directors - 2019-Present
- Youth Basketball Coach - 10+ seasons at Immaculate Conception Grade School
Awards
- 2024 - Missouri Influential Lawyer - Missouri Lawyer's Weekly
- 2019 - Missouri Influential Lawyer - Missouri Lawyer's Weekly
- Missouri Bar Association - Legislator of the Year
- Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys - Legislator of the Year
- Missouri NAACP - Mrytle Smith Oden Award
- Legal Services of Eastern Missouri - Rory Ellinger Public Service Award
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