Christopher Leach > Kirkland & Ellis LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile
Kirkland & Ellis LLP Offices
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1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20004
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
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Christopher Leach
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Position
Christopher Leach is a litigation partner in Kirkland’s Washington, D.C., office. As a former attorney with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), his practice focuses on consumer-facing issues, including data privacy, false advertising, marketing practices and other aspects of customer acquisition. He represents and advises clients in a broad range of industries, including the fintech, financial services, food and beverage, automotive and telecommunications industries, defending those companies in litigation, before government agencies and in self-regulatory proceedings such as the National Advertising Division (NAD).
As a lawyer in the FTC’s Division of Financial Practices, Christopher investigated and litigated consumer protection enforcement actions and developed enforcement policy. His relevant areas of experience include fintech, cryptocurrency, consumer financial data privacy, gig economy, fair lending and consumer telecommunications. He worked on some of the agency’s most visible fintech actions, including active litigation against FleetCor Technologies, Inc. and its CEO for deceptive advertising and charging customers hundreds of millions of dollars in unauthorized fees through its B2B payment system; a $10 million settlement with Yellowstone Capital in connection with the company’s merchant-cash-advance practices; and advised on cryptocurrency issues.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Antitrust > Merger control
The ‘excellent’ team at Kirkland & Ellis LLP is renowned for its ability in handling high-stakes, multi-jurisdictional mergers, with its strengths on full display in the recent trial win over the DOJ in UnitedHealth’s $13.8bn acquisition of Change Healthcare. The team handles an ample influx of HSR filings and possesses standout capabilities in acting for clients before the DOJ and FTC, hailing from the worlds of aerospace, energy, pharma and retail. Matthew Reilly is a key figure in the team, noted for his focus on antitrust litigation, complex transactions and government investigations where major clients depend on him to navigate the approval process for high-profile transactions. Marin Boney frequently represents clients before the FTC and DOJ in merger reviews and government investigations, while Richard Cunningham is noted for his litigation capabilities. The team has been strengthened by the arrival of Christopher Leach who joins from Mayer Brown and Rebekah Tobison Scherr who joins from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and New York’s Daniel Zach, who arrived from Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in January 2024. All practitioners mentioned are based in Washington DC unless otherwise stated.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: litigation
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- International trade > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Government > Government relations
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy litigation: oil and gas
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Tax > International tax
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Government > State attorneys general
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Finance > Project finance
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- International trade > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Energy > Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Commercial lending
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism