Kirkland & Ellis LLP

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.