Lipe, Jeffrey H.

Kristy Watkins is a counsel in the firm's Securities and Litigation Departments, and a member of the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice Group and the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Working Group. She joined the firm in 2003.

Practice

Ms. Watkins has a diverse litigation practice with an emphasis on securities, insurance, financial services and commercial litigation. She has represented numerous public companies and their officers and directors in federal and state securities litigation and enforcement matters, including securities fraud class actions, derivative litigation, and SEC, DOJ, and other federal and state regulatory investigations. She also conducts internal investigations for companies in a variety of industries on issues such as revenue recognition, options backdating, accounting improprieties, earnings management and whistleblower claims. Her practice has also included a wide range of other litigation matters, including intellectual property litigation and arbitration of complex business disputes.

Ms. Watkins received her JD from Harvard Law School, where she served on the Board of Student Advisors and was an editor of the Harvard International Law Journal.

Prior to attending law school, Ms. Watkins served as a program analyst and interpreter in the Special Communications Links Program Office of the Defense Information Systems Agency, which administers the U.S.-Russian Presidential Hotline Program and deals with nuclear security issues in the former Soviet Republics.

Ms. Watkins received a BA, magna cum laude, in International Affairs from George Washington University, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.