Christian T. Kemnitz

Christian T. Kemnitz has extensive experience in pre-litigation counseling and all aspects of litigation, including trial, arbitration, and mediation. Mr. Kemnitz is the co-head of the firm’s Financial Services Litigation Practice and concentrates his practice on disputes relating to the financial services industry. In addition, he practices extensively in complex commercial disputes, antitrust and trade regulation, white collar criminal matters and internal investigations.

Mr. Kemnitz’s financial services experience includes litigation, enforcement proceedings, internal investigations, and regulatory actions relating to securities, options, derivatives, commodities and futures. He has extensive experience representing broker-dealers in civil disputes, including arbitration claims brought by customers. In this work, Mr. Kemnitz has an extensive and successful record resolving matters at hearings. He also handles class action litigation brought under the securities laws or relating to the financial services industry. Finally, Mr. Kemnitz has broad experience representing diverse parties at various exchanges, and in enforcement proceedings before the SEC, CFTC, self-regulatory bodies and at stock, option and futures exchanges.

Mr. Kemnitz’s commercial litigation experience includes the litigation of complex contracts, employment matters, products liability claims, disputes within partnerships and closely held corporations, and complex financial matters. His class action experience includes disputes in industries ranging from manufacturing to financial services and involving alleged violations of the antitrust and securities laws or state law product liability claims. Mr. Kemnitz has also represented corporate and individual clients in many industries in white collar criminal matters, including governmental investigations involving the Department of Justice, the SEC and the CFTC. Often those investigations are preceded by comprehensive internal investigations. Mr. Kemnitz has participated in or run internal investigations for manufacturing companies, investment banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.

In addition, Mr. Kemnitz has experience in all aspects of antitrust law and state and federal antitrust litigation, including pre-merger regulatory review, criminal investigations and class action civil litigation relating to claims of conspiracy, monopoly and Robinson-Patman violations by direct and indirect purchasers.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Kemnitz was a law clerk for the Honorable Charles L. Levin of the Michigan Supreme Court. He serves as the treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic in Chicago.

Mr. Kemnitz received his JD from The University of Chicago Law School. While at The University of Chicago Law School, Mr. Kemnitz earned the Llewellyn Cup for excellence in oral advocacy and participated extensively in the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, where he represented indigent clients in administrative hearings and drafted an amicus curiae brief filed in the US Supreme Court. Mr. Kemnitz received his BA, with honors, from Michigan State University.