Christopher Leach is a litigation partner in Kirkland & Ellis' Washington, D.C., office. As a former attorney with the US 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).

Develop, investigate, and litigate consumer-protection enforcement actions. Develop FTC enforcement policy. Comment on proposed legislation. Regularly present on FTC enforcement at private events and media inquiries.• Relevant experience: o Fintech, including payments and small-business finance o Cryptocurrency, including trading platforms o Consumer financial data privacy, including credit reporting and lead generation o Gig economy o Fair lending o Consumer telecommunications

Participated in all aspects of complex litigation. Representative experience: o Lead associate for teams defending Facebook in multidistrict litigation and State Attorney General actions related to alleged Cambridge Analytica data misuse. o Lead associate for Facebook’s Irish and European Union (EU) litigation regarding cross-border data transfers (Schrems II). o Lead associate for Elliott Management’s litigation against the Republic of Argentina in connection with Argentina’s 2001 debt default.

Researched and prepared memoranda.

Prepared trial motions for litigation in the Trial Unit, Enforcement Division; wrote memorandum regarding expert testimony on accounting practices; researched tipper-tippee liability for summary judgment hearing in federal court.

Research and draft memoranda in connection with trial and appellate matters.

Researched and wrote a motion for summary judgment in a Section 1983 lawsuit

Analyzed policy documents relating to a Congressional Review of Traveler inspections at U.S. Border Crossings; interviewed Federal Border Inspectors and Officials at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection; coordinated site visits to Ports of Entry in Detroit and New York. Report published in Fall 2007: "Border Security: Despite Progress, Weaknesses in Traveler Inspections Exist at Our Nation’s Ports of Entry."