KATHRYN ALESSI, a partner in Sidley’s Boston office, focuses her practice on securities and shareholder litigation, governmental and regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, and complex business litigation. She holds various leadership positions within the firm, serving as co-chair of SidleyWomen for the Boston office and as a member of the Committee for Evaluation and Compensation of Associates. Kathryn was selected as a “Top Women of Law” honoree by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in 2022.
For nearly two decades, companies and individuals in the financial services, life sciences, healthcare, private equity and technology industries have relied upon Kathryn to navigate complex, high-stakes litigation matters, investigations, and enforcement proceedings involving allegations of misleading disclosures, securities fraud, accounting matters, sales practices violations, and breach of fiduciary duty, among other issues. Kathryn handles securities class action lawsuits, shareholder derivative litigation, mergers and acquisitions and other complex business litigation in state and federal courts nationally and locally in Massachusetts, as well as employment disputes in arbitral forums, often achieving dismissal of claims for clients. She frequently achieves favorable outcomes for clients in complex investigations and enforcement matters before the SEC, FINRA, state securities regulators, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Clients also turn to Kathryn to conduct internal investigations in response to allegations of wrongdoing. Beyond these active litigation, investigation, and enforcement matters, Kathryn counsels clients across a range of compliance and other matters, combining her legal knowledge with a practical approach to help clients minimize litigation and regulatory risk and achieve their business objectives.
In addition to Kathryn’s leadership roles at Sidley, she is actively engaged in civic service. In past years, Kathryn has served as Vice Chair of the planning committee for City Year’s Legal Community Breakfast in Boston, a program that has raised funds for Boston public school students with the aim of building a pipeline of future city leaders. She also participates in the firm’s Veterans Advocacy Project, through which she provides pro bono legal counsel assisting veterans with claims for service-connected disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Kathryn is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif, and received her undergraduate degree from Lafayette College, where she graduated first in her class. Prior to joining Sidley, Kathryn was a partner in the securities litigation and white collar defense group at a leading national law firm and, before that, clerked for The Honorable Franklin S. Van Antwerpen of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.