Kathleen Herkenhoff is a veteran securities litigator with more than 30 years of experience representing individuals, pension funds, and public entities in complex securities fraud, shareholder derivative, and enforcement-related matters. She brings a rare combination of government enforcement experience and decades of privatepractice leadership in cases exposing corporate misconduct and advancing accountability and governance reforms.
Kathleen began her legal career at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where she served as a Staff Attorney in the Division of Enforcement. In that role, she investigated and litigated securities fraud and insider trading actions, drafted enforcement complaints following extensive prefiling investigations, and negotiated and enforced settlements. Her work at the Commission resulted in significant investor recoveries, including a $22 million judgment in a complex offering fraud, and gave her firsthand insight into how whistleblower information drives successful enforcement actions.
Since leaving the SEC, Kathleen has built a distinguished career litigating highstakes securities class actions, shareholder derivative cases, and related consumer and antitrust matters in courts across the country. She has helped secure more than $1.5 billion in recoveries for investors and has played a leading role in cases involving accounting fraud, misleading disclosures, insider misconduct, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Her derivative litigation work has produced industryleading corporate governance reforms praised by courts for their depth and rigor.
Kathleen frequently represents institutional investors and public pension funds harmed by corporate wrongdoing and has extensive experience litigating matters that originate from whistleblower disclosures or parallel government investigations. She regularly appears in federal and state courts nationwide and has litigated before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Known for her meticulous preparation, strategic judgment, and deep understanding of securities enforcement, Kathleen is particularly adept at evaluating whistleblower allegations, navigating parallel SEC investigations, and advancing cases from initial investigation through resolution. Her background enables her to guide whistleblowers through the complexities of reporting misconduct while protecting their interests and maximizing the impact of their information.
