Professional Profile
Kris heads Costello Law Firm’s litigation practice and represents corporations, executives, business owners and professionals in highly regulated industries. Her practice focuses on complex civil litigation, complicated white-collar defense, professional licensing defense, and civil and regulatory defense and compliance. Kris is a courtroom attorney with extensive litigation experience. She has tried more than fifty cases to the bench and the jury, litigated hundreds of contested evidentiary matters and resolved hundreds of matters through motions practice and alternative dispute resolution. Kris teaches trial advocacy at the University of Washington School of Law and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA). She leverages her 27 years of trial experience and 10 years as a teacher of trial advocacy for all the firm’s clients. Kris graduated from Boston College in 1987 with a B.A. in History and received her J.D from Boston University School of Law in 1991. She was admitted to the Washington State Bar in 1991 and worked as a King County Public Defender for seven years. She founded Costello & Associates in 1998. Kris is a member of the Federal Bar Association, Western District of Washington and is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Representative Matters
White Collar: • Represented a witness in a complex federal RICO grand jury investigation • Successfully defended a client accused of a white-collar offense in federal court at trial • Participated in the successful defense of a client accused of tax fraud • Represented a client during an internal investigation and government investigation of wire fraud • Represented witnesses, subjects and targets during a government investigation of violation of the federal False Claims Act • Represented witnesses, subjects and targets during SEC investigations, civil and criminal actions, and served as pool counsel on white-collar matters • Represented a defendant in a high profile 3-month RICO trial in federal court Complex Litigation: • Obtained an injunction for a large corporate client to block the disclosure of its trade secrets • With just 30 days to prepare, successfully litigated a breach of contract construction claim and obtained an award of attorney’s fees • Successfully settled a complex and contentious Federal Privacy Act and computer fraud case • Successfully settled an employee wage claim based on the procuring doctrine rule • Litigated and favorably settled a non-compete provision of an employment contract • Settled a heated partnership dispute quickly and without litigation • Settled insurance, contract, and lease disputes for a large commercial real estate company • Conducted a high profile, high stakes, contentious trial for breach of fiduciary and contract disputes between business partners • Represented a medical doctor at a Medical Quality Assurance Commission (“MQAC”) trial • Successfully represented a medical doctor during a Department of Health investigation • Successfully represented nurses and other health care professionals during Department of Health Investigations General Counsel: • Helped a client from a highly regulated industry prepare for a government audit, and assisted the client with ongoing compliance systems • Assisted a professional service company’s revision of its employee policies and contracts • Assisted numerous clients with establishing regulatory and legal compliance systems • Provided general counsel, case management, and risk management services to business founders and businesses in highly regulated industries • Assisted companies in state and federal enforcement audits, investigations and actions