Office

120 South Riverside Plaza
Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60606
P 312.876.6925
F 312.876.0288
Email

Practice

Consumer Finance »
Litigation »

Repurchase Obligation Advisory »

Anna-Katrina S. Christakis
Partner

Ms. Christakis is a partner in the Litigation group and the co-chair of the firm's Consumer Financial Services practice group. Although she represents both plaintiffs and defendants in the area of commercial litigation, she concentrates in the defense of consumer finance and class action cases. Ms. Christakis has extensive experience handling all aspects of litigation, including trials and appeals, and regularly appears in state and federal courts around the country. She also has experience representing clients at complex commercial mediations and arbitrations. Among the types of matters she has litigated are violations of state and federal consumer protection statutes, housing and credit discrimination charges, claims involving debt collection activities and usury violations, trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition claims, violations of state and federal securities laws, vendor disputes, insurance coverage disputes and antitrust claims.

Professional Activities and Achievements

Ms. Christakis is a member of the American, Chicago and Hellenic Bar Associations. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the American Bar Association's Debt Collection Practices and Bankruptcy subcommittee, and is the past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Consumer Credit Committee. She also serves on the Firm's Pro Bono Committee and is actively involved in promoting and participating in numerous pro bono programs throughout the Chicago area. One of her favorite projects is the Chicago Public Library's Law at the Library series, where she teaches a short course for consumers on "Cleaning Up Your Credit."

While in law school, she served as an Associate Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review and an Articles Editor of the Wisconsin Women's Law Journal. She also participated in the law school's Legal Assistance to Institutionalized Persons program, providing civil and criminal assistance to inmates at a maximum security prison. Ms. Christakis received the 1996 University League Award for her excellence in student service and scholarship.

Publications

Ms. Christakis is the author or co-author of numerous articles, including "The FDCPA Takes a New Direction: Federal Review of State Court Litigation Practices," 63 Bus. Lawyer 717 (2008), "Federal and State Fair Debt Collection Practices Law Developments," 62 Bus. Lawyer 723 (2007), "Consumer Legislation, Regulation and Litigation Update," 61 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 4 (2007), "Suing Defendants Who Later Declare Bankruptcy: Vacating a Dismissal for Want of Prosecution," 94 Ill. B.J. 433 (2006), "Lender Defeats National Class Claim Challenging Collection of Interest on Day Payoff Funds are Received," Consumer Fin. Serv. L. Rep. (May 31, 2006), "An Overview of HOEPA, Old and New," 59 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 203 (2005), "APR splits: Still Legal After All These Years." 56 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 296 (2002), "APR Splits: Has the Plaintiff s Bar Found a Wrong Yet?," 18 Rev. of Banking and Fin. Services 48A (2002), "APR Splits and Extra Points," 1241 PLI/Corp 535 (2001), "Collateral Protection Insurance: Legislatures to the Rescue," 55 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 115 (2001) and "Offers of Judgment in Class Action Cases," 54 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 283 (2000). She is also the author, while in law school, of "Emergency Room Gatekeeping: A New Twist on Patient Dumping," 1997 Wis. L. Rev. 295.

Most recently, she was a featured speaker at the October and November 2007 meetings of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, where she gave presentations on "State Mini-FDCPA Laws" and "Firm Offer of Credit Litigation." She has also presented courses for the Credit Law Institute on the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the Truth in Lending Act, among others.

Education

University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D., 1997)

Visiting Student, Northwestern University Law School (1996-1997)
Cornell University, (B.A. cum laude, 1991)

Bar Admissions

State of Illinois; State of Wisconsin; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois; U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh and Eleventh Circuits