Andrea focuses her practice on white-collar criminal defense, privacy law and regulatory compliance, and complex civil litigation. Andrea uses her background in criminal defense and her experience interacting with and opposing federal criminal prosecutors to carry a defense-minded approach to her compliance and enforcement defense practice.
After beginning her career in complex civil litigation, Andrea quickly realized that she wanted to focus her practice on white-collar defense and joined a Chambers USA Band 1 and U.S. News & World Report Tier 1 white-collar criminal defense boutique law firm in Chicago, Illinois. During her time there, Andrea defended clients in multi-week federal jury trials involving mortgage fraud, wire fraud, extortion, and conspiracy charges. Andrea has extensive experience representing individuals as both defendants in federal criminal indictments and witnesses in federal criminal grand jury investigations. She represents companies in highly-regulated industries in federal regulatory enforcement investigations and actions. She conducts internal investigations for both state agencies and Fortune 100 companies.
Another aspect of Andrea’s practice is privacy law compliance. In 2019, Andrea became an IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional in U.S. private-sector privacy law (CIPP/US). Andrea further has a Cybersecurity: Managing Risk in the Information Age Certification from HarvardX. When advising clients on privacy compliance, Andrea harnesses her experience defending against and negotiating with the federal government to focus on the issues that will attract regulators.
Additionally, Andrea advises clients that are engaging in novel areas of enterprise, in which the regulatory environment is often unpredictable and quickly changing. For example, Andrea has advised fintech startups regarding licensure requirements across all 50 states and has advised clients seeking cannabis licensure in Chicago, Illinois regarding quarantine, recall, and destruction procedures, training and education compliance, and compliance with the federal criminal framework surrounding cannabis.
Andrea began her career at an AmLaw 100 firm as part of its civil litigation team. Andrea has continued to represent clients in federal and state court in numerous civil cases, including class actions. Andrea has represented financial institutions in employment and compensation disputes, defended class actions alleging FDCPA violations, and represented many clients in high-stakes breach of contract disputes.
Most recently, Andrea has become a nationally certified mediator, NPCM. Having spent years in the courtroom advocating for clients, Andrea’s firsthand experience on both sides of the adversarial process allows her to anticipate the strategies, pressures, and risks that parties and their counsel face, enabling her to guide disputants toward durable, cost-effective resolutions with credibility and precision. While litigation remains a cornerstone of her practice, Andrea recognizes that not every conflict is best resolved before a judge or jury. Her experience in both advocacy and facilitation makes her a trusted resource whether a client’s needs call for a zealous advocate or a skilled neutral.