Christina Lesko
Partner | Litigation
christina.lesko@pierferd.com
+1.312.415.3614 cell
+1.779.243.2447 office
Chicago
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About
Christina is an experienced business litigator and advisor, counseling her corporate and financial institution clients through both complex litigation and asset sales.
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She focuses her practice on the financial industries sector, with an emphasis in securities litigation.
Practices
Banking and Financial Services
Bankruptcy, Financial Restructuring, and Reorganization
Class Action Defense
Commercial Litigation
Litigation and Risk Management
Admissions
Illinois
Iowa
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
Education
University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, Order of the Coif, 2011
Wheaton College, B.A., magna cum laude, 2008
Professional and Community Involvement
Director of Lawyers for Veterans, First Responders & Educators, 2011-present
Awards
Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch: Commercial Litigation (2024-2025)
Experience
Troutman Pepper Locke
Staff attorney to the Iowa Court of Appeals, 2016-2017
Legal extern to the Honorable Joseph S. Van Bokkelen, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, 2010
Clerkships
Hon. Michael Mullins, Iowa Court of Appeals, 2016-2017
Hon. James E. Gritzner, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa, 2011-2013
Representative Matters
Represented financial institutions through the disposition of their distressed asset portfolios, including through Article 9 sales, litigation with debtors and third parties, and transfer and sale of the underlying assets.
Represented officers and shareholders of a closely held corporation in actions involving breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
Represented business partners in a matter involving breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims regarding a land investment dispute.
Represented lenders in multiple breach of contract and guaranty actions in both state and federal court.
Obtained removal, reassignment, and stays of multiple class actions pending in the Northern District of Illinois in favor of a first filed action pending in federal court in D.C. for a mortgage lender, consolidating the client’s risk and exposure.
Assisted in representing the Wisconsin State Legislature in various state and federal matters.
Obtained favorable resolution for securities underwriters against a multimillion-dollar securities fraud class action in the Southern District of New York regarding the initial public offering of a Chinese company.
Successfully mediated or otherwise resolved numerous actions against broker-dealers and brokers before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Represented purchaser before the Southern District of Iowa in a multimillion-dollar dispute regarding the seller’s breach of an asset purchase agreement and successfully compelled arbitration of the parties’ dispute over the post-closing purchase price adjustment.
Represented national bank in a $30 million lawsuit involving the sale of distressed debt in the Northern District of California, obtaining dismissal of all contract and tort claims.
Successfully mediated claims for a financial institution brought by numerous property owners asserting negligence, fraud, and failure to disclose material defects.
Represented a business owner in an action in the Eastern District of Texas involving the multimillion-dollar sale of a startup software company and the purchaser’s breach of the promissory note.
Represented multiple banks in various complex foreclosure matters.