Ken Kliebard is a first-chair litigator with three decades of experience litigating high-stakes antitrust, class action, consumer protection, privacy, and commercial disputes. He also counsels clients on antitrust risks, regulatory investigations, and compliance issues. With a nationwide practice, Ken has appeared in trial and appellate courts in more than 25 states. A zealous advocate for his clients, he is recommended by Chambers for antitrust, and by Legal500 for financial services and dispute resolution. Ken leads the firm’s Chambers-ranked Illinois antitrust and competition practice.
Ken devotes the majority of his practice to defending antitrust and consumer protection matters on behalf of product manufacturers, financial services companies, consumer service providers, and healthcare providers. He has litigated a wide variety of antitrust claims under the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, and the Robinson-Patman Act. He has experience litigating a broad array of claims arising under many federal and state consumer protection statutes with a particular focus on defending financial services and marketing firms. Ken’s experience extends to regulatory and compliance investigations and lawsuits initiated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), state attorneys general, and commodity exchanges. Some of his cases have involved novel legal issues in which Ken was able to obtain full dismissals, defeat class certification, or win summary judgment. For example, Ken won summary judgment in a high-stakes class action lawsuit that was spawned by a US Senate investigation and a highly critical Senate report into his client’s business practices.
He is a fierce advocate for his clients. An appellate brief he authored was praised by Judge Richard Posner as “exceptional” in a case of first impression was included as an exemplar in a legal textbook published by Matthew Bender titled, "The Question Presented.” As an appellate advocate, he won three state Supreme Court appeals in consumer protection class actions presenting novel issues.
When settlement is desirable, Ken has negotiated settlements that have been upheld under the Class Action Fairness Act. And when an indemnitor challenged a class action settlement Ken obtained as excessive, a federal appellate court rejected that argument and held the “settlement was eminently reasonable… a bargain….” Bank One, N.A. v. Echostar Acceptance Corp., 380 Fed. Appx. 513, 521 (6th Cir. 2010).
Ken has been sought out to speak on pressing legal issues by major news outlets, such as CNBC (Power Lunch, On the Money, and Closing Bell), The National Law Journal, The Recorder, and by various trade publications.
Ken is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the US Courts of Appeals for the Third, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits; the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (General and Trial Bar); the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois; the US District Court for Nebraska, and the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Ken maintains an active pro bono practice.
Ranked, Antitrust, Illinois, Chambers USA (2024)
Recommended, Dispute resolution: Financial services: litigation, The Legal 500 US (2017, 2018, 2022–2024)
Recommended, Antitrust: Civil litigation/class actions: defense, The Legal 500 US (2024)
Recommended, Dispute resolution: General commercial disputes, The Legal 500 US (2017)
Member, Practice Group of the Year, Competition, Law360 (2017, 2021)