Kristen Santillo

Kristen Santillo is an experienced criminal and civil litigator. She has represented targets and witnesses in enforcement actions brought by the S.E.C., U.S. Attorney’s Office, New York State Attorney General and the F.D.I.C. relating to insider trading, disclosure violations and accounting and bank fraud. She has defended individuals charged with serious federal and state crimes, including wire fraud, bank bribery, tax evasion, campaign finance violations, mortgage fraud, health care fraud and illegal gambling. Ms. Santillo is committed to indigent criminal defense, and serves as a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel in the Southern District of New York. In her civil practice, Ms. Santillo has represented corporations and individuals in complex tort and contract litigation matters.

Prior to starting Gelber + Santillo PLLC, Ms. Santillo worked at boutique white collar criminal defense firms in New York and New Jersey. She began her career as a complex civil litigation and enforcement associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where she met Mr. Gelber.

Ms. Santillo served as a law clerk for the Honorable Timothy M. Burgess in the United States District Court for the District of Alaska, and Chief Justice Dana Fabe of the Alaska Supreme Court. She is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and Boston College, where she graduated summa cum laude. She practices in New York and New Jersey state and federal trial and appellate courts.