Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Rail and Road: Litigation and Regulation

Hariklia Karis is a litigation partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis with extensive experience in jury and bench trial, arbitration and appellate, product liability, insurance coverage, and construction law litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country. Hariklia’s successful defense of General Motors Corporation was chosen as one of the top defense wins by The National Law Journal. She was also recently recognized as a Lead Female Trial Lawyer for her work in large exposure civil litigation. In 2018, she was named to Crain’s list of Most Notable Women Lawyers. She serves as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University School of Law, where she teaches “Trial Advocacy.”

Hariklia has managed and tried massive disaster litigation cases for clients, in which substantial reputational and financial exposure is at risk. She served as lead trial counsel for BP in the litigation arising from the “Deepwater Horizon” oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as in several regulatory agency and government investigations that resulted in numerous nationally televised and highly publicized trials. She also serves as trial counsel for General Motors in state and federal cases arising out of the company’s voluntary recalls related to ignition switches and other safety issues.

Northwestern College of Law Adjunct Professor

Bartlit Center for Trial Advocacy

Hellenic Bar Association: President

American College of Greece, Board of Directors

DePaul University College of Law, J.D., with High Honors and Distinction, 1995

Loyola University Chicago, B.A., magna cum laude, 1990