March 11, 2026|News
Buchalter is pleased to announce the launch of its Crisis Management and Strategic Response group, a dedicated task force of the White Collar Investigations and State Attorneys General practice groups. The group’s attorneys are a multidisciplinary team of lawyers designed to guide companies, boards, executives, and high‑profile individuals through rapidly evolving, high‑stakes situations where scrutiny is intense and decisions must be made quickly.
“Crises today unfold in real time, under incomplete information and under significant public and regulatory pressure,” said Kristina D. Maritczak, Co‑Leader of the new group. “Our team understands the urgency, discipline, and clarity required in those moments, and we are built to respond immediately.”
The group integrates attorneys across investigations, disputes, cybersecurity and privacy, employment, corporate governance, and enterprise risk. Buchalter also maintains standing relationships with crisis‑communications advisers, investigators, forensic and incident‑response teams, and public‑affairs specialists, enabling the firm to activate a coordinated response quickly. Where appropriate, the team structures investigations under counsel’s direction to preserve confidentiality and privilege.
“Our lawyers bring a unique operator’s perspective informed by senior in‑house crisis and risk leadership experience,” added Michael Kilgarriff, Co‑Leader of the group. “We know what it means to manage parallel workstreams, coordinate specialists, and support leadership teams when timing is tight and stakes are high.”
The practice advises clients on rapid internal reviews, government investigations, major cyber and privacy incidents, leadership and workplace matters, emergency litigation, governance and board oversight, and post‑crisis remediation. The group regularly supports organizations facing sensitive inquiries and individuals confronting reputationally significant events.
Buchalter attorneys leading these efforts have handled crises involving multistate Attorney General investigations, major financial fraud schemes, international media incidents, product‑liability matters under regulatory scrutiny, and high‑profile individual clients facing complex legal and reputational challenges.
The Crisis Management and Strategic Response group is co‑led by Partners Michael Kilgarriff (Denver) and Kristina D. Maritczak (Seattle).
Buchalter is a full-service business law firm representing local, regional, national, and international clients in a multitude of practice areas and their subspecialties, among them: Bank and Finance, Corporate, Health Care, Litigation, Insolvency and Financial Law, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Real Estate, and Tax and Estate Planning. Buchalter has more than 600 attorneys with offices in California, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
