Kerrie Campbell was born on May 2, 1962, in Leominster, Massachusetts, while her father served in the Army at Fort Devens. Her grit and strong work ethic were borne of humble roots. Her grandparents, including both grandmothers, worked in factories doing hard physical labor. At three months of age, her family relocated to rural Anne Arundel County, Maryland when her father transferred to Fort Meade. Both of her parents worked for the U.S. Department of Defense and her father served in Vietnam.

The first in her family to earn a college degree, Ms. Campbell earned her B.A. in Psychology, with distinction, from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where she was recruited on an athletic (volleyball) scholarship. She earned additional academic scholarships for having the highest GPA on the volleyball team and worked a variety of jobs to help pay her expenses.

Ms. Campbell earned her J.D. cum laude from the American University Washington College of Law, where she received the Mooers Trophy awarded to the Most Outstanding Trial Practice student in the Class of 1987. During law school, she worked part-time as an editor for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America in Washington, DC.

High-Profile Trials And Historically Significant Litigation

In 1987, Ms. Campbell began her legal career as a litigation associate at Sedgwick, Detert, Moran and Arnold in San Francisco, CA. Early on, she gained substantial deposition, hearing and courtroom experience in complex hotel fire litigation and as a member of the trial team that obtained a jury verdict in favor of the Westin St. Francis Hotel in a high-profile premises liability case, Jennifer Morgan v. the Westin St. Francis Hotel, brought by flamboyant “King of Torts” attorney Melvin Belli. While on the West Coast, she played competitive volleyball doubles on the beach at Santa Cruz and Marina Green. She returned to the East Coast in 1990 to be close to her family when her father was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that took his life at the age of 50.

For the next 17 years, Ms. Campbell continued her legal career at Collier Shannon Scott in Washington, DC, rising through the ranks as a litigation associate, of counsel, partner and Chair of the Consumer Product Safety practice group. During this time, she developed her unique expertise in Defamation and First Amendment litigation and agency enforcement, investigations and litigation involving the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Trade Commission. She successfully litigated and tried high-profile defamation, First Amendment, commercial speech, gender discrimination and religious freedom cases, including: Dean v. St. Martin’s Press, et al., Dr. Stephen Levin v. WJLA-TV, et al., Deepak Chopra v. The Weekly Standard, et al.; Ida Maxine Wells v. G. Gordon Liddy; U.S. Federal Trade Commission v. R. J. Reynolds; and Lt. Col. Martha McSally v. Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense. Ms. Campbell argued appeals in the Fourth Circuit and Virginia Supreme Court, had three children, took up competitive rowing, trained year-round before sunrise and raced at the Canadian Henley.

In 2007, Ms. Campbell joined Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, a Los Angeles based firm with a national litigation practice, where she remained as a litigation partner in the DC office and served as Chair of the Consumer Product Safety practice group for the next seven years. She successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of FBI Associate Director Mark Felt (“Deep Throat”) in James de Toledano v. John O’Connor, et al., a federal court case challenging Felt’s rights to publish his story as an historic whistleblower (the subject of the 2017 biographical spy film, “Mark Felt: the Man Who Brought Down the White House,” starring Liam Neeson as Felt). During this time, Ms. Campbell received the highest AV preeminent rating and highest ethical standing recognized by Martindale Hubbell, was selected by her peers as a Best Lawyer in America in First Amendment Litigation and inducted as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.

In 2014, aiming to expand her vibrant and growing practice, Ms. Campbell joined New York based Chadbourne & Parke as a litigation partner resident in the firm’s DC office.

A Silence-Breaker Making a Difference For Positive Change

“Kerrie Campbell is a hero for challenging the business as usual narrative and forcing our profession to define what we stand for.”

– ABA Journal, Litigation Section, The Growing Wave of Gender Discrimination Lawsuits Against Big Law, by Carmen D. Caruso (Aug. 22, 2017).

As the result of deeply entrenched gender discrimination in pay, power and promotions that she and other women have experienced, Ms. Campbell decided enough is enough. In 2016, she took a public stand to end gender inequality in the legal industry by becoming lead plaintiff in a class action law suit against a BigLaw firm. Ms. Campbell’s fight for gender equality and accountability in the legal industry has been the subject of global interest, sparked public dialogue and served as a catalyst for positive change. She has written for or been profiled by major national and international publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Business Week, The National Law Journal, Law360, Bloomberg BNA, New York Daily News, The ABA Journal, Reuters, Fortune and others.

Over her 30-year career, Ms. Campbell has built a unique practice advocating for truth, accuracy, fairness and equal justice – from the media, the government, competitors and others involved in unlawful or discriminatory conduct. Ms. Campbell represents and assists companies, public figures, CEO’s, law firms, political candidates and individuals facing unfair reputational attacks. Some of Ms. Campbell’s greatest successes are the stories that never ran. When damaging inaccuracies are published, Ms. Campbell develops a fact-based record refuting damaging inaccuracies, often resulting in the story being removed, retracted or corrected. When warranted, Ms. Campbell is fully prepared to seek appropriate legal remedies through litigation.

In 2017, Ms. Campbell launched KCAMPBELL-LAW, PLLC, a woman-owned law firm built on the strategically powerful melding of “grit with grace”. KCAMPBELL-LAW helps businesses and individuals protect their brands and reputations, and manage risks associated with manufacturing, sale, marketing and distribution of products and services, including compliance with regulatory requirements and safety standards, reporting obligations and related investigations, and development of policies to minimize product liability and class action exposure. Whether it’s a global business seeking a level playing field and fair treatment in the marketplace or a prominent individual seeking basic fairness from the press, Kerrie Campbell works tirelessly to ensure transparency, accuracy and justice for all of her clients.

Activities and Affiliations

• Member, ABA, Litigation Section
• Fellow, Litigation Council of America
• Member, International Consumer Product Health & Safety Organization
• Member, National Association of Women Lawyers
• Member, The National Association of Professional Women
• Member, The Newseum, Friends of the First Amendment Society

Representative Speeches, Events and Articles

• “Sex Discrimination in BigLaw,” Panelist, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, March 27, 2018
• “Litigating the Glass Ceiling: Gender Discrimination Actions Against Big Law,” Panelist, Stanford Law School, Stanford Center on the Legal Profession, Palo Alto, CA, October 13, 2016
• “Gender Discrimination in the Workplace,” Panelist, Lawyer to Lawyer Radio Program, Hosted by J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi, October 14, 2016
• Testimony of Kerrie L. Campbell before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, “The Need for Transparency in the Commission’s Determination of Civil Penalties,” Public Hearing on the Commission’s Agenda and Priorities for FY 2017 and 2018, June 15, 2016
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Filing, “Comments on CPSC’s Proposed Rule on Information Disclosure Under Section 6(b) of the CPSA,” The Coalition for Sound Safety Solutions, by Kerrie L. Campbell and Aaron Bartell, April 28, 2014
• “4th Circuit CPSC Ruling Won’t Stop Fight For Accurate Reports,” Law360, Expert Analysis, by Kerrie L. Campbell, April 21, 2014
• “In the Glare of the Media Spotlight: Essential Steps to Protect Your Reputation and Insist on Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting,” Presenter, National Association of Women Lawyers 8th Annual General Counsel Institute, New York, NY, November 8, 2012
• “Communicating with the Media: Basic Steps for Insisting on Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting,” Presenter, Manatt Women’s Initiative Summit, Santa Monica, CA, May 18, 2012
• “Overview of American Regulatory Policies and How They Parallel With the CCPSA,” Panelist, Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) Seminar, Toronto, Canada, April 28, 2011
• “CPSIA Public Database: Materially Inaccurate Information,” Panelist, US Consumer Product Safety Commission Public Workshop, Bethesda, MD, January 12, 2010
• “Fairness and Accuracy in Consumer Reporting: How Do We Get There?,” Presenter, International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, 2009 Annual Meeting and Training Symposium, Orlando, FL, February 25, 2009
• “Consumer Product Safety,” Presenter, PMA Promotion Marketing Law Conference, Chicago, IL, November 21, 2008
• “New Enforcement Tools/Prohibited Acts,” The New Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008: The New World of Regulation and Enforcement–2008, Panelist, BNA Legal Edge Conference, Washington, DC, October 30, 2008
• “Access to Information,” The New Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008: The New World of Regulation and Enforcement–2008, Panelist, BNA Legal Edge Conference, Washington, DC, October 30, 2008
• “The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and You,” Presenter, Electronic Retailing Association Webinar, October 2, 2008
• “How Companies Can Navigate the Sweeping New Compliance and Enforcement Rules in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008,” Analysis & Perspective Article, by Kerrie L. Campbell, Product Safety & Liability Reporter, Vol. 36, No. 37, September 22, 2008, pp. 908-917 (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.)

Education

George Mason University (B.A. 1984, with distinction)
American University, Washington College of Law (J.D. 1987, cum laude)

Admissions

California
District of Columbia
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals – Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals – 4th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals – 5th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals – 7th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals – 9th Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

Professional Background

Litigation Partner, Chadbourne & Parke, PLLC, Washington, DC
Litigation Partner and Chair of Consumer Product Safety Group, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Washington, DC
Litigation Partner and Chair of Consumer Product Safety Group, Collier, Shannon, Scott, LLP, Washington, DC
Litigation Associate, Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, San Francisco, CA