Kate Spelman

Practice Areas

For consumer product companies facing threats of class action litigation, Kate Spelman is a formidable ally. Tailoring her approach to align with each client’s goals, she helps them navigate complex challenges related to their marketing, advertising, and product labeling practices—often resolving disputes through creative alternatives to litigation. A leader at the firm, Kate serves as Co-Chair of the Class Action, Consumer Brands, and Food and Beverage practices.

Kate’s consumer class action experience spans all stages of litigation for food and beverage, personal care, household goods, technology, and retail industry companies. She works to give clients the upper hand, whether by negotiating resolutions to pre-litigation demands or by reaching efficient outcomes through arbitration and mediation. In court, her direct, compelling arguments establish credibility and sway judges and juries to her client's viewpoint.

Kate also has significant experience representing clients in connection with privacy claims, including those arising under the California Invasion of Privacy Act. Kate has successfully represented a wide variety of consumer-facing companies defending against privacy claims in California state and federal courts, as well as several arbitral forums.

Before joining Jenner & Block, Kate was in-house litigation counsel to a large, vertically integrated food and beverage manufacturer. She developed a deep understanding of how a business’s internal objectives and risk tolerance guide its approach to litigation, which continues to inform her client relationships. Companies value her collaborative attitude and commitment to learning their operations. In addition to defending them forcefully in litigation, Kate uses her knowledge of legal and regulatory trends to help in-house teams spot and avoid risks in their advertising, labeling, and marketing claims.

Kate maintains a robust pro bono practice, including through her representation of capital defendants in civil rights litigation, tenants wrongfully evicted from their apartments, and immigrants seeking asylum in the United States. Kate recently helped obtain asylum for an indigenous Guatemalan man and his son fleeing persecution in their home country. Kate also serves on the board of directors for Public Counsel, one of the country’s largest pro bono law firm assisting more than 30,000 children, youth, families, and community organizations every year with free legal services.