Kristine Wilkes retired from the partnership in December 2011. She was a partner in the San Diego office of Latham & Watkins. Ms. Wilkes' practice area focused on complex litigation, with a specialty in state and federal appellate court litigation. Ms. Wilkes headed the firm’s West Coast appellate practice. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a law clerk for two years to Judge William B. Enright of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
Ms. Wilkes handled numerous appellate, trial and alternative dispute proceedings covering a broad spectrum of legal areas, including insurance, land use, intellectual property, contracts, securities, constitutional law, employment, antitrust, health care law, class action litigation and civil procedure.
Among awards, Ms. Wilkes was named by her peers to “Best Lawyers in America” for 2006 to the present. She was also listed as one of the "Top Lawyers" in San Diego in 2006 to the present by San Diego Magazine and the San Diego Daily Transcript.
Ms. Wilkes has been a member of the Board of Governors for the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and a member of the San Diego County Bar Association's Appellate Court Committee. In 2010, she was a finalist for the prestigious Athena Pinnacle Award.