Susan Kessler represents clients in a broad range of industries and areas of the law, including structured finance litigation and other corporate matters. She has extensive experience in crafting, developing, and executing complex case strategy from discovery to dispositive motions to trial and appeal.
Most recently, Susan served as lead counsel in a multiweek AAA arbitration, successfully obtaining a multimillion dollar award in connection with a commission dispute in an M&A transaction. She was also recently part of a team that obtained an arbitration award in favor of a founding owner of a professional sports franchise in a multibillion dollar valuation dispute. She has also represented clients in numerous Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitrations. Susan has extensive experience representing financial institutions in high-stakes litigation involving residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), and other asset-backed securities. She regularly advises corporate trust departments regarding various issues that affect securitizations, including legal and regulatory risks associated with the cessation of LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) and the Eleventh District Cost of Funds Index (COFI).
Susan serves as secretary on the board of the River City Brass Band and is also on the board of Bunker Projects, a nonprofit artist residency and experimental gallery located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Experiencia
- University of Pittsburgh (J.D. magna cum laude 2016; Order of the Coif; Senior Articles Editor and Published Member, Law Review; Appellate Advocacy Award); University of Missouri-Columbia (B.S. in Business Administration cum laude 2013)
- Pennsylvania and U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
- Intern, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (May-July 2014)
The Legal Intelligencer's Professional Excellence Award, "Lawyer on the Fast Track" (2023)
- Extern to Judge Nora Barry Fischer, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania (July-December 2014)