Kelly Perigoe

• Drafted the brief and argued before the California Courts of Appeal on behalf of an entertainment media company in an appeal from the confirmation of an arbitration award, resulting in a published decision in the client’s favor
• Filed an amicus brief in Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sitting en banc, on behalf of the general partner and investment manager of two hedge funds that invest in legal financing, regarding the constitutionality of the appointment of SEC administrative law judges under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution
• Filed an amicus brief in PHH Corporation, et. al v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sitting en banc, on behalf of a hedge fund regarding the constitutionality of the CFPB’s structure
• Represented a major clothing retailer that had lost an insurance dispute in trial court, obtaining a complete reversal in a published decision by the California Court of Appeal regarding an insurer’s duty to defend where there is potential for coverage for disparagement
• Stepped in as appellate counsel for a nationwide health club, obtaining an affirmance of the trial court’s dismissal of a class action, persuading the Court of Appeal that the plaintiffs had failed to prove class-wide consumer confusion under California’s Unfair Competition Law
• Was an integral part of the appellate team that secured an affirmance of the trial court ruling the team obtained in favor of Fox Searchlight Pictures on breach of contract claims brought by the producers of the film Napoleon Dynamite
• Represented a transgender woman seeking an amendment to the gender marker on her Kansas birth certificate in a petition for review of an adverse agency ruling before the Kansas district court
• Obtained withholding of removal for a transgender woman who had been severely persecuted in her home country of Belize–including being threatened with death by her family and detention by local police–because of her sexual orientation and gender identity
• In partnership with Inner City Law Center, represented a class of low-income, Spanish-speaking tenants living in uninhabitable conditions, obtaining a settlement that included a $400,000 payment to the clients, and required repairs to the apartments, ongoing control of pest infestation problems, and numerous other improvements to the building

Kelly Perigoe focuses on appeals and critical motions in state and federal appellate courts, and advises trial teams on key issues and in pre-trial and post-trial motion practice.  Kelly’s practice covers a wide variety of substantive areas, including complex commercial litigation, intellectual property law, and class actions.

A former Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judicial clerk, Kelly has over a decade in federal and state courts, throughout the United States and internationally, and from the pre-litigation to appellate phases.  She is regularly tapped to draft dispositive motions involving thorny issues, and leads appellate strategy in clients’ most critical and impactful matters.  In addition to litigating, Kelly counsels clients on novel and complex legal issues affecting their businesses.

Kelly has been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers Under 40 by the LGBT Bar Association in 2018, a Southern California Top 50 Women Rising Star in 2018 and 2019, and a Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2016 to 2019.  Kelly is also a member of the Los Angeles Leadership Committee of Lambda Legal, a national legal organization whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of LGBT people and people with HIV.  She was a 2019 fellow in the Leadership Counsel on Legal Diversity program, where she continues to serve as a mentor.