DeFilipp

Kristyn DeFilipp

Partner
Co-Chair, Litigation Department
Boston

Clients across the entire healthcare industry come to me for creative and practical solutions to business challenges.

Kristyn DeFilipp provides clients advice and advocatesto help them resolve legal disputes in highly regulated industries. Her practice is predominantly focused in the healthcare and life sciences spaces, and includes impact litigation, complex commercial litigation, and high stakes employment investigations and disputes. She represents clients throughout the healthcare industry: payers, hospitals, pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies, health IT companies, and other healthcare adjacent businesses. She combines her wide-ranging litigation and trial experience, her industry expertise and her pragmatic instinct to develop strategies for her clients to tackle problems in and out of court. 

Kristyn is a member of the firm’s State AG group and regularly collaborates with members of the firm’s nationally-recognized Healthcare Regulatory Department to provide holistic counsel on federal reimbursement laws, state PBM laws, and disputes between payors and providers.
 
Her experience includes matters before state and federal trial courts, federal appellate courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators. She focuses on strategic and high-value solutions for business disputes, and enjoys working closely with clients to determine the best course of action to achieve their goals. She has significant trial experience, having tried on more than a dozen cases in her fifteen years of practice. 
 
Kristyn plays an active role in internal firm matters. She currently co-chairs the Litigation Department. As co-chair, Kristyn is responsible for the strategic direction of the firm's 65-plus litigators who work across practice areas and industries.  She partners with leadership to recruit and retain top talent, spur innovation, and deliver exceptional legal services to clients. She is also active in the firm’s pro bono program. Kristyn previously served as a Special Assistant District Attorney for Norfolk County, where she represented the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in all stages of criminal prosecutions, including bench and jury trials. 

Education

  • Harvard Law School, J.D., 2009
  • Boston College, B.A. in Theatre Arts and English, summa cum laude, 2004

Bar and Court Admissions

BAR ADMISSIONS
  • Massachusetts

Experience

HEALTHCARE-RELATED LITIGATION
  • Represents national trade association for pharmacy benefit managers in federal impact litigation, successfully invalidated multiple state laws on ERISA and Part D preemption grounds.
  • Represents a Fortune 500 company as national settlement counsel in multi-state opioids litigation brought by states, cities and counties
  • Represented medical school in dispute with teaching hospital.
  • Represented dental services organization in enforcement action alleging violation of state consumer protection laws
  • Represented healthcare provider in reimbursement appeal arising out of Medicare related-party principles.  Provider prevailed after administrative hearing.
  • Represented national trade association for behavioral health providers in amicus brief to First Circuit on False Claims Act liability.
COMPLEX BUSINESS DISPUTES
  • Represented parent company in post-acquisition Earn-Out dispute audit.
  • Represented startup “green wall” business in patent license and fiduciary dispute with former shareholder and his new venture.
  • Represented closely-held corporation and majority shareholder in suit between shareholders and company alleging “freeze-out” and breaches of fiduciary duty.  Obtained jury verdict against minority shareholder for breach of fiduciary duty relating to FDA compliance.
  • Represented global medical diagnostics company in thirteen-day arbitration over dispute with key vendor concerning exclusivity and FDA quality and compliance issues.  Kristyn examined twelve witnesses, including four expert witnesses, in this contentious and high-stakes contract dispute.
  • Represented closely-held corporation in suit between stockholders and counterclaim by company against 50% stockholder.  Obtained favorable high six-figure jury verdict against 50% stockholder for his breach of fiduciary duty to the company arising out of stockholder’s communications with labor union.
  • Represented multinational software consulting company in ICDR arbitration regarding dispute over implementation of CRM software at telecommunications utility, resulting in multi-million dollar award for client.
  • Represented medical device manufacturer in patent infringement suit involving methods of automating nucleic acid diagnostic assays and related consumable products, resulting in favorable settlement.
EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION
  • Successfully defended renowned biological engineer in internal investigation relating to allegations of racial bias.
  • Represented hospital client in gender discrimination action resulting in favorable settlement.
  • Won full defense verdict after federal jury trial on behalf of hospital client, securing dismissal of all claims in a multi-count complaint alleging race discrimination.  Kristyn served as second chair litigator on this trial team and handled examinations of the individual defendant, damages expert witness, and the plaintiff’s key fact witness.
  • Won administrative trial on behalf of retail coffee client, dismissing all age discrimination and retaliation claims (37 MDLR 154).
  • Successfully defended national retail chain in charge of disability discrimination and retaliation, resulting in lack of probable cause finding by state agency and dismissal of federal lawsuit.
  • Successfully defended an employer in a race discrimination case by achieving dismissal at beginning stages of the case at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. 
  • Successfully represented an employer in a dispute concerning a card-check procedure set forth in a union neutrality agreement.
SIGNIFICANT PRO BONO/CIVIL RIGHTS EXPERIENCE
  • Advising multiple clients on reproductive rights laws in wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
  • Co-authored amicus briefs on behalf of MassTLC in federal court cases related to “travel ban” executive orders.
  • Represented plaintiffs in federal Fair Housing Act case against major East Coast based multi-state rental company, achieving favorable settlement, which is one of the first of its kind to hold a landlord responsible for remedying tenant-on-tenant racial harassment.
  • On behalf of a victim of domestic violence, obtained reversal of denial of a 209A restraining order in the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
  • Obtained remand of agency decision in veteran’s claim for service-connection.

Honors & Involvement

HONORS
  • The Best Lawyers in America (2023-2024)
  • Civil Rights Pro Bono Award, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice (LCCR), 2015
  • Harvard Law School Ames Moot Court Competition Semi-Finalist, 2008
INVOLVEMENT
  • Massachusetts Bar Association, Member
  • Boston Intellectual Property Law Association, Member
  • Citizens Schools, 8th Grade Academy Writing Coach

Speaking Engagements