Leslie Hakala is a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. She focuses her practice on matters related to government enforcement, internal investigations, white collar defense, and commercial litigation.

Before joining K&L Gates, she was Senior Counsel in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Los Angeles Regional Office. During her 13 years at the SEC, she was responsible for planning and conducting strategic investigations (often with international components) into alleged violations of a wide range of federal laws; recommending potential enforcement actions; negotiating settlements; and litigating matters, including pleadings, discovery, and evidentiary hearings. Among other significant matters, (listed among her representative work) Ms. Hakala was the primary attorney responsible for investigating the role of placement agents in California’s public pension funds’ investment decision-making process.

She has extensive experience working on high-profile matters with international, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and regulators, self-regulatory organizations, financial institutions, private equity funds, and both public and private companies.