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Kristy Balsanek

Partner
Global Co-Chair, Sustainability
Kristy is a trusted global advisor to businesses and organizations, helping them integrate practical, holistic sustainability strategies while navigating an increasingly complex and evolving legal and regulatory landscape.
Washington, DC
About

Kristy Balsanek has more than 20 years of legal experience, practicing in both global law firms and in-house roles. Kristy's practice focuses on core sustainability areas including climate transition, green building laws, greenwashing, circularity, extended producer responsibility (EPR), global supply chain, modern slavery, forced labor, and business and human rights.

Infusing a holistic, integrated and practical approach, Kristy serves as a trusted global regulatory advisor by supporting a wide range of clients across sectors in embedding sustainability throughout their businesses and organizations to create resilience and impact in an increasing complex and rapidly evolving legal and regulatory landscape. She counsels public and private companies with both US and multinational operations across all sectors with a particular focus on companies doing business in Europe and Asia.

Kristy supports clients in their business strategies to mitigate risk and finds practical solutions for a myriad of sustainability legal requirements, voluntary industry standards and stakeholder expectations. Kristy advises clients on the full lifecycle of sustainability, including the design and implementation of risk-based sustainability reporting, compliance and corporate governance programs and counseling on global horizon scanning, risk assessments, corporate policies, supply chain due diligence, supplier agreements, supplier codes of conduct, M&A, post-acquisition integration, internal and government investigations, disclosures, audits, trainings, regulatory enforcement and litigation matters.

Kristy serves as the Chair of DLA Piper LLP's Sustainability Steering Committee leading the firm's cross-sector integration of sustainability advisory services across practice areas in collaboration with the firm's lawyers.

 

 

 

Areas of FocusSustainabilityRegulatory and Government AffairsEnvironment, Health and SafetyInternational TradeCorporateLitigation, Arbitration and InvestigationsCompliance
Bar admissionsDistrict of ColumbiaMaryland

EXPERIENCE

Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Disclosure
  • Counseled numerous public and private multi-national companies in the healthcare, industrials, information technology, and consumer goods, food and retail sectors on applicable sustainability corporate reporting and disclosure laws in the US at the federal and state levels as well as coordinate with DLA International attorneys regarding the applicability and legal requirements of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and the EU Taxonomy), and the rest of world (e.g., Germany, France, Australia, Korea, Japan, Singapore)
  • Advised on scope, applicability assessments, legal requirements, gap analyses, global sustainability compliance programs, annual sustainability Reports and sustainability legal disclosure horizon scanning
  • Advised international financial institution on sector-specific US climate disclosure laws and guidance principles
  • Counseled a US headquartered international consumer goods and retail company on priority sustainability and environmental, social and governance (sustainability) laws, including environmental plastics, packaging, deforestation, biodiversity, human rights, modern slavery, forced labor and governance (executive training and oversight)
  • Advised on greenwashing and fair-washing litigation trends for proactive monitoring and compliance
  • Advised a global real estate company on net-zero legislation, benchmarking, reporting, fossil fuel bans and green leasing
  • Advised a private equity firm on pre-investment sustainability due diligence in a global M&A deal, including assessing target's sustainability corporate disclosures legal requirements, sustainability Compliance Program and sustainability litigation risk
  • Advised on post-investment recommendations on sustainability integration and legal compliance
  • Counseled industrials company on sustainability metrics required by credit rating agencies, sustainability corporate disclosure reporting requirements, sustainability compliance program requirements, sustainability litigation risk and recommendations in preparation for credit rating review/reporting for favorable sustainable financing programs
  • Advised global industrials company on proactive US greenwashing litigation, drafted marketing guidance and trained marketing team
  • Advised global technology company on its first ever climate transition plan outlining how the company would transition its existing business model to reach its net-zero goals
  • Counseled global industrials and technology companies on sustainability legal requirements, corporate disclosure laws, sustainability compliance programs, sustainability litigation risk and fiduciary duties
  • Advised company boards on sustainability legal requirements, corporate disclosure laws, sustainability compliance programs, litigation risk and fiduciary duties
Circularity and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
  • Advised numerous large consumer goods and retails brands on compliance with US packaging related extended producer responsibilities laws, including Oregon, Colorado, California, Maine, Maryland, Washington and Minnesota
  • Counseled on packaging EPR laws including joining and negotiating with PROs, reporting requirements, and EPR management compliance planning
  • Advised companies across sectors on EPR regulatory tracking, EPR strategy, and transitioning regulatory frameworks
  • Advised multiple consumer goods companies on compliance with recycling laws, including marketing claims restrictions and packaging mandates
  • Advise national packaging company on M&A EPR due diligence and post-integration strategy across supply chain EPR obligations and supplier agreements
  • Counseled international sports technology company on US e-waste state level legal requirements and compliance obligations
Business and Human Rights
  • Advised major global educational organization on global forced labor, modern slavery, human trafficking, child labor and other business human rights (BHR) laws for corporate sustainability Compliance Program
  • Reviewed and revised Human Rights Compliance Programs and Policies
  • Counseled global informational technology company on investor inquiry regarding UN Sustainable Development Goals and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, investigated compliance policies and procedures and drafted investor responses
  • Advised global consumer goods company on annual global human rights disclosure
  • Advised international consumer goods company on human rights policy, supplier code of conduct and supplier agreements for global supply chain framework
  • Counseled multiple global companies on annual global human rights statements and policies coordinating across jurisdictions, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia

Pro Bono

Kristy is committed to pro bono work, having served previously as outside pro bono counsel to Women Thrive Worldwide, an international women's rights nonprofit organization. 
Education
  • J.D., George Washington University
    Member, The George Washington University Law Review
  • B.A., American University, School of International Service, cum laude
    International Studies and Economics with a minor in German
    Study Abroad: The American University in Vienna, Central European Economics and Politics

Media Mentions

Prior Experience

Prior to joining DLA Piper, Kristy served as the general counsel for the North American divisions of two large international companies and as a global corporate compliance attorney at two international law firms. 

In her most recent role as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Data Privacy Officer of the US division of a global grocery retail company headquartered in Germany, she oversaw and advised the US, European and Asian management teams on a broad range of legal matters, including global compliance, corporate governance, disclosures, risk assessments and investigations, and led the management of the company’s cross-functional business teams on sustainability-related requirements. 

Previously, Kristy served as general counsel at the North American regional headquarters of a leading Swiss-based global provider of airline catering, onboard retail and food logistics to the travel industry where she managed commercial, regulatory and compliance matters involving multi-layered and cross-functional business units, external stakeholders and government agencies.  

Kristy's deep experience holding legal roles as a strategic advisor both in-house and as outside counsel gives her a unique, broad and valuable perspective of legal, commercial and operational insights in counseling trans-disciplinary legal departments, business executives and corporate functions across multiple jurisdictions. Oftentimes, she counsels cross-cultural business teams from numerous countries, drawing upon her experiences living and working abroad (including in Asia and Europe) to bridge cultural differences.  

Additional Information

  • Volunteer, Peace Corps, Daxian, Sichuan, China, (1997 – 1999)

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Non-Profit Board Member and Chair of the Governance Committee, READ Global
  • Member, National Association of Women Lawyers
  • Member, Vital Voices, Regional Council for Washington, DC 

My latest insights

Publication

Trade groups challenge California’s “truth in recycling” law

23 March 2026

Publication
Building glass windows with green overlay

Early SB 261 compliance trends: Practical insights from the first round of voluntary...

18 March 2026

Publication
Ocean_horizon 2560x975

Horizon – News and Trends in Sustainability Law

3 March 2026 .33 minute read

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Phone

+1 202 799 4464
(Work, Washington, DC)