About Kristen
Kristen Nelson earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received her J.D. from DePaul University in 2012. She spent the first part of her career in retail management, holding roles that ranged from assistant manager at Hermès of Paris in 1993 to department manager at Bergdorf Goodman in 1997 and associate buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1998. Those positions led to leadership roles at MaxMara, where she was store manager in 2002 and regional manager in 2006, and to a store leader position at Restoration Hardware in 2009.
Nelson moved into the legal field after law school, completing internships and clerkships in 2010, including time with the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services and a law clerk role at Heller & Richmond. In 2011 she served as a senior law clerk in health-related prosecutions for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations. She began practicing as a lawyer in 2013 at NelsonHill Law. In 2018 she joined Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP as an associate and was elevated to partner in 2023.
Her admissions include the Wisconsin bar, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Nelson holds memberships in the Wisconsin Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Milwaukee Bar Association, the American Health Lawyers Association and the Association for Women Lawyers. Her time as a senior law clerk in health-related prosecutions informs part of her perspective on regulatory matters and compliance issues, and her court admissions reflect steady engagement in both state and federal practice.
Nelson’s career is notable for an early trajectory in commercial leadership followed by a deliberate move into public sector legal work and private practice. At Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown she has taken on greater responsibility since joining the firm, becoming a partner in 2023 and participating in matters that appear in Wisconsin state and federal courts. She maintains an active practice at Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP, handling matters in Wisconsin and the federal courts where she is admitted.
