Voices of Kobre & Kim: Danielle Bateman

August 26, 2026

Danielle Bateman, an attorney in Kobre & Kim's Delaware office, discusses her return to the firm after serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, the lessons she brought back from government service, and the collaborative culture and global platform that continue to define her experience at Kobre & Kim. 

You first joined Kobre & Kim as an Associate and later served as a Trial Attorney and an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, before returning as a Principal. What drew you back to the firm, and how has your perspective on Kobre & Kim evolved since your first stint here? 

After seven years at the U.S. Department of Justice working on some of the most cutting-edge national security, cyber, and financial crime matters, I knew I wanted to return to a practice that offered the same level of challenge and variety. At the DOJ, no two matters were alike, and I wanted to find that same diversity of work in private practice. 

What drew me back to Kobre & Kim was the breadth of matters, the depth of the teams, and the firm's genuine global perspective. You're not siloed by practice area or geography. Every matter presents a different challenge, and you work in a truly integrated and seamless manner with people across offices and backgrounds to solve complex problems. 

The other thing that stood out was the continuity of leadership and culture. Many of the partners and colleagues I worked closely with during my first time at the firm were still here nearly ten years later. These were people I admired for their skill, judgment, and tenacity, and seeing that continuity reinforced that Kobre & Kim is a place where people genuinely enjoy the work they do, they people they do it with, and the careers they have built. 

Why did you choose to specialize in litigation and investigations over other legal paths? 

I've always enjoyed finding answers. Litigation and investigations are fundamentally about figuring out what happened, identifying the critical facts, and building a strategy around them. 

To me, disputes are like puzzles. You're constantly evaluating strengths, weaknesses, evidence, and leverage points to determine the best path forward. I enjoy that process and the challenges that come with it. 

What also attracts me to litigation and investigations is the opportunity to solve meaningful problems for clients. Whether at the U.S. Attorney's Office or at Kobre & Kim, you are helping people when something has gone wrong and they need to navigate what is often the most challenging situation they’ve ever faced. Being able to step in and help clients find a path forward is both challenging and rewarding. 

Looking back on your time as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, what experiences or lessons have most influenced the way you approach investigations and disputes work today? 

One of the biggest lessons I took away from government service is that people and situations are almost always more complicated than they appear on the surface. 

There can be a tendency in disputes to think in terms of clear winners and losers or right and wrong. What I learned, both as a prosecutor and throughout my career, is that reality is rarely that simple. People are complex and situations are always more nuanced than they first appear. The world is often grey rather than black and white. In most disputes, understanding those nuances is what allows you to identify opportunities, understand motivations, and ultimately achieve the best result. If everything were clear-cut, there would be no dispute in the first place. 

Having worked both inside government and in private practice, what makes Kobre & Kim's approach to cross-border investigations and disputes distinctive in today's enforcement environment? 

One of the things I appreciated during my first time at Kobre & Kim, and one of the reasons I returned, is that the firm truly operates as one team despite having offices across the world. 

The collaboration is genuine. You're not only working across practice areas, but also across jurisdictions. Colleagues in London, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands and elsewhere work together seamlessly, bringing different perspectives and experiences to the same matter. 

Cross-border integration allows us to develop creative solutions for clients. Whether it's considering options available under Cayman law, European privacy protections, or another jurisdiction's legal framework, the firm is constantly drawing on knowledge from across its platform. 

I also think that perspective reflects the realities of modern disputes and investigations. Increasingly, matters are cross-border by nature. Having a team that collaborates internationally on a daily basis provides significant advantages for both lawyers and clients. 

What does client development look like in a conflict-free firm, and how has Kobre & Kim supported your efforts? 

One of the benefits of a conflict-free model is that it allows the firm to take on many of the most interesting and challenging matters. We're often able to pursue opportunities that might not be available elsewhere because we're not constrained by competing institutional interests. For the same reason, because we’re not constrained by institutional interests, we have the flexibility to take a variety of approaches or positions within a single matter and to explore more bespoke solutions for our clients.  

The firm's culture also makes business development highly collaborative. People are incredibly generous with their relationships, introductions, and ideas. There isn't a sense of territoriality around clients or opportunities. 

I also think that culture encourages people to keep expanding both their networks and their expertise. Because you're constantly learning, meeting new people, and staying current with market developments, it creates a very dynamic environment.  

Coming from the government, that collective approach was particularly noticeable. Colleagues routinely connect one another with contacts, share opportunities, and help each other build relationships. It creates an environment where client development feels like a collective effort rather than an individual one. 

Many of our alumni have built successful careers across government, business, and private practice. What advice would you give to lawyers considering a return to private practice—or even a return to Kobre & Kim? 

The biggest piece of advice I would give is to think carefully about both the work and the people. 

Private practice requires a significant investment of time and energy, so it's important to find a place where you genuinely enjoy the people you're working with and the work you're doing. When I was considering leaving the government, I was very thoughtful about what I wanted my next chapter to look like. 

Ultimately, what drew me back to Kobre & Kim was the people. I saw a core group of colleagues whom I respected and genuinely enjoyed working with previously, and I knew those were the people I wanted to work alongside again. 

The substance of the work matters, but so does the team around you. For me, finding the right fit meant finding a place with challenging work and a group of people I wanted to tackle those challenges with every day.