Kate counsels and defends clients nationwide in complex environmental and toxic tort litigation. She has experience with a wide variety of matters involving claims of chemical exposure and contamination. Kate’s work involves many facets of litigation, including drafting motions, taking depositions, coordinating discovery, working with experts and assisting with trial preparation and practice.
An understanding of relevant scientific and technical disciplines underpins Kate’s legal practice. She holds a master’s in environmental management from the Yale School of the Environment, where she largely focused on hydrology and chemistry. She also has experience with medical causation experts in fields such as epidemiology and toxicology.
In addition to litigation, Kate assists clients with regulatory compliance and enforcement. During law school, Kate interned for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. She worked on a wide variety of cases covering water law, hazardous waste laws, administrative law, and more. Kate draws on this experience with federal agencies to advise and defend her clients.
In conjunction with her legal practice, Kate is highly active in mentoring law students and young lawyers. She is also involved in Shook’s pro bono efforts, including advocacy for disabled veterans and victims of domestic violence.
Publications
Emerging Regulation of Emerging Contaminants, American Bar Association, Nat. Res. & Env’t, Winter 2023.
The Conduit Theory: Protecting Navigable Waters from Discharges to Tributary Groundwater, 43 Vt. L. Rev. 871 (2019).
The Clean Water Act Flows in a New Direction, Leaving Wetlands Protection Largely to the States, Yale Env’t Rev., May 14, 2019.
Presentations
In-House Counsel Match Game, ABA Environment Energy & Resources Annual Spring Conference, April 4, 2024.