

As a research attorney for Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert and others, she helped analyze, decide, and draft opinions in hundreds of civil and criminal appeals. She delved into dozens of areas of substantive law, including environmental law, class actions, Proposition 218 cases, land use and eminent domain litigation, employment disputes, unfair competition suits, construction defect claims, arbitrability questions, and probate and family law appeals. Before joining the Court of Appeal, Katy served for six years as a research attorney in the Santa Barbara Superior Court, where she drafted tentative decisions for law and motion calendars in civil, probate, and family court, and provided legal analysis and advice to the judges hearing complex trials.
While there, her firm was selected by the National Law Journal for “Top 10” verdicts in both plaintiff- and defense-side litigation. She tried cases in federal and state courts with an emphasis on environmental law and tribal law, and also handled securities, insurance, legal malpractice, and personal injury litigation.
She remains an adviser to that Committee, and is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Litigation Section, as well as a member of its Committee on Racial Justice. She teaches continuing education courses to practitioners, court attorneys, judges, and appellate court justices on the topics of legal writing, dispositions, statutory interpretation, and appellate advocacy. Katy has presented at the California State Bar annual conference, the Appellate Justices Institute, and the Appellate Judicial Attorneys Institute, among other forums, and she’s also been a delegate to the Conference of California Bar Associations and a director and officer of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association.
She was also and was president of the Student Bar Association. Katy returned to the school after graduation to teach legal writing, as well as courses on appellate advocacy and professional responsibility. Katy earned her bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University.
California Court of Appeal
Santa Barbara College of Law
California
This article originally appeared in The Recorder on September 3, 2020. It will be …