Kathleen works closely with clients to fully understand their business goals and challenges with government, and she creates a strategy and works diligently to deliver a "win". McNees clients benefit from Kathleen's years of experience as a litigator and ability to work closely with our attorneys in all of the firm practice groups. She relies on her perspective as a former senior staffer to a governor and senior adviser to city leaders to navigate government at all levels. Kathleen uses her network and extensive knowledge of government operations, regulatory and administrative issues to help clients of McNees succeed with challenges and opportunities that involve state, federal and local agencies or legislative issues. At McNees, Kathleen successfully represents clients with a diversity of needs such as legislative goals, navigating state agencies and obtaining state funding. Kathleen can help clients with complex needs as well as clients that may only need an introduction or phone call made on their behalf

Kathy's role as a senior adviser to Governor Tom Corbett for four years provides her with insight into how state government operates from the inside. In that role, she established and fostered relationships throughout all three branches of government that help her serve her clients efficiently and effectively.

6-10 years

Kathy was appointed by Chief Justice Saylor to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee in 2017.

Kathleen is a member of the following practice groups: Government Relations, Energy & Environmental, Public Finance & Government Services, State & Local Tax. Kathleen has over 25 years of experience representing clients in public and private sectors as well as serving as Governor Tom Corbett's Deputy Chief of Staff from 2011 to 2015. In that role, Kathleen was a trusted advisor to the Governor and his cabinet and served as the Governor's liaison to the all state agencies, multiple authorities, commissions and other state Governor offices.Her responsibilities included working closely with executive staff on the Commonwealth budget as well as assisting Cabinet Secretaries and their Executive Staff with policy and legislative initiatives, communications plans and budget management. Kathleen's primary areas of responsibility involved areas of economic development, transportation and infrastructure, municipal and community-related matters, personnel and labor, board governance, and management of the Commonwealth labor negotiations. She also managed negotiations on behalf of the Governor's Office and working with the Governor's Action Team and agencies regarding requests from the business community for relocation assistance and other financial incentive programs. Such efforts resulted with significant investments and job creation in the Commonwealth.
Kathleen also represented Governor Corbett on numerous state and regional boards and commissions, including the Pennsylvania-New Jersey bi-state transportation authorities, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA).

Prior to joining Governor Corbett's executive staff, Kathleen was a partner in private practice with an expertise in labor and employment law, where she represented management clients in both public and private sectors ranging from counseling to litigation and labor negotiations.Kathleen's background and interest in helping clients allows her to work with McNees clients to achieve success and do so efficiently. Her knowledge and relationships with leaders and staff in the three branches of government and are critical to McNees clients successfully navigating state government to further their business goals.