Litigator embraces trial work in dual roles

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Kathryn Harrell McKnight’s career might have been very different if she hadn’t taken Paul Scoptur’s trial advocacy class at Marquette University Law School.

“He pushed me outside of my comfort level,” she said. “This class opened my mind to becoming a trial attorney … [He] taught me I can be a successful litigator while still being true to myself.”

Now McKnight juggles a busy litigation practice at Lawton & Cates SC, Madison, and her role as municipal prosecutor for the village of Waunakee.

“The two roles fit well together,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot during the past five-plus years that I’ve worked in Waunakee and been able to take what I’ve learned there and help my clients.”

Her daily schedule is filled with litigation, representing clients in personal injury, medical malpractice and insurance coverage cases for her law firm and prosecuting traffic, disorderly conduct and first-offense DUI cases for Waunakee.

She said she finds the work rewarding, despite her initial hesitation about trial work.

“I really feel like what I’m doing is making a difference,” McKnight said. “Clients really rely on you to provide them with support.”

McKnight estimated she spends about 25 percent of her time working for Waunakee, and she does not have plans to prosecute full time.

“I really enjoy my litigation work,” she said, “and working with clients.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What do you see as your biggest accomplishment?
Kathryn Harrell McKnight: Staying true to myself. I think that it is difficult, especially for younger attorneys, to maintain their sense of self in their practices because they feel pressure to fit the persona of an attorney and act like someone who they are not. I’m been very fortunate to have worked for attorneys who have encouraged me to advocate for my clients while maintaining my sense of self.

WLJ: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
McKnight: The ability to let go of things and accept that I cannot control everything. In litigation, there are any number of things that occur in a case that you have to accept are outside of your control. This can be extremely difficult at times.

WLJ: What non-work activity could you spend hours doing?
McKnight: In the last five years or so, I have become obsessed with watching sports like PGA golf, college basketball and the NFL.

WLJ: If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
McKnight: It’s a tossup between a house on Lake Michigan in Door County or a cabin with views of the mountains in Glacier National Park.

WLJ: What traits do you admire in others?
McKnight: In attorneys, I admire restraint, calculated and thoughtful decision-making, and a cooperative spirit.

WLJ: What app could you not live without?
McKnight: None of them. I recently broke my phone and was without a phone for about five days.  It was great not being attached to my phone for that short time.

WLJ: What is your most treasured possession?
McKnight: My favorite book from grade school, ‘Mouse Café.’ As a child, I checked it out every week. It is out of publication, but my parents and husband found an old copy and gave it to me as a gift. The book even smells like a library.

WLJ: What do you miss most about your childhood?
McKnight: Not worrying!