Her Story
About Kathleen
I practiced as a defense attorney for 40 years before retiring and retiring my license. One of my strongest achievements during my career was helping clients by obtaining no causes for quite a few of them. My father was an attorney who did tax and pension work, and he always encouraged me and my sisters, making it clear that just because we were girls, we were capable of achieving just as much as any boy. Education was extremely important in my family - I'm one of five children, and all of us have higher degrees, including my two brothers. Now in retirement, I've dedicated myself to meaningful volunteer work. I serve as a court-appointed special advocate for a foster child, a role I've held for about 20 months after completing training and being admitted to the court on June 11th. I also work with my therapy dog, taking him to local schools to support children's mental health and to the library for the pause for reading program. I'm very devoted to my family, including my daughter, and I coordinate care for my mother who is in a nursing home.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kathleen
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the support from my family and from my dad growing up. He was an attorney who did tax and pension work, but he always encouraged me and my sisters. As I said, I'm one of five, so he said education was extremely important, and all of us have higher degrees, including my two brothers. But he made it clear that just because we were girls, that we were capable of achieving just as much as any boy. I think that's something that I encourage young women to reach their full potential, whether it's my daughter or anyone else, because I think that's very important. When my daughter was in high school, I said to her, if you ever dummy yourself down, I will be very annoyed with you.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I think the best career advice I ever received is that winning isn't everything. You put your best foot forward, and you do the best you can, and you should be proud of yourself for whatever it is you achieve.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think just to be honest with the court, and to, while you're advocating, do it fairly. And never misrepresent anything to the court.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think there's a lot of attorneys right now, so it's very competitive to find an opportunity. You know, currently, I think you just have to continue to pursue and do what you need to do in order to succeed in obtaining, especially your first opportunity, because before you have experience, it's hard to find your first opportunity, but once you do, then things tend to fall into place.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Family is definitely one of my most important values. I'm very devoted to my family, and I'm one of five children, so I'm very close to my siblings. We spent 6 years coordinating and taking care of my father after his stroke before he passed away 27 years ago, and when my mother fell about 4 years ago, we've gone out of our way to get along and do what we need to do to make her life as good as possible. My family orientation is really what's very important to me. Trust is also very important. I think that it's very important to be honest. Honesty is extremely important to me. I have no patience for people who lie.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · New Jersey
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.