Name: Kathy Jo Cook
Item: Kathy Jo Cook
Author: kjcook

Kathy Jo Cook is the managing member of KJC Law Firm. She represents people who have been injured and people and businesses that have suffered an economic loss. This includes individuals who have been injured in a car crash, on a construction site, or by a doctor, nurse or lawyer. This also includes individuals and businesses which have been harmed by another as a result of unfair business practices or discrimination in employment.

Kathy Jo began her legal career at Lubin & Meyer, P.C. during law school. She joined Keches & Mallen, P.C. thereafter, where she handled complex claims on behalf of injured plaintiffs for 13 years. Kathy Jo litigated the first successful claim in Massachusetts to hold that an insurance company’s meritless appeal of an injured worker’s verdict was a bad faith insurance practice and violated the Consumer Protection Statute, securing the original judgment of more than 3 million dollars and an additional 4.2 million dollar punitive judgment against the insurance company for that practice. In 2010, she prevailed in Law v. Griffith, 457 Mass. 349 (2010),a case which was deemed to be one of the most important decisions of the year and one which continues to aid plaintiffs seeking damages at trial for medical expenses.

Kathy Jo’s outstanding abilities have been recognized by her peers and legal observers. In 1999, she was named by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as one of the top five “up and coming” attorneys in Massachusetts, and in 2007, she became the third lawyer ever to be inducted into the Lawyers Weekly “Hall of Fame.” In 2008, Kathy Jo was named as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Massachusetts by Law & Politics Magazine (Best of Boston), and she has been named as a Super Lawyer by that same publication every year since. In 2010, Kathy Jo was admitted to the American Board of Trial Advocates, a distinguished organization which is open by application only to those with significant trial experience.

Kathy Jo has been rated as “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. This is the highest rating possible and is given only to lawyers who have very high to preeminent legal ability and who embrace very high professional standards. She has also been rated by Avvo as “Superb.”

Kathy Jo has also been active in bar association work and other efforts to promote fairness, justice and equality in the trial bar as well as society at large. She is the 2019-2020 President of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys and has been active in its leadership for years. She was the 2008-2009 President of the Women’s Bar Association and prior to that served on its Executive Board and Board of Directors. She has served in various leadership roles at the Massachusetts Bar Association, including Chair of the Judicial Administration Section Council, Co-Chair of the Plain English Jury Instruction Project, and as a member of the Standing Court Management Advisory Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, and the Labor & Employment Section Council. Kathy Jo has served as the Co-Chair of the Legislative Policy Committee and a member of the Executive Management Board of the Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association. She has also served on the Civil Right to Counsel Task Force, the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Section Council and the Diversity and Inclusion Section Council of the Boston Bar Association. She is also a member of the American Association for Justice, formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Kathy Jo frequently lectures on substantive legal issues, litigation techniques and gender equality at area law schools, professional conferences, and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. She has been featured in a number of publications, including the National Law Journal and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. She has received numerous first place awards in national writing and trial competitions, including the Association of Trial Lawyers of America National Trial Competition. Her writings have appeared in numerous publications, including the American Judges Association Journal and the Cleveland State Law Review.

About her work Kathy Jo says, “My focus has always been on justice. To me justice means working to promote equality, to protect important civil rights, and to help individual people, workers and consumers to obtain just compensation for injuries caused by the fault of others.”

Kathy Jo is an honors graduate of Suffolk University Law School and the University of Houston. She is licensed to practice before all state and federal courts in Massachusetts.

Education

D., Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA, 1995

Cum Laude

Trial and Advocacy Honors

National Champion, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, National Trial Competition, 1995
Regional Champion, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, National Trial Competition, 1995

Writing Honors

First Place, Judge John M. Manos Writing Competition, 1995
First Place, American Judges Association Competition, 1995
First Place, International Association of Defense Counsel Legal Writing Contest, 1995

Academic Honors

American Jurisprudence Award, Evidence
Dean’s List, 1993-1994; 1994-1995

B.A., University of Houston, Houston, TX, 1992
Humanities

Jurisdictions Admitted to PracticeSupreme Judicial Court, Massachusetts , 1995
United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, 1996
First Circuit Court of Appeals, 1996

Professional & Bar Association Memberships

Massachusetts Bar Association
Member Since: 2004

Member, Labor & Employment Section Council, 2012-2014
Co-Chair, Plain English Jury Instruction Project, 2009-2013
Standing Court Management Advisory Committee, 2008-2010
Strategic Planning Committee, 2008 – 2010
Member, House of Delegates, 2006 – 2008
Chair, Judicial Administration Section Council, 2006 – 2008
Member, Membership Committee, 2006 – 2008
Council Member, Judicial Administration Council, 2004 – 2006
Vice-Chair, Juror Communications Task Force, 2006
Chair, Rule 3.5 Committee, 2004 – 2005

Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
Member Since: 1998

Board of Directors, 2005 – 2011
President, 2008-09
President-Elect, 2007-08
Co-Chair, Employment Issues Committee, 2005 – 2008
Co-Chair, Corporate Sponsorship, GALA Committee, 2006
Chair, Corporate Sponsorship, GALA Committee, 2004 – 2005
Member, GALA Committee, 2003

Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys
Member Since: 1995

Member, Board of Governors, 2008-present
Member, Executive Management Board, 2010-2012Co-Chair, Membership Committee 2009-2012 (member 1995-1997)
Member, Women’s Caucus, 1999 – present

Boston Bar Association
Member Since: 2007

Civil Gideon Task Force, 2008-2010
Diversity and Inclusion Section Council, 2008-2010
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Section Council, 2008-2010

American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America)
Member Since: 1995

Member, Women’s Caucus, 1999 – 2003
Lobby Participant, ATLA Lobby Day, Washington D.C., 2002 – 2003

Professional Legal Experience

KJC Law Firm, LLC, Boston, MA , Managing Partner, 2010- present
Civil litigation of personal injury and wrongful death cases, including motor vehicle accidents, construction site accidents, medical, legal and nursing home negligence, products and premises liability and other general liability cases; gender equality and discrimination; business and partnership disputes; consumer protection and insurance bad faith. Appeals in Massachusetts state and federal courts
Wagner Cook Freiberger & Washienko, LLC, Boston, MA, Partner, 2008 – 2010
Civil litigation of personal injury and wrongful death cases, including motor vehicle accidents, construction site accidents, medical, legal and nursing home negligence, products and premises liability and other general liability cases; gender equality and discrimination; partnership disputes, consumer protection and insurance bad faith. Appeals in Massachusetts state and federal courts
Keches & Mallen, P.C., Taunton, MA, Litigation Attorney, 1995 – 2008
Civil litigation of personal injury and wrongful death cases, including motor vehicle accidents, construction site accidents, medical, legal and nursing home negligence, products and premises liability and other general liability cases; partnership and business disputes; consumer protection; and insurance bad faith. Appeals in Massachusetts state and federal courts
Lubin & Meyer, P.C., Boston, MA, Law Clerk, 1994 – 1995
Preparation of discovery, motions and pre-trial memoranda
Office of the Attorney General, Trial Division, Boston, MA, Law Clerk, 1993 – 1994
Legal research and preparation of memoranda
Waltham District Court, Waltham, MA, Legal Research Assistant, 1993
May 1993 – August 1993. Legal research
The Honorable Michael A. Andrews, U.S. House of Representatives, Pasadena, TX, Intern, 1992
Responses to constituent requests for information and opinions

Other Revelant Work Experience

John’s Inc., Texas City, TX , Vice President, 1988 – 1992
- Program oversight to ensure compliance with state and federal funding requirements
- Program development, oversight and NAACS compliance (accrediting body)
- Oversight of educational program and teaching staff
Director of Education 1987 – 1988
- Preparation of educational programs
- Oversight of teaching staff
San Jacinto College, Pasadena, TX, Instructor, 1986 – 1987

Publications

Using Your Failures to Make a Difference, WOMEN’S BAR REVIEW, September/October 2008
Together We Can Reach Equality, WOMEN’S BAR REVIEW, October 2008
We Salute the Captain, WOMEN’S BAR REVIEW, AUGUST 2008
Governor’s Councillor Manning Strikes Again, LAWYERS WEEKLY, JUNE 2008
Thirty Years Later, WOMEN’S BAR REVIEW, MAY/JUNE 2008
We’ve Come a Long Way, WOMEN’S BAR REVIEW, MARCH/APRIL 2008
Is Your Governor’s Councillor Representing You? Lessons from the Botsford Confirmation Hearing, Kathy Jo Cook, Esq. and Julia Huston, Esq. LAWYERS WEEKLY, OCTOBER 2007
The Advisor, KECHES & MALLEN, P.C., WINTER 2005, SUMMER 2006, WINTER 2006-07, SUMMER 2007, (Ed. Kathy Jo Cook, Esq.)
Loss of Chance is Not Junk Science, Letter to the Editor, LAWYERS WEEKLY, June, 2006
Employment Issues Committee Launches Report on the Status of Women in the Law, WOMEN’S BAR REVIEW, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2006)
The Medical Malpractice Statute of Repose: When Should It Commence?, Barry D. Lang, M.D., Esq. and Kathy Jo Cook, Esq., MASSACHUSETTS BAR ASSOCIATION, SECTION REVIEW (2005)
Jordan Sutter v. Pat Ohlbaum and Hensley Trucking Co., Inc., Tournament of Champions Trial Problem, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR TRIAL ADVOCACY (1996)
Reviving the Dying Spirit of Rule 704: Put the Legal Conclusion Doctrine to Rest, 62 DEF COUNSEL J. 564 (1995)
An Opinion: Federal Judges Misconstrue Rule 704 (Or Is That An Impermissible LegalConclusion), 43 CLEV. ST. L. REV. 45 (1995), reprinted in 32 CT. REV., WINTER 1995 at 33.

Honors and Awards

AVVO Rating 10.00
AV Rating, MARTINDALE-HUBBELL LAW DIRECTORY, 2006 – present
Super Lawyer, LAW & POLITICS MAGAZINE (Best of Boston), 2008 – present
Top 50 Women Attorneys in Massachusetts, LAW & POLITICS MAGAZINE (Best of Boston), 2008
Third Inductee, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Up & Coming Lawyers Hall of Fame, MASSACHUSETTS LAWYERS WEEKLY, 2007
100 Largest Verdicts & Settlements, MASSACHUSETTS LAWYERS WEEKLY, 2005
100 Largest Verdicts & Settlements, MASSACHUSETTS LAWYERS WEEKLY, 2004
Top Five Up and Coming Lawyers in Massachusetts, MASSACHUSETTS LAWYERS WEEKLY, AUGUST 23, 1999

Professional Activities and Presentations

Civil Deposition Practice, Ethical Issues, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 2008-present
Civil Deposition Practice, Zealously Representing & Protecting the Deponent, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 2008-present
Speaker, Jumpstarting Your Practice, Suffolk University Law School, 2009, 2010
Panelist, Trials facing Women Litigators & Tips for Success, Women’s Bar Association, 2009
Speaker, Strategic Networking for Leaders Breakfast Series, Leading Women Central MA, 2008
Moderator, Massachusetts Conference for Women, 2008
Presenter, MCLE, Depositions, 2008
Speaker, Women’s Bar Association Annual GALA, 2008
Speaker, Boston Bar Association, Mediation and Arbitration Section, 2008
Panelist, Massachusetts Bar Association, Bench Bar Conference, 2007
Coach, National Trial Team, Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA, 1996-2000
Guest Instructor, Trial Advocacy, Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA, 1996-2004
Guest Instructor, Southern New England School of Law, Dartmouth, MA, 1998
Guest Speaker, MEDICAL MALPRACTICE , Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 1999
Guest Instructor, TORT REFORM AND ITS EFFECTS, Massachusetts

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