Biography

Kathy Perkins has counseled private and public employers in all aspects of employment law including discharge; illegal discrimination and harassment; employee handbooks, contracts and policies; performance management; wage and hour issues; employee leave; accommodations for disabilities; privacy; defamation, protection of trade secrets, affirmative action compliance and union interaction. She has broad experience defending employers in all types of employment litigation.

Kathy’s focus is on reducing the risk of employment litigation, and she frequently conducts seminars and training sessions for all levels of employees. She directs internal workplace investigations and is a trained mediator of employment disputes.

Kathy was a Managing Member of the Constangy, Brooks & Smith LLC Kansas City office for nearly six years. She was a shareholder with Stinson, Mag & Fizzell in Kansas City from 1996 to 2002 and prior to that was a partner of Stoel Rives LLP in its Boise, Idaho office.

Activities:

Kathy is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, the Management Labor & Employment Roundtable, the American Bar Association, the Kansas Bar Association and the Missouri Bar. Kathy is also a contributing editor of Kansas employment law advice to www.theHRSpecialist.com. She has served on the faculty of the annual program Jury Trial Litigation of Employment Claims: How to Do It Right. She is a frequent speaker on employment law topics at national and local programs. Her recent publications include:

Employment Litigation: Staying Out of Court
- Counsel to Counsel Magazine

“Byte” Me! Protecting Your Backside in an Electronic Discovery World (Not Just for Litigators);
- The Journal of the Kansas Bar Association, March 2007

Education:

Harvard Law School, J.D. (1983)
Kansas State University, B.S. Civil Engineering (1980)

Admissions:

State Bars: Kansas, Missouri, District of Columbia, Idaho (inactive)
United States Supreme Court
U.S. Courts of Appeals: Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits
U.S. District Courts: Kansas, Missouri (Western and Eastern Districts)

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