Meet #MOLawyers: Katie Doherty

Katie Doherty is a senior associate in the litigation group at Armstrong Teasdale in Clayton. She currently serves on the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis Board of Governors and is the immediate past chair of BAMSL’s Women in the Legal Profession Section. Doherty is also an adjunct professor in the Saint Louis University School of Law’s Academic Resource Center and serves on several local charitable boards. 

What has been your most memorable pro bono case? “It was one of my first pro bono cases, where I helped Legal Services of Eastern Missouri with a suit against a commercial property owner who had allowed said property to essentially rot and become a horrifically unsafe nuisance and danger to neighborhood kids ... We finally got an amazing resolution and that derelict property is now under a multi-million-dollar development plan, and the neighbors were ecstatic to finally be free of the danger. It took a lot of time, patience, hard work, and dedication, and the entire case taught me so much.” 

Why is pro bono work important? “It isn’t just important; it’s our ethical duty as lawyers. I am a first-generation college graduate and law school graduate in my family, and I was also a teen mom, so I know exactly what it’s like to be broke, hopeless, helpless, scared, and feeling like there was nothing out there for me. I have never forgotten those feelings, even after finding security and success now, and I will always do what I can to help alleviate those feelings in others. I have a lot to be grateful for, and this is how I give back.” 

What’s something about your practice area you think is often misunderstood? “I think people assume that if you are a civil defense attorney, you sit on top of a pile of money and are just an arrogant jerk for the fun of it when in reality, opposing counsel typically likes working across from me because I’m ethical, honest, and reasonable (and I’m a lot of fun).” 

How did your time as a corrections officer impact your practice? “I learned how to effectively talk to people and, more importantly, how to listen. It also gave me a lot of perspective on my station in life today, because whatever current thing I’m worried about, it’s not any scarier than what I’ve already done.” 

You won the audience Fear Factor game at Universal Studios. Could you tell us more about that experience? “It was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever done, and I only went through with it because one of my opponents told me I wouldn’t beat them. To get to the final round, I had to stick my head in a box of scorpions ... To win, I had to be the first to finish a ‘shake’ made of old milk, crickets, and mealworms ... I downed it while pondering my life choices, and all I won was a little yellow plastic cup, the current whereabouts of which I do not even know. So, that’s how you know if you’re my client, I won’t give up — I chugged a cup of insects to demonstrate my dedication!” 

Answers have been edited for clarity, brevity, and style. Know a lawyer who you think should be featured in “Meet #MOLawyers”? Email Assistant Editor Genna Tlustos at gtlustos@mobar.org.