Kathleen Furey McDonough has practiced law at Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP since 1985, and has been a partner in the firm since 1993.  She is the founder and head of the firm's Labor and Employment practice group, representing management clients in all manner of labor and employment disputes.  She also represents a number of secondary and post-secondary institutions with respect to employment and education law issues.  Ms. McDonough provides clients with advice regarding all aspects of personnel policies and practices, with a strong emphasis on litigation avoidance.  She regularly represents employers before federal and state administrative agencies and courts, and represents public and private employers in union negotiations and labor arbitration, including appearing before the NLRB and the Delaware Public Employee Relations Board.  Ms. McDonough provides training for clients on employment-related topics such as union avoidance, employee supervision, discipline and discharge, sexual harassment, reductions-in-force, and employment discrimination. 

Ms. McDonough has been recognized by Chambers USA:  America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading Delaware practitioner in labor and employment law (management) each year since 2003.

Ms. McDonough has been named in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, touted as the preeminent peer-review based referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. 

Ms. McDonough was honored with the 2007 Caleb R. Layton, III Service Award, awarded by the judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in recognition of her service to the Court and the Bar of the Court.  The annual award is given to those who personify the qualities of a federal practitioner: legal acumen, professional decorum, and public service.

Ms. McDonough was a 2006 recipient of the “Strong Smart and Bold Award” by Girls Incorporated.  The award recognizes Delaware women for their contributions as a positive role model for girls and women.

Ms. McDonough is rated AV® in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review certification, which is the highest rating available and is reserved for attorneys whose "peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence."

Ms. McDonough currently serves on the firm’s Diversity Committee, and is a former member of the firm's Executive Committee and former Chair of the Associates Committee.

Education

• Temple University School of Law, 1985
• Saint Joseph's University, 1979

Representative Matters

For over 20 years, Ms. McDonough has represented both multinational and local companies in a variety of litigation before the federal court in Delaware and has successfully tried, before both juries and judges, numerous employment-related lawsuits.  Recently, Ms. McDonough, together with Jennifer Gimler Brady of the firm’s Labor and Employment group, obtained a defense verdict for a major Delaware employer in one of the first worker's compensation retaliation cases to be tried to a jury in Delaware Superior Court.  In recent years, Ms. McDonough also has been actively involved in the defense of reverse discrimination claims filed against several clients, and recently obtained a favorable settlement in a case involving the corporate diversity policies of a major Delaware employer.  For the past year, Ms. McDonough has served as lead negotiator for a major Delaware public employer, simultaneously negotiating six separate collective bargaining agreements with various unions. 

Seminars & Speeches

• “A Complete Update on How to Avoid the Top 8 FMLA Mistakes Employers Make,” Council on Education and Management, December 2005
• “Protections Afforded Whistleblower's under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,” Delaware Valley Association of Corporate Counsel, October 2005
• 3rd Annual CLE Symposium for In-House Counsel: “Corporate Governance and Beyond,.” April 2004
• EEOC and Discrimination Law Update: “Vital Lessons for Employers from Recent Cases and Huge Settlements and Jury Verdicts,” Personnel Law Update, April 2004
• Corporate Governance and Beyond: "Dealing with Investigations into Corporate Wrongdoing," November 2003

Professional Activities

• Delaware State Bar Association; Labor and Employment Law Section (former Chair); Litigation Section
• American Bar Association; Labor and Employment Section; Litigation Section
• Richard S. Rodney Inn of Court
• United States District Court for the District of Delaware, Chair, District Court Advisory Committee, 2003
• Board on Professional Responsibility; Preliminary Review Committee
• Coordinator, District of Delaware Federal Civil Panel
• Board of Directors, Delaware Community Foundation
• Board of Directors, Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition
• United Way of Delaware, Human Resources Committee
• Named by the Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court to the Court Resources Task Force, charged with assuring that private sector business and management techniques are being applied to the management and functioning of the Delaware judicial system, 2002