Biography
Kathleen Furey McDonough, a retired Potter Anderson partner, focused her practice on litigation in the federal and state courts in Delaware, with an emphasis on labor and employment, trade secret and commercial litigation.
Kathleen served as Chair of the firms' Executive Committee from 2018 to 2023. She was the first woman to be elected chair of Potter Anderson, as well as the first woman to lead a major Delaware law firm.
Kathleen represented clients before the Delaware Court of Chancery in matters involving restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements. She is the founder of the firm's Labor and Employment practice, representing management clients in all manner of labor and employment disputes as well as representing secondary and post-secondary institutions with respect to education law issues. In addition to her first-chair litigation practice, she has substantial experience in conducting internal investigations.
Kathleen is a former chair of the Advisory Committee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and served for several years as a mentor in the Federal Trial Practices Seminar established by the judges of the U.S. District Court in Delaware to provide instruction to junior lawyers regarding practice before the Court. She is a member of the board and the Executive Committee of Christiana Care Health System and a former board member and Chair of the Delaware Community Foundation. She is also a member of the board of trustees of Hagley Museum and Library.
Experience
Representative Matters
In recent years, Kathleen has:
- Successfully tried to a Delaware Superior Court jury a retaliation case filed against one of Delaware’s largest employers
- Successfully represented one of the State’s largest health care institutions in the Court of Chancery in an action seeking injunctive relief based upon the hospital’s medical staff bylaws
- Represented a Delaware-based global chemical company in trade secret litigation stemming from a dissolved joint venture
- Successfully sought enforcement in the Court of Chancery of a restrictive covenant barring an executive from becoming the CEO of our client’s competitor