Katherine Kerr

Overview

Kathy Kerr joined the firm in 1999 and has played a central role in the growth and evolution of the firm’s legal support services for more than two decades. She has supervised the paralegals since 2001, assumed responsibility for the practice and client administrators in 2018, and added oversight of the firm’s IP Services group in 2021, when she was appointed Chief Legal Services Officer. 

Throughout her tenure, Kathy has played a key role in the firm’s rise to one of the nation’s 10 largest IP law firms by expanding and strengthening legal support services, aligning staffing and resources with practice needs, and identifying new billable work opportunities. She partners closely with the firm’s executive leadership, management team, and practice groups to advance strategic initiatives and support client service excellence.   

In her role, Kathy provides executive leadership for the firm’s legal support infrastructure and is responsible for staffing, development, production, utilization, performance, and operations across a broad range of functions. These have included legal support in the patent, trademark, and litigation groups; international filing; annuities; docketing; conflicts; client engagement and disengagement; library services; file transfer; and data and compliance. 

Kathy is instrumental in developing, documenting, and implementing firmwide policies, procedures, and best practices to ensure compliance with evolving legal and regulatory requirements while improving efficiency and mitigating risk. She provides strategic direction and operational leadership to the legal support services groups and oversees related policy, planning, budget, vendor management, and other resource-related initiatives to ensure smooth, economical, efficient, and effective functioning. 

Prior to joining Wolf Greenfield, Kathy worked at a patent law firm in Munich, Germany, bringing valuable international experience to the firm’s IP practice. 

Kathy has served on the firm’s Risk Management, PTO Practice, International Practice, Docket, and Training Committees. 

Activities

• Association of Legal Administrators
• International Practice Management Association