Katherine M. Strohl

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Attorney

Katherine grew up in downtown Chicago before moving abroad to attend a 4-year university in London, England. She later attended IIT’s Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she maintained a place on the Dean’s Honor List from start to finish and earned two CALI awards of Excellence for receiving the top grade in her class.

Katherine began her legal career as an Assistant Appellate Defender in Ottawa, IL. In her role representing indigent defendants in their criminal appeals, Katherine determinedly fought to ensure that her clients’ constitutional and statutory rights were protected and ardently defended. She has argued countless cases in front of the Third District Appellate Court, and twice in front of the Illinois Supreme Court as a solo practitioner. One of Katherine’s Supreme Court cases created new law in Illinois by expanding 4th Amendment search and seizure protections.

Katherine then transitioned her career to fighting for her clients in the trenches as an Asisstant Public Defender. Katherine was in court daily, managing a docket of over 350 clients charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanors to Class X felonies. To that end, Katherine is no stranger to trial work. Katherine has extensive experience in motion practice, including notable successes in suppression hearings resulting in outright dismissals. Katherine will never shy away from taking a case to trial. In addition to handling numerous bench trials, Katherine has single-chaired a legion of jury trials. Notably, all of Katherine’s jury trials have resulted in acquittals.

Katherine joined Kanoski Bresney in 2023 with the deliberate purpose of being a relentless advocate for innocent victims of injury. Her respect for the inherent dignity of all people makes her an empathetic and compassionate partner in what can be an unpleasant, adversarial litigation process. In word and deed, Katherine has always been an unwavering fighter for the underdog and will continue to be just that for each one of her clients.

Areas of Practice

• Motor Vehicle Accidents
• Slip and Fall
• Animal Bites
• Premises Liability
• Medical Malpractice
• Wrongful Death
• Appeals

Bar Admissions

• Illinois, 2016
• United States Supreme Court, 2018

Education

• Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL
• J.D. – May, 2015
• DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
• M.A. – 2008
• Major: International Development
• Richmond, The American International University in London, London, England
• B.A. – 2003
• Major: Political Science

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Illinois State Bar Association
• Appellate Lawyers Association
• Illinois Trial Lawyer Association
• LaSalle County Bar Association

Honors and Awards

• Dean’s Honor List, Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2012-2015
• CALI Awards: Legal Writing (2013) & International Law (2014), Chicago-Kent College of Law