Citizen Lawyer Class of 2024: Katie King
Katie King is Principal with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP in Winston-Salem and Project Management Leader of the award-winning LitSmart® Discovery Team. Katie provides guidance and counsel to case teams and clients on legal matters, data privacy issues and technical issues (including the use of machine learning and AI) throughout the discovery process. During Katie’s tenure, the LitSmart Team has grown significantly in size, revenue and influence, and has been recognized as a global leader in innovation each year since 2015.
Katie is active in a wide array of pro bono and community activities. Katie’s community work includes leadership and capital campaign positions with the Trellis Foundation Leadership Council, the Trellis Foundation, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC and the Concussion Legacy Foundation in Boston, through which she serves as an advocate for mental health and greater safety in youth sports. Katie has served as Chair of the firm’s Winston-Salem Volunteer Council for the past four years. In this role, Katie leads partnerships and projects with a diverse group of community resources, including the Winston-Salem Street School, Cook Literacy Model School, Senior Services, Second Harvest Food Bank and St. Simon’s Green Acre Community Garden, among others. In recognition of her leadership and commitment to her hometown of Winston-Salem, Katie has been designated a “Community Champion” by the firm. In the last five years, Katie has also logged 290+ hours of pro bono service, including litigation and transactional matters for Legal Aid of North Carolina, Children’s Law Center, East Bay Community Law Center, and the NYC Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. She is currently providing pro bono legal services on behalf of a death row inmate in Texas, children in Georgia who seek mental health medical coverage and immigrant detainees who seek legal representation. Always known for her adventurous spirit, prior to attending law school, Katie was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Gabon, Central Africa, where she focused on STD and HIV/AIDS prevention and maternal and child health. Her daily work with Gabonese women has had a profound influence on her life.
Katie received her BA from Duke University in 1998 and JD from Emory University School of Law in 2005. A true lifelong learner, she obtained a certificate in Integrated Marketing Strategy & Planning from Wake Forest University, School of Professional Studies, in 2022, and is currently working towards her Masters of Business Administration at UNCG’s Bryan School of Business and Economics. Katie has received the Outstanding Women in Business Award by the Triad Business Journal, has been selected to The Business Journals’ Influencers list of Legal Eagles and was honored as one of 25 Women of Justice by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. Katie, her husband, Rob Cole, and 9 year old son, Sam, live in Winston-Salem on 4 acres, where they have a large vegetable garden. In addition to gardening, Katie and her family spend their free time caddying for Sam in golf tournaments and fishing at Lake Norman and Wrightsville Beach.