Kathryn M. Knight

For nearly two decades, Kathryn Knight has provided legal services in employment law, gaming law, business litigation, complex litigation, and appellate work. From consulting businesses on labor and employment issues to defending energy companies in mass tort class action, she has extensive experience in assisting businesses and individuals through a variety of legal matters.

Kathryn is deeply dedicated to her clients and believes in perseverance in each case, a discipline apparent when she represented a company seeking just compensation for the taking of property in a case that lasted more than a decade. Over the course of that litigation, the case proceeded at various times in every level of both the state and federal judicial systems, up to the U.S. Supreme Court, before the client ultimately prevailed.

Active in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana’s Civil Pro Bono Program and The Pro Bono Project, Kathryn shares her legal talents to help those without sufficient resources to obtain fair access to the judicial system.

• Defense of employment discrimination claims, retaliatory discharge claims, harassment claims and other claims of unfair employment practices asserted against public and private employers in federal and state court actions.
• Consultation and advice regarding labor and employment issues, practice and policies, agreements, terminations and related compensation issues.
• Assisted non-partisan gaming consultancy group in authoring a report for the Louisiana Department of Economic Development that provided a comprehensive examination of the state's gaming industry, including how the industry can be improved, and what impacts increased gaming in other states may have on the industry in Louisiana.
• Representation of a long-established restaurant in a takings case arising from the State's 2006 commandeering of the land on which the restaurant sat for construction of a hurricane protection project in New Orleans.  After multiple trials in state and federal court, our client received just compensation for the taking, including attorneys' fees and costs, plus interest.  Sid-Mar's Restaurant v. State of Louisiana 142 So. 3d 188 (La. App. 5th Cir. 2014), 182 So. 3d 390 (La. App. 5th Cir. 2015); United States v. Sid-Mar's, 644 F.3d 270, on reh'g, 654 F.3d 521 (5th Cir. 2011).
• Representation of Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board in defense of lawsuit challenging lawyer advertising rules.  Public Citizen, Inc. v. Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, 632 F.3d 212 (5th Cir. 2011).

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• Pro bono representation of client asserting claims of employment discrimination under Title VII and the Equal Pay Act; retaliation under Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, the Affordable Care Act and the Louisiana Public Employee Whistleblower Statute; denial of Affordable Care Act notice rights pursuant to section 1983; negligence; defamation; and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
• Consultation and advice regarding licensing, permitting, and compliance issues under the Louisiana Gaming Control Law and Regulations, including representation of riverboat and video poker operators, suppliers, and lenders before, and in coordination with, Louisiana State Police, Attorney General's office and Gaming Control Board.
• Representation of individuals in high-stakes litigation challenging validity of purported olographic testament.
• Representation of a riverboat casino owner, operator and developer and its licensed subsidiaries in regulatory matters before the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and in a wide variety of administrative proceedings and litigation matters.
• Defense of an independent oil company in multiple federal court class action property damage suits.
• Defense of an independent specialty chemical company in state court mass tort class action through compensatory and punitive damages phases of trial and favorable settlement with the class, including representation as special settlement counsel for the company, certain of its insurers, and a major tank car manufacturer in both a class action and related mass joinder state court litigation.
• Defense of a major publicly-traded real estate investment trust in contract dispute arising from long-term lease and operating agreement.
• Representation of a major publicly-traded communications company in federal court litigation involving breach of contract and fraud action where plaintiff alleged the destruction of its business and $2 billion in damages plus punitive damages, reaching favorable settlement of claims.
• Representation of a multi-state provider of emergency medical services in proceedings before parish council in bid dispute regarding proposed exclusive provider contract.

• Federal Bar Association member, Audit Committee (member 2023 – 2024, by Presidential appointment), Sections and Divisions Council past member, and Past Chair of the Labor and Employment Section.
• New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association member, Past President, past Executive Committee member, and past member of the Board of Directors.
• Louisiana State Bar Association member and Past Chair of the Labor Relations and Employment Law Section.
• Eastern District of Louisiana Biennial Conference Planning Committee member.
• Master in the American Inns of Court, St. Thomas More Chapter.
• Loyola Law Alumni Association Board of Directors member.
• Litigation Counsel of America Fellow.
• Since 2016, Kathryn has served on the Board of Directors for the Gia Maione Prima Foundation, which promotes education for children in the musical arts.

• New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association 2020 Professionalism Award recipient.
• Best Lawyers in America 2018 – 2024.
• Louisiana Super Lawyers 2019 – 2024.
  • Top 25 Louisiana Women Lawyers 2023 and 2024.
• New Orleans Magazine "Top Lawyer" 2012 and 2014 – 2023.
• New Orleans CityBusiness 2019 Leadership in Law honoree.

Speaker, "It's About Time – Louisiana Gaming Changes and Legal Sports Wagering in the U.S.," Attorney General's Annual Continuing Legal Education Seminar for Louisiana Department of Justice employees, October 2018.

Speaker, "'Where's The Party?' Gaming – Everybody's Doing It," Louisiana State Bar Association Annual Meeting, June 2018.

Speaker, "Recent Developments in Gaming Law," Attorney General's Annual Continuing Legal Education Seminar for Louisiana Department of Justice Employees, 2017.

Speaker, "Gambling, Games, or Sweepstakes… It's Easy, Right," Louisiana State Bar Association Annual Meeting, June 2017.

Speaker, "Everybody's Doing It: Gambling and Sweepstakes Law for the Non-Gaming Lawyer," Louisiana State Bar Association 75th Annual Meeting, June 2016.

Speaker, "Coverage Issues and the Small Employer," Northshore Pest Control Association, September 2014 and Louisiana Pest Management Association, June 2014.

Speaker, "The NLRB’s Reach Is Growing – Are Your Employee Policies an Unfair Labor Practice Waiting to Happen?" NOLA Society for Human Resource Management, Legal Perks, March 2014.

Speaker, "Sexual Harassment in the Workplace:  Awareness, Training and Prevention," Client Training Presentation, February 2014.

Speaker, "Perils of Digital Technology: Guidance for Employers," New Orleans Bar Association, Seminar, December 2011; Louisiana State Bar Association Section on Labor & Employment Law, Seminar, March 2012; Louisiana State Bar Association Summer School for Lawyers, Seminar, June 2012.

• Author, "The EEOC Files its First Title VII Suits Alleging Sex Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation Discrimination," Louisiana Bar Journal, Recent Developments, June/July 2016.
• Author, "SOX Affords Noneconomic Compensatory Damages" and "Fatally Defective Pleadings Cannot be Corrected by Proof Taken at a Default Judgment Hearing," Louisiana Bar Journal, Recent Developments, April/May 2015.
• Author, "Private Employers Beware:  Employee Confidentiality Policies May Violate the National Labor Relations Act," Louisiana Bar Journal, Recent Developments, June/July 2014.
• Co-Author, “Latest Developments in Wage and Hour Claims Litigation and Evolving Issues Under the FLSA,” Federal Bar Association, 5th Bi Annual Labor & Employment Law Conference, May 2013.
• Co-author, "When Disaster Strikes: Disaster Planning for Lawyers," Probate & Property Magazine, September/October 2006.
• Author, "The Total and Absolute Pollution Exclusions are Neither Total nor Absolute, at Least for Now: Doerr v. Mobil Oil Corporation," Loyola Law Review, Fall 2001 (47 Loy. L. Rev. 1153).