Attorneys

She focuses her practice on environmental law, helping businesses large and small obtain the permits they need to get their projects under way. She uses her deep litigation experience to fight for healthcare rights as a member of the legal team that’s spent years in state and federal court battling to protect reproductive freedom in South Carolina.

She, along with two other Burnette Shutt & McDaniel attorneys, were honored as Plaintiffs’ Attorney Trailblazers by “The National Law Journal.”

No matter the case, the client benefits from Kathleen’s combination of legal know-how and a scientific background. She holds a bachelor’s in aquaculture, fisheries and wildlife from Clemson University plus a master’s in forestry with a focus on stream ecology from the University of Georgia.

Public service is the third part of her diverse skillset. She’s a past member of the Richland County Planning Commission and past town attorney for Richburg. Through those experiences, Kathleen gained insight into how agencies balance often-competing interests. Clients with business before similar agencies benefit from that knowledge.

Growing up on a cotton farm in Dillon County, Kathleen learned at an early age the importance of balancing economic and environmental interests. Those lessons were reinforced during her time in the Peace Corps, where she helped local officials create a fisheries management plan that took conservation into account, and deputized local fishermen to arrest poachers.

She helps with a range of issues before local boards and agencies, including:

• Planning and zoning
• Wetlands permitting
• Mining issues
• Solid and hazardous waste disposal
• Condemnations
• Eminent domain
• Brownfield development

She represents clients in court and before administrative agencies, including the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, the South Carolina Department of Insurance and more. She also has represented clients before state licensing boards.

Kathleen fights to protect clients’ interests on other fronts as well. She’s battled for small businesses, helping them win relief from utility rates. She’s helped neighbors stop a liquor store from moving in. She’s also helped neighbors and businesses reach agreements that have protected the rights of both sides.

Kathleen’s wide-ranging practice also includes government law and general litigation. She’s represented government agencies, too, serving as co-counsel on precedent-setting cases.