McGuireWoods Norfolk counsel Katie Dougherty received the Robin J. Spalter Outstanding Achievement Award from the Federal Bar Association (FBA), which honors young lawyers who contribute meaningfully to legal, community and charitable service. The award was presented at the FBA Annual Convention in Miami on Sept. 23, 2021.
Dougherty was recognized for her extensive work in the legal community and her pro bono service. At McGuireWoods, she focuses on government investigations and white collar litigation. Since joining the firm in 2020, Dougherty has assumed a leadership role a complex, multimillion-dollar antitrust lawsuit. In 2020, she was selected by the president of the Virginia State Bar to join its standing committee on legal ethics, a statewide nine-person committee that issues advisory opinions on ethics and the rules of professional conduct to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
As part of her pro bono practice, Dougherty has handled several matters on behalf of members of the large military community around Norfolk and through the firm’s medical-legal partnership in Richmond.
“As lawyers, I believe we work not only to better our profession, but our communities as well,” Dougherty said. “I’m pleased that McGuireWoods supports our efforts, and I’m so proud to receive this award.”
Before joining McGuireWoods, Dougherty spent nine years as a federal prosecutor with the Norfolk Division of U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia where she prosecuted white collar crimes, including healthcare and securities fraud, federal tax violations and various forms of fraud against government programs. She formerly was on the FBA Hampton Roads chapter board, serving as president from 2018-2019, and she was a member of the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force. Before she joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Dougherty worked in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, where she handled school desegregation and Title IX cases around the nation. She also teaches as an adjunct professor at the College of William and Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law.