Kathryn S. Whitlock

Atlanta, GA


Kathryn S. Whitlock

Atlanta, GA


Kate has spent her entire career defending and counseling individuals and insurance companies accused of not doing their jobs right. Primarily in professional liability, bad faith and sexual misconduct matters, Kate represents those in the legal, insurance, healthcare, real estate, accounting and education fields, among others. Kate is highly-skilled in the courtroom and alternative dispute forums; she has tried over 100 cases to jury verdict, bench decision or final arbitrator award in state and federal courts and various other venues. Kate also handles her own cases through appeal and is often called on by others after they receive a disappointing first level dispute resolution outcome. Kate has been recognized in her practice by The Best Lawyers in America© and Georgia Super Lawyers and was named among America’s Top Lawyers by The American Law Society in 2018.

Kate serves in leadership roles with several national organizations, including Defense Research Institute, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and Georgia Defense Lawyers Association. In her pursuit to advance the legal field, she regularly lectures and publishes articles on emerging issues related to her litigation practice. Kate is also passionate about mentoring the next generation of trial attorneys.

Outside of MGC, Kate gives her time to non-profit organizations in Atlanta. She has been married to her husband—who is also an attorney—for over 35 years. Together, they share three grown non-lawyer children and two dogs.

Practice Areas


Bad Faith

Director & Officer Liability/Fiduciary

Healthcare Liability

Insurance Coverage

Litigation

Management & Professional Liability

Miscellaneous Professionals

Premises Liability

Products Liability

Curriculum Vitae


Education (2)
  • University of Iowa College of Law (JD, with honors)
  • University of Iowa (BA, with special honors)
Professional Memberships (7)
  • Atlanta Bar Association
  • Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (Professional Liability Committee: Advisory Board Member and Chair, Publications Committee; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee; Extra-Contractual Committee; Cyber, Management & Professional Liability Community: Co-Chair)
  • Defense Research Institute (Professional Liability Committee; Executive Committee)
  • Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
  • Georgia Defense Lawyers Association (Women Litigators Section)
  • Lawyers Club of Atlanta
  • State Bar of Georgia
Bar Admissions (7)
  • Georgia
  • Supreme Court of Georgia
  • Georgia Court of Appeals
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Georgia
Certifications (1)
  • Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP)
Publications (15)
  • The Multi-Million Dollar Problem of Civil Sexual Misconduct Claims
    DRI for The Defense - Volume 63, Issue 6, June 30, 2021
  • Claims Jeopardy: Your Issues (in the Form of a Question)
    DRI for The Defense, Professional Liability Section - April 2021
  • To Arbitrate or Not To Arbitrate; That Is the Question
    ALPS Insurance Blog - April 10, 2021
  • Has the Attorney-Client Relationship Suffered in an Over-Connected World?
    ALFA International Advantage Newsletter - August 19, 2020
  • Malpractice on Trial: Avoiding Claims and Grievances
    State Bar of Georgia, ICLE Program - August 2019
  • Scoring A Run: Making Sure You Can Get All Around the Bases And Back Home With Your Deposition Testimony
    ALFA International, 2019 Professional Liability Group Mini-Seminar - August 2019
  • Engagement Letters, Nonengagement Letters, and Disengagement Letters
    DRI for The Defense - April 2019
  • Avoiding Malpractice and Bad Faith in an Electronic World
    Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, 2019 Cyber, Management and Professional Liability Conference - July 2019
  • Handling Claims with Practically Perfectly Aligned Stakeholders
    Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, 2019 Annual Conference - March 2019
  • Communicating Over Conflict
    DRI Professional Liability Committee, Riding the E&O Line - Volume 10, Issue 4, December 30, 2018
  • What We’ve Got Here Is a Failure of Communications
    DRI Professional Liability Committee, Riding the E&O Line - Volume 10, Issue 3, December 2018
  • Malpractice on Trial: Avoiding Claims
    DRI The Voice - Volume 17, Issue 13, April 2018
  • Separate but Equal Duties
    DRI for The Defense, Professional Liability Section - April 2018
  • Skeletons as Party Favors
    DRI The Voice - Volume 16, Issue 49, December 2017
  • Who's the Client
    DRI The Voice - Volume 16, Issue 47, November 2017
Presentations (8)
  • Duty to Protect From Third-Party Harm in Sexual Abuse Cases
    Strafford Publications Inc. - 2023
  • What's Hot in the World of Legal Malpractice in Georgia
    ALPS Corporation - 2023
  • Responding to Time Limited Policy Limits Demands
    ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference - Spring 2023
  • It Pays to Be Reasonable: Ethical Billing by Lawyers
    NALFA - 2023
  • Managing Reptile Theory Through Voir Dire
    2022
  • Managing Reptile Theory Through Motion
    2022
  • Sexual Misconduct Claims Against Third Party Providers
    2022
  • Bad Faith and EPLI
    CLM Claims College - 2022