Mary Kathryn Nagle

Mary Kathryn joined Pipestem Law in 2015 from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in New York City, where she specialized in complex commercial litigation related to structured finance, bankruptcy, and federal qui tam actions.  She has drafted numerous appellate briefs in federal courts, including federal appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court.

In 2013, she represented seventeen current and former Members of Congress in an amicus brief submitted in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (the “Baby Veronica case”), before the United States Supreme Court.  This amicus brief explained the legislative history of the Indian Child Welfare Act (“ICWA”) and argued why the ICWA constitutes an exercise of Congress’s constitutional authority under the Indian Commerce Clause.

Mary Kathryn has significant experience in briefing other issues of constitutional law related to federal Indian law, as well as cases that implicate statutory rights under Indian rights laws such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (“NAGPRA”).  One of her assets is the depth of her trial work, as she has prepared for and litigated cases in the New York Supreme Court, United States Bankruptcy Court, and federal district courts across the country.

Prior to her work in the private sector, Mary Kathryn clerked for Judge Joseph Bataillon and Judge Laurie Smith Camp of the United States District Court, District of Nebraska, and then subsequently clerked for Judge Fortunato P. Benavides of the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. Mary Kathryn studied law at Tulane Law School, where she graduated summa cum laude and was the recipient of the Judge John Minor Wisdom Award.  Her law review articles have been published in five different journals, including the Tulane Law Review and Tulsa Law Review.