Cathy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Psychology and Sociology from Indiana University at South Bend in 1977. She graduated with High Distinction and was honored by the university in being chosen as the first recipient of the Inter-Departmental Excellence Award. She was also inducted into two National Honor Societies, Psi Chi (Psychology) and Alpha Kappa Delta (Sociology). In her senior year, she was the Research Assistant to the co-chairman of the department of Psychology. Cathy was awarded numerous academic scholarships and was a Dean's List student every semester of her undergraduate attendance at both Indiana University and at the University of Notre Dame.
She then attended Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis; that school was ranked within the top 20 law schools in the country. During law school, she completed a civil litigation internship at the prestigious firm of Ice Miller Donadio & Ryan, and clerked for several Indianapolis private litigators. Cathy graduated with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in May of 1981. She was admitted to the Indiana Bar, Federal District Court, Southern District of Indiana, and the Indiana State Bar Association. Cathy has maintained her active Indiana licensure.
In the years 1981-82, she was a staff attorney in the legal department of Marion County Department of Public Welfare (Indianapolis), a division of the State of Indiana. This position was quasi-prosecutorial in nature as it involved trying cases in the areas of child abuse, juvenile status offenses, and welfare fraud. It also required multi-level involvement with the court, the prosecutor's office, and various branches of law enforcement.
Since that time period, Cathy has privately counseled clients in areas such as health care law, real estate and corporate law. She also enjoyed instructing paralegal, pre-law, and business students at Rochester Community College (MN) as an adjunct professor in the Department of Business. She was also a student placement mentor during 1996-98.
During October of 2000, Cathy completed training in Family and County Courts Mediation at Florida International University. She fulfilled the Supreme Court of Florida's requirements for certification and recertification in those areas. She previously was a member of the Florida Academy of Professional Mediators, and a member of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR).
In 2004, she became a member of the Florida Bar, United States District Court (Middle District of Florida), and the Brevard County Bar Association. During the time frame of 2004-2006, Cathy practiced law with Fallace & Larkin, LC. She then founded her own law firm in 2006. |
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