Kathleen A. Hill

Katie Hill specializes in navigating complex and sensitive situations and guiding matters towards satisfactory resolution. She has devoted her career to providing well-reasoned, pragmatic counsel to individuals ranging from indigent criminal defendants to high-ranking government and elected officials. In addition to representing individual clients, Katie advises institutions and organizations in internal investigations, litigation, and analysis of potential exposure and risk. Through her cross-sector work in government and law, she has developed deep expertise in constitutional law, civil rights, law enforcement, and employment matters.

Prior to joining Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter, Katie served as First Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago, the second-in-command of all legal business for the country’s third-largest city. She managed all 17 of the Law Department’s divisions, including oversight of hundreds of millions of dollars of litigation annually. She was responsible for presenting and gaining City Council approval for high-value settlements and successfully resolved dozens of high-exposure civil rights, employment, and personal injury cases. She also represented the city’s interests in a broad range of affirmative consumer protection and whistleblower litigation. Representative matters included implementation of the Chicago Police Department consent decree, litigation pertaining to the Obama Presidential Center, defending Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance against federal challenge, and protecting Chicago consumers through litigation against e-cigarette manufacturers marketing to children. Earlier in her career, she served as a senior advisor and counsel to the mayor, particularly on matters related to public safety and policing.

From her early work as a public defender to her more recent roles advising officials at the highest levels of state and local government, a hallmark of Katie’s representation is her commitment to ensuring that the voices of her clients are heard and respected, while maintaining a strategic, solutions-oriented focus and an ability to build consensus and drive progress on challenging problems.

Katie clerked for the Honorable Matthew Kennelly in the Northern District of Illinois. She earned her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where she received the Thomas R. Mulroy Prize for Excellence in Appellate Advocacy, the Ann Watson Barber Outstanding Service Award, and the Edwin F. Mandel Clinic Award, and was elected Order of the Coif. She holds a B.A. in Public Policy, phi beta kappa, from Stanford University.

Service / Teaching

• Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, Class of 2017
• Guest lecturer, University of Chicago Law School and Northwestern University Law School
• Steering Committee Member, University of Chicago Consortium on School Research
• Board of Directors, Contextos

Bar Admissions

Illinois and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.