Katharine E. Kohm

Katharine Kohm focuses her practice on business dispute resolution and construction law. In her construction practice, Katie has represented owners, general contractors, design professionals, and subcontractors in state and federal courts and at arbitration and mediation proceedings throughout New England. In that capacity, Katie has provided advocacy to assert and defend claims involving bid protests, breaches of contract, change orders, cardinal change, default, defective work, delay, design defects, design-build projects, design-bid-build projects, differing site conditions, errors and omissions insurance, express warranties, lien waivers, implied warranties, indemnification, general liability insurance, mechanic’s liens, negligence, no-damages-for-delay clauses, private contracts, professional malpractice, public contracts, quantum meruit, pay-if-paid clauses, pay-when-paid clauses, payment bonds, performance bonds, prompt payment acts, retainage, the Spearin Doctrine, sureties, subrogation, terminations for cause, termination for convenience, unjust enrichment, waiver, among others.

Relative to business disputes, Katie has represented clients in various commercial industries including manufacturers, food servicers, hospitals, insurers, and real property developers and owners.  She has experience defending and asserting claims involving breaches of contract, business valuation, breaches of fiduciary duties, commercial leases, employment-related disputes, alleged discrimination, option contracts, purchase agreements, and the uniform commercial code.

Beyond her litigation and dispute resolution practice, Katie also offers transactional services including contract negotiation, review, and drafting.

Katie is an active member of her professional community. She is a member and has served as officer for Rhode Island’s chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), is a steering committee member for American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law, a public member appointed to the Rhode Island Contractor’s Licensing & Registration Board, and a board member on Roger Williams University Construction Management Professional Advisory Board.

Prior to joining Pierce Atwood, Katie clerked for the Honorable Justice Gilbert V. Indeglia of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and the Justices of the Rhode Island Superior Court in Providence County. And before becoming a lawyer, she worked at Camp Dresser & McKee (now CDM Smith, Inc.) as a civil and environmental engineer.

Honors & Distinctions
  • Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for Construction Law and Litigation - Construction (2024)
  • Recognized by Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” for Business Litigation in Rhode Island (2014-2018, 2020)
  • Selected as a Diversity Fellow by the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law (2017-2020)
  • Recognized by Chambers USA for Commercial Litigation (2019)
Professional Activities
  • American Bar Association - Forum on Construction Law
    • Co-chair, 2023 Annual meeting
    • Division 1 (Litigation & Dispute Resolution) Steering Committee & Technology Committee
  • National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) - RI Chapter
    • Has served as Treasurer and Professional Development & Education Chair
  • Rhode Island Contractors' Registration & Licensing Board
    • Public member (2017-present)
  • Roger Williams University Construction Management Professional Advisory Board
Publications
  • Contributing author, Chapter 4: “Statutes of Limitation and Repose,” Construction Defects, American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law (2d. Ed. 2021)
  • Speaker & co-author, Martha Gaythwaite, Logan Hollobaugh & Katharine E. Kohm, Eyeing Our Bottom Lines: How Legal Project Management Can Lead to Efficiency and Profit, American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law (October 2021)
  • Contributing author with Michael Kamprath, Chapter 13: “Preserving the Record and Appeal,” Construction Trial Deskbook, American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law (2021)
  • Contributing author, Rhode Island chapter, 50 State Construction Lien and Bond Law, Wolters Kluwer (2013-2020)
  • Contributing author, Rhode Island chapter, 50 State Architect, Engineer & Contractor Licensing, Wolters Kluwer (2013-2020)
  • Contributing author, Solid Foundation: A Construction Law Blog
  • Contributing author, The Dispute Resolver, American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law
  • Contributing author, Rhode Island & Maine chapters, Guide to State Procurement: a 50-State Primer on Purchasing Laws, Processes, and Procedures, American Bar Association (2d. Ed. 2015)
  • John Bulman, Katharine E. Kohm & Ben Wheatley, What’s the Appeal of Arbitration? Overturning Arbitration Awards and the New Appellate Rules of Arbitration, American Bar Association (October 2015)
  • James D. Phillips & Katharine E. Kohm, Current and Emerging Transportation Technology: Final Nails in the Coffin of the Dying Right of Privacy?, 18 Rich. J.L. & Tech. 1 (2011)
  • Shortcomings of the Cartagena Protocol: Resolving the Liability Loophole at an International Level, Comment, 27 UCLA J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 145 (2009)
  • Parker v. District of Columbia: Putting the “I’s” in Militia, Note, 42 U. Rich. L. Rev. 807 (2008)
Civic Activities
  • Center for Mediation and Collaboration Rhode Island (CMCRI), volunteer mediator
  • Thunderbolt Alumni Association, Treasurer