Kathryn Pierce, J.D., has been appointed lecturer in the School of Law and the new supervising attorney for the Civil Justice Clinic.
“Kathryn is the ideal colleague for Mae Quinn (J.D., professor of law) and me, and is a perfect fit to teach in the Civil Justice Clinic’s youth advocacy project,” said Annette Appell, J.D., associate dean of clinical affairs and professor of law.
“Her LL.M. in children’s law and bachelor’s degree in social work combined with her experience in youth advocacy — in both the juvenile justice and child welfare wings of the juvenile court — present the perfect package.
“She will be invaluable to the students and faculty,” Appell said.
Founded in 1973, the Civil Justice Clinic, co-directed by Appell and Quinn, is dedicated to the delivery of justice for the most vulnerable individuals, youths and families in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The clinic will include a new youth advocacy component this fall.
Most recently, Pierce has served as an attorney for the St. Louis city trial office of the Missouri State Public Defender System, where she previously served as an attorney in the St. Louis city youth advocacy unit and as an intern coordinator.
Additionally, she has worked as inter-im co-legal director for Voices for Children (formerly St. Louis City CASA), where she held the positions of supervising staff attorney and staff attorney.
An advocate for the rights of youths, Pierce has extensive experience as an instructor in the street law program in both St. Louis and Chicago and as a supervisor for Voices for Children.
She is the author of “Nowhere to Turn: The Battle of Girls in Care to Exercise Their Reproductive Rights,” which was published in The Michigan Child Welfare Law Journal in fall 2008.
Pierce earned an LL.M. in child and family law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.