Katherine A. Skeele
Partner
Overview
Kate Skeele is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's New York office, where she represents clients in state and federal litigation, mediation and arbitration matters. Ms. Skeele is experienced in offering guidance from litigation avoidance/risk management and pre-dispute stages through resolution of disputes.
Ms. Skeele's practice includes litigations and arbitrations related to the energy sector, product liability and general commercial litigation. In her energy work, Ms. Skeele's experience includes representing a public power utility with respect to rate cases and related litigation. Her many years of product liability experience includes her representation of manufacturers, distributors and their insurers in the defense of various toxic torts. Ms. Skeele's general commercial and business litigation experience encompasses defense and prosecution of Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and non-UCC contract claims; class-action lawsuits; and business torts, including fraud, defamation, and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
Serving a wide range of industries, Ms. Skeele counsels energy, real estate, technology, media, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, distribution, healthcare and finance clients, among others. She has particular interest and experience in advising partnerships, entrepreneurs, startups and emerging growth companies in litigation and litigation avoidance/risk management.
Ms. Skeele's experience spans all phases of litigation, including federal and state appellate experience. She has seen disputes through ultimate resolution in jury trials and arbitral hearings, including proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the American Arbitration Association (AAA).
While at Fordham University School of Law, Ms. Skeele served on the Moot Court Board, was a board member for the school's Legal Education and Advocacy Project (LEAP) for Youth, interned for Justice John Leventhal of the New York State Supreme Court – Criminal Branch, and participated in Fordham's Criminal Defense Clinic. She was a Stein Scholar in Public Interest Law and Ethics.
Representative Experience
- Successful defense of a public power utility against multiple rate challenge actions through appellate affirmance
- Member of a national counsel team that represented a European luxury cosmetics manufacturer and distributor in defense of toxic-tort complex litigation
- Long-term defense of a global bioscience company in a nationwide emerging-science toxic-tort complex litigation
- Successful post-arbitral settlement of a lender client's contract claims against a defaulting borrower in a complex healthcare acquisition deal; prosecution of ancillary New York state litigation
- Handled a complex commercial dispute between shipping industry joint venturers before American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitral panel
- Favorable International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration resolution of a pharmaceutical supply failure/manufacturing defect claims in excess of $200 million on behalf of an exclusive U.S. distributor against manufacturer
- Successful class action defense of a condo conversion developer in action with more than $100 million in dispute
- Successful class action defense of a quick-serve restaurant franchisor against challenges to impose state sales tax
- Defense of a ground-lessee developer against an attempt to terminate a long-term lease of valuable multi-use commercial property
- Representation of a bona fide purchaser for value at trial court and appellate levels in complex litigation challenging title to real property purchased for approximately $40 million
- Favorable settlement resolution on behalf of a developer/commercial landlord in landlord/tenant dispute relating to development timeline and rent commencement
- Successful pre-litigation resolution of an employment competition dispute
- Successful pre-litigation resolution of a shareholder dispute involving ownership rights, employment disputes and allegations of workplace misconduct
- Resolution of a purported shareholder's claimed ownership interest in a music services/tech solutions startup
Credentials
- Fordham University School of Law, J.D.
- Wesleyan University, B.A., Government
- New Jersey
- New York
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2020, 2021
