Q & A with Kathryne Baldwin
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Q&A
Q & A with Kathryne Baldwin
Kathryne Baldwin is Senior Counsel at Wilke Fleury, LLP in Sacramento, California, where her practice focuses on corporate and business law with a specific focus on litigation.
She obtained her undergraduate degree in Philosophy of Science & Logic at California State University, Sacramento. While in college, Baldwin worked for her family’s Sacramento-based business, developing strong ties in the community and gaining a firsthand understanding of the operational issues facing corporations and businesses.
Baldwin is a graduate of the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. During law school, Baldwin was a member of the nationally ranked McGeorge Mock Trial Competition Team and a semifinalist in the regional competition as a second-year student in 2015 and a finalist as a third-year student in 2016. Baldwin also served as a board member to the McGeorge Women’s Caucus organization during all three years of law school, her final year as president. Additionally, Baldwin was a member of the Federal Defender Clinic, representing indigent clients charged with misdemeanors in federal court.
Q: Before becoming an attorney, what was your first job?
A: Back in high school, I worked for a video game company that had a store at the mall – quite a hip gig at the time!
Q: What motivated you to pursue a legal career?
A: When someone asked me when I was younger what I wanted to be when I grew up, I was not sure. She asked me what I liked doing with my free time and I said reading and writing. She said I would make a great lawyer. As I got older, I realized that would probably be a good fit.
Kathryne Baldwin and Concertina NNW (“Sophie”) winning the Hunter Pleasure Championship for Adult Amateur Owners at the 2021 Pacific Slopes Championships in Rancho Murieta, California.
Q: Who was your chief mentor and how did he or she influence your career?
A: I work with so many incredible attorneys at Wilke Fleury, LLP who have given me so many opportunities, there is no way to pick one person to designate as my “chief mentor.” One person who influenced my career in some of the biggest ways was a writing professor I had in law school, Mary Beth Moylan. As the first attorney in my family, law school was a daunting undertaking that, at times, felt insurmountable. Professor Moylan gave me the confidence to believe I was capable of accomplishing big things.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A: One of my mentors at Wilke Fleury, George Guthrie, told me to litigate cases like it was my money and reputation on the line. It seems like such a simple concept, but, when he put it in front of me in that plain language, it was a turning point in the way I dedicate myself to my clients.
Q: What is your proudest career achievement?
A: In early 2017, I had been an attorney for less than six months.One of my mentors gave me a case filed by some self- represented plaintiffs and told me to “handle it.” More than 5 years later, those self-represented plaintiffs have filed two subsequent suits and have incessantly harassed one of our most long-standing clients with claims that are patently ridiculous. After they were given all the benefits of the doubt in the early stages of their case, I was finally able to obtain a summary judgment against them. After that, I argued the court should sanction the plaintiffs for bringing a frivolous suit, which resulted in a five-figure award against them. It felt like I was able to bring some vindication to our client. (Of course, the self-represented litigants have now appealed both those orders.)
Kathryne Baldwin and Psax, winning Reserve Champion in the Western Pleasure Class for Adult Amateur Owners at the 2021 Region II Championships in Santa Barbara, California.
Kathryne Baldwin
Q: What is one thing you would like to learn to do?
A: There are so many things I would love to learn how to do, I could not pick just one! The ones that immediately come to mind are learning a foreign language, learning a new musical instrument, or maybe taking up ballroom dancing with my husband.
Q: What other career path might you have chosen?
A: I only applied to one law school and told myself that, if I was not accepted, I would get a master’s and go into teaching. Or perhaps a barn manager!
Q: What is your most treasured material possession?
A: My horses…if you can call them material possessions.
Q: What is your happiest childhood memory?
A: Freshly watered and dragged arena dirt first thing in the morning at horse shows!
Q: What is your favorite movie and book?
A: Movie: “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” (Please submit all arguments that this is not the best Indiana Jones movie to my e-mail and I will gladly respond.) Book: So many! This year: “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir; in the last three years: “The Giver of Stars” by Jojo Meyes. Honorable Mention: “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” by Gabrielle Zevin.
Psaxamillion (“Milo”), Psax and Sophie’s son, born March 9, 2022, with Baldwin’s 14-year-old rescue dog, Ella.
Q: What is the most awe-inspiring place you have visited?
A: The first time I visited Europe was all awe-inspiring. As an American, I do not think I fully appreciated how young our country is. It seemed like everywhere I turned in Europe the architecture was centuries old.
Q: What are your favorite leisure time pursuits?
A: I actively compete with my three Arabian horses in a variety of disciplines including hunter pleasure, western pleasure, equitation, and halter classes.
Q: What is your favorite famous or inspirational quote?
A: If you are ever anxious, try being grateful instead; it is impossible to be both at the same time.
Q: Who is on your guest list for the ideal dinner party?
A: The only person that must be on the ideal dinner party list is my loving and patient husband, David. As my social wingman, I know that, no matter how the party turns out, I will have a partner in crime to respond accordingly!
Q: What are the top three items on your bucket list?
A: Visit Japan. Compete at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida and/or Wilmington, Ohio. (That’s technically two, I know.) Attend a Formula 1 race in person.
