Kate Dyer represents clients in complex civil and criminal matters, specializing in parallel civil/criminal proceedings as well as internal investigations for large and small companies. She successfully has tried federal and state actions, winning acquittals in felony criminal cases as well as a substantial jury verdict for the victim of an unconstitutional police shooting. Skilled in both civil and criminal matters, Ms. Dyer successfully has represented Pacific Gas and Electric Company in several high-stakes civil matters state-wide; conducted internal investigations for companies ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to small bio-tech firms to non-profit agencies; defended the City and County of San Francisco in a complex constitutional challenge to its business tax ordinance; and defended employment claims on behalf of numerous small businesses in both administrative and civil proceedings.  Ms. Dyer was named a Northern California “Super Lawyer” in civil litigation defense by San Francisco Magazine in both 2006, 2007 and 2008.

In addition, Ms. Dyer has defended dozens of individuals in dual civil/criminal proceedings, including a former CEO sued for one hundred million dollars in two separate civil lawsuits while under federal indictment on related criminal charges; a construction company vice-president sued by a former customer while facing related state criminal fraud charges; a San Francisco financial professional accused of felony sexual assault (winning a dismissal of all charges); an internet company executive named in multiple civil suits running parallel with a joint SEC/DOJ criminal investigation; and numerous individuals charged with crimes ranging from vehicular manslaughter to assault who were concurrently sued for damages by their alleged victims.

Background

Ms. Dyer graduated with honors from Yale University in 1985, and thereafter was legislative assistant to U.S. Congressman Gerry E. Studds for five years in Washington D.C.. After graduating from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1994 and serving as an extern to Chief Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the Northern District of California, she joined the firm and became a partner in 2001.

Teaching and Advising

A frequent public speaker, Ms. Dyer has lectured on parallel criminal/civil proceedings, whistleblower and Sarbanes-Oxley issues, trial strategy, police misconduct litigation, discrimination and various civil rights issues at Yale, Stanford, U.C. Berkeley, the American Bar Association, American University, U.C. Davis, U.C. Hastings and Golden Gate University. She is the co-author of a chapter focusing on criminal law issues in a treatise, “Advising and Defending Corporate Directors and Officers; published in October 2006 by Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB).

Community and Legal Service

Ms. Dyer was selected by the Judges of the Northern District of California to be co-chair of the District’s Lawyer Delegates to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and was also appointed to serve on the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Judiciary Committee. In addition, she is a Barrister with the Edward J. McFetridge American Inn of Court, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Hastings Alumni Association. She is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) where she formerly served as an elected member of the Board of Directors.

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Kate Dyer has tried major civil and criminal cases and is widely recognized for her practical approach to solving her clients’ problems.