Kathleen Parker is a partner in the firm's Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety practice. Kathleen has extensive experience advising international and domestic companies on a wide range of employment matters, including counseling and litigation. She regularly advises her clients on internal policies, hiring, disciplinary actions, terminations, properly classifying employees and contractors, and navigating employee accommodations and leave issues. Kathleen is dedicated to working with her clients to achieve their business goals while also ensuring compliance with constantly evolving employment laws.
Kathleen frequently drafts employment policies, employment agreements, separation agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, and employee handbooks. In addition, Kathleen has experience representing employers defending against charges at the administrative agency level, including discrimination actions before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Kathleen has also litigated complex disputes in state and federal court, including defending clients against claims alleging violations of wage and hour laws, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and commission of breach of contract. Kathleen has also successfully negotiated numerous favorable settlements for her clients.
She also regularly conducts discrimination and harassment prevention training for corporate clients and conducts internal employment investigations on behalf of her clients. Additionally, Kathleen regularly supports M&A transactions by assisting with due diligence, advising on employment matters, and drafting agreements.
Kathleen is also passionate about providing pro bono clients with legal representation and frequently advises non-profit organizations in employment matters. In 2018, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly recognized Kathleen with an Excellence in the Law-Pro Bono Award for her pro bono work helping to secure the release of Fred Weichel, who was wrongfully imprisoned for more than 36 years for a crime he did not commit.
Within the firm, Kathleen recently ended her three-year term as the Boston office’s co-hiring partner, is a member of the Firmwide Women in the Profession Committee and US Local WIP Leadership Committee, chair of the Boston office's WIP Committee, and member of the Boston Office’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee.
While in law school, Kathleen was a student lawyer in the Commercial Litigation Clinic where she represented a client at a Department of Unemployment Assistance hearing and obtained a favorable ruling. Prior to joining K&L Gates, Kathleen interned at Preservation of Affordable Housing and was a paralegal at a midsized law firm in Boston. She was a summer associate at K&L Gates in 2010.
In 2019, Kathleen successfully completed two Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) courses − Conducting Internal Discrimination Complaint Investigation and Train-the-Trainer: Preventing Workplace Discrimination & Harassment.
- Recognized by Chambers USA for Labor & Employment in Massachusetts, 2025
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Employment Law - Management in Boston, 2025
- Listed in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America in Boston
- Commercial Litigation, 2022-2024
- Labor and Employment Law - Management, 2024
- Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2024
- Named to Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2021-2022
- Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Excellence in the Law - Pro Bono, 2018
- Steering Committee Member, Boston Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Section (2019-2022)
- Committee Member, Women's Bar Association Law Firm Advancement Committee (2019-2020)
- Mentor, Boston Bar Association Women's Leadership & Advancement Forum (2021)
- Career Transition Mentor, Boston Bar Association (2021)
In addition to the above, Kathleen is a longtime member of the Boston Bar Association and National Association of Women Lawyers.
- “AI and Employment Decisions: the law, risks, and recommendations,” Spanish HR Senior Professionals in USA–VII Annual Meeting, 9 September 2024
- “Pay Equity: Boundaries to Pay Equity, Applicable Legal Standards, Emerging State Laws, and Best, Lawline, “Practices,” 2024 April 25
- “Identifying Roadblocks to Diversity in Your Hiring Process,” National Industry Liason Group 2023 National Conference, 1 August 2023
- “Massachusetts Human Resource Law Boot Camp,” National Business Institute (NBI), 5 May 2023
- “Navigating a Remote and Hybrid Workforce," Boston Bar Association, 30 November 2022
- “Achieving Pay Equity: Employer Best Practices for Conducting Pay Equity Self-Audits,” Lawline, 21 October 2022
- “Eliminating Glass Ceilings: Employer Best Practices for Achieving Equity in Promotions,” Lawline, 8 September 2022
- “Substance Abuse, Alcoholism, and Mental Health Issues in the Workplace: Considerations with Respect to Accommodations and Employee Well-Being,” Boston Bar Association, 15 June 2021
- “Doing Business in the United States,” Endeavor, 1 December 2020
- “Understanding the Unsettled Joint Employment Landscape," Boston Bar Association, 6 November 2020
- “How Startups and Emerging Growth Companies Are Navigating Employment and Business Law Challenges in 2020,” Boston Bar Association, 9 March 2020
- “Is Your Employee Handbook Up to Date?: Essential Components and Sample Policies for Today’s Workplace,” National Business Institute, 13 November 2019
- “Workplace Behavior and Privacy Issues,” National Business Institute, 13 November 2019
- “The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act and Its Potential Impacts on Employers,” Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law, July-August 2025
- “Should Job Applicants Be Permitted to Use Artificial Intelligence?” The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law, January-February 2025
- “Silicon Valley Bank Collapse: Implications for Employers,” LexisNexis, 2023
- “An Invisible Epidemic: Navigating Mental Health Issues in the Employment Relationship,” American Health Law Association, 2022
- “Choosing to Discriminate: When Patient Preference and Employee Rights Collide,” American Health Law Association, 15 November 2021
