Attorney Profiles

is a Senior Associate and the Vice President of Operations practicing in both the business and estate planning sections of Zell Law.  Within her estate planning practice, Catherine advises clients with respect to the creation and implementation of simple and complex estate plans, including incapacity planning, elder law, special needs trusts, healthcare decision making, estate and trust administration, probate administration, irrevocable trusts, private foundations, family limited partnerships and limited liability companies.  

Within her business planning practice, Catherine helps to facilitate resolutions to corporate clients' legal needs, including commercial lease negotiation, entity formation and maintenance and mergers and acquisitions.  

Prior to joining Zell Law, Catherine's practice focused on representing lenders and closely-held companies in commercial and financial transactions, bankruptcy, commercial litigation and collections.  In addition, Catherine assisted individuals with their estate planning and Medicaid planning, and participated in the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Elder Law Clinic, where legal services were provided to elderly indigent clients.  Such legal services included drafting guardianship petitions, advance planning for incapacity, estate planning and medical assistance/Medicaid eligibility for long term care.   

Catherine is admitted to practice in Virginia, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts .  She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Chapter of NAELA.  She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation from Georgetown University .  She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where she graduated magna cum laude with honors in Political Science and Spanish while a member of the Gettysburg College volleyball team.

Catherine grew up on a ranch in Montrose, Colorado .  She presently resides in Oak Hill, Virginia with her husband, Peter.