Attorney
Se habla español
When Kass was 21 years old, she went to a career counselor. She spent the day filling out questionnaires, answering essays and interviewing with a professional. Two weeks later, she received a long report that started with the following sentence: "Kass is obsessed with justice." Based on that one theme, the career counselor determined that she should pursue a career either as a lawyer or as a police officer. Considering that she has some trouble holding her tongue when challenged by authority figures, Kass chose the law.
It isn't surprising that she chose a career in law. Kass was born and raised in the great state of Minnesota by her father, who was an attorney, and her mother, who ran her father's boutique law firm. By the age of five or six, Kass was signing contracts (sometimes in crayon) if she wanted to borrow money from her parents to buy Christmas or birthday presents. The contracts stated how much money she wanted to borrow (usually around $5), when she would pay it back and in what increments (i.e., 50 cents per week for 10 weeks) and how she was going to earn the money to do so (taking out the trash). Similarly, by eight or nine, Kass was reading depositions her dad brought home and was strongly encouraged to discuss her view of the case. Kass still wonders what view an eight-year old could have about "takings" and eminent domain cases, but she appreciates that her parents taught her how to think.
Kass's "obsession with justice" also began at a young age. After high school, Kass spent a year living in South Africa. While there, she went to school and volunteered in the townships, where she saw the disparity between others' lives and hers. She also got into something of an altercation with some Navy recruits the day that Mandela was released, because she was pleased with his release and they were not (see problem with authority referenced above). In 1990, Kass began Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, a wonderful liberal enclave (and great school). She graduated in 1994 and then tried her hand in federal and state government work for a year. In 1995, she left for a great adventure traveling through Mexico and Central America, and ended up spending two years living in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she taught English and volunteered for Jalisco State Commission for Human Rights.
Upon her return from Mexico, Kass started law school at the University of Minnesota. During law school, she worked with migrant laborers and immigrants both in Minnesota and Michigan. Kass graduated from law school in 2000, and went to work at the large law firm of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago. Kass practiced general litigation, and spent most of her time defending nation-wide class actions, doing white-collar criminal defense, and litigating other complex cases such as Multi-District Litigation. While at Sonnenschein, Kass also participated in a human rights fact-finding mission in Peru, where she and nine other attorneys from the Midwest monitored and wrote a report about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission there.
Although Kass enjoyed her job at Sonnenschein and had a beautiful office on the 81st floor of the Sears Tower overlooking Lake Michigan, living and working in Chicago just didn't do it for her. After meeting a native of Salt Lake City in 2004 (her future husband), Kass moved to Utah in April, 2005. She clerked for the Utah Court of Appeals for a year and a half, and started as an associate at Scholnick Birch Hallam Harstad Thorne (formerly Strindberg & Scholnick) in October, 2006. She became a member of the firm in 2010, and continued in that position until July, 2024. In August, 2024, Kass joined her colleagues in creating Birch, Hallam, Harstad & Johnson, where she continues to ferociously represent employees in both Utah and Idaho. She loves practicing law and considers it the best job in the world. As she puts it, “It’s incredible - we get paid to think!”
Education
University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN
Juris Doctor, May 2000, Cum Laude
Honors: Top Quartile; Dean's List with A average; Miner Scholarship; Jessup International Moot Court Managing Director and Third-Place Oralist Award.
Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies, May 1994
Experience
Birch Hallam Harstad & Johnson, LLC
Salt Lake City, Utah and Boise, Idaho
Founding Member, August 2024 - present
Scholnick Birch Hallam Harstad Thorne
Salt Lake City, Utah
Associate, October 2006 - 2009
Partner, 2010 - July 2024
Judge James Z. Davis, Utah Court of Appeals
Salt Lake City, Utah
Law Clerk, May 2005 - October 2006
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
Chicago, Illinois
Associate, October 2000 - April 2005
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
Peru
Monitor, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, September 2002 - December 2003
Minnesota State Public Defender
St. Paul, Minnesota
Law Clerk, May - December 1999
Centro Legal
St. Paul, Minnesota
Law Clerk, September 1997 - August 1999
Farmworker Legal Services
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Law Clerk, June - August 1998
Jalisco State Commission for Human Rights
Guadalajara, Mexico
Legal Assistant, April 1996 - February 1997
Minnesota State Senate Education Committee
Minnesota State Capitol, St. Paul, Minnesota
Education Committee Assistant, January - May 1995
Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, U.S. State Department
Washington, D.C.
Intern, September - December 1994
Awards & Presentations
Best Lawyers Litigation - Labor and Employment; Employment Law – Individuals (2024, 2025)
Super Lawyers (2017-2021, 2024)
Utah Education Association Honor Roll Award (awarded for “exceptional contributions” to Utah public education, 2019)
Utah Employment Lawyer of the Year (2012)
Kass presents on a wide variety of employment law topics at CLEs and presentations to given to members of the public (2011- present). Examples include:
- July 2024: Perspectives from the Public Sphere - Employment Law, Public Employers, and Public Employees
- May 2024: Utah Women in Law CLE, panel presentation to Women Lawyers of Utah
- October 2020: Unpacking Bostock
- May 2019: #MeToo, panel presentation to Utah Women’s Forum
- 2016-2017: LGBT+ Employment Law CLEs and presentations to members of public
- September 2016: Alphabet Soup: The FLSA, FMLA, ADA & LGBT for non-profits
Noteworthy Cases
Judgment in clients’ favor on due process claims, in case involving statutory interpretation affecting all career status K-12 teachers in Utah, Nielson v. Jordan School District (2022)
$495,000 judgment in client’s favor, in race discrimination claim involving minimal hard damages, Bradley v. Worthington Industries, Inc. (2021)
Successful verdict in hostile work environment case, including jury verdict of $1,800,000 for our client's emotional distress damages, Fuller v. Idaho Department of Corrections (2019)
Successfully settled impact litigation involving interpretation of Utah State Board of Education Administrative Rules, Utah Education Association v. Utah State Board of Education (2016)
Injunction in clients’ favor, requiring State of Utah to recognize same-sex marriages that were solemnized between December 20, 2013, and January 6, 2014, Evans v. Utah (2014)
Memberships
Utah State Bar, admitted 2006
Idaho State Bar, admitted 2010
Minnesota State Bar, admitted 2003
Illinois State Bar, admitted 2000
Ninth and Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
ACLU of Utah: Board Member (2018 – 2024), Chair (2023), Legal Panel Member (2021 - Present),
Utah Legal Services: Board of Trustees (2018 - present)
Member of: Utah Employment Lawyers Association, Women Lawyers of Utah, Labor & Employment Section of the Utah State Bar, Labor & Employment Section of the Idaho State Bar, Education Section of the Utah State Bar, National Employment Lawyers Association