Kathleen "Kathi" Lucchesi

Kathleen K. Lucchesi is a principal and the office litigation manager in the Charlotte, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. For Kathi, the business of law is about people. Working first to find creative, business-oriented solutions, Kathi prioritizes developing effective policies and practices to keep employers out of the courtroom. But when the road to resolution leads to the courthouse, her extensive trial experience provides clients with the confidence that they’ll be well represented and aggressively defended if litigation is unavoidable.

Kathi provides proactive advice to public and private companies on all matters of employment law, including hiring and firing, employee discipline, claims for wrongful discharge and discrimination, sexual harassment, FMLA and wage and hour compliance, and EEOC, DOL, ESC, and DOJ investigations. Kathi also conducts internal investigations involving whistleblower, discrimination, and retaliation claims. Additionally, Kathi reviews and drafts employment policies, contracts, and separation agreements, drug/substance policies, provides workplace training, and assists employers if employees commit criminal acts such as embezzlement and corporate malfeasance against the company.

Kathi has tried more than 75 state and federal jury trials during her career, including her nearly six-year tenure as an Assistant District Attorney in Charlotte. She believes good lawyers know the law, but great lawyers know the judge. Kathi’s many hours logged before North Carolina judges and juries have helped her learn to quickly identify each judge’s preferences and pet peeves, and read a jury to know which arguments work and which ones don’t -- skills that allow her to get results in any setting, in front of any audience.

A scholarship athlete at the University of Indianapolis, Kathi graduated with honors, played Division II volleyball and majored in communications. After a stint as a television reporter, Kathi returned to the classroom, graduating cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she first discovered sweet tea, red velvet cake, and proper barbeque.