Katie Bennett, Robins Kaplan LLP

Katie Bennett admits she gets her “never-say-die” attitude toward her cases from her father. She’s practiced with him at Robins Kaplan for the entirety of her career, and he was the inspiration for her becoming a lawyer in the first place.

Watching him in action as he navigated Abbey Taylor’s case in 2007 motivated her to go to law school. Abbey had sustained major injuries when she’d sat on a drain in the kiddie pool at the Minneapolis Country Club pool. The drain created a vacuum and pulled organs from her body.  

“I just really wanted to help people out; to fight for people,” she said.

What’s it like working with her father every day?

“I have two brothers, and they say if there’s one person who could do it, it’s me,” she said. “Honestly, when we started there were a lot of times we butted heads, but we’ve really turned it into a great working relationship. I think it’s because we care so much about our clients and our cases.”

Some of the cases Bennett takes on stay with her for a long time — such as the one cell that was the center of two jail suicide cases at the Sherburne County Jail. Thanks to her team’s efforts significant changes have been made in the construction of the cells housing inmates who are having mental health issues.

As much as Bennett advocates for her clients, she also advocates for herself and other female attorneys. When she started her career, she was the only woman in her practice group. That remained true for quite some time.

“Now, we have two female associates and they are rockstars,” she said. They’ve joined forces with Katie and the other civil rights partners fighting against constitutional violations.