biography
Katherine Knox Hastings has over twenty years of corporate and litigation experience in both major law firm and corporate settings. Ms. Hastings was graduated from the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and commenced her career in 1980 as a law clerk for the Honorable Norma L. Shapiro in Federal District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Hastings then specialized in securities and corporate transactions as an associate at Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis LLP. She subsequently accepted a position as Senior Attorney for IU International Corporation, where she managed a substantial litigation portfolio in addition to securities and corporate transactions for this large Philadelphia conglomerate. From 1988 to 1990, Ms. Hastings served as General Counsel of Envirosafe Services, Inc., a publicly held waste management business. In that capacity she was responsible for all legal and corporate advisory matters relating to the company, including environmental issues, securities transactions and staff recruitment, training and management.
Ms. Hastings left Envirosafe for a family relocation to Chicago, where she continued her career in several senior legal positions with Kraft Foods, Inc. At Kraft, Ms. Hastings engaged in major contract negotiations and general corporate matters for a variety of business groups. At the end of her tenure at Kraft, she was responsible for all environmental matters for the company.
Ms. Hastings returned to Philadelphia in 1997, where she resides with her husband and three children. In recent years, she has performed various legal services for Villanova University and sat as an arbitrator in Federal District Court. She currently serves as assistant to a Federal Special Master in a class action matter. Ms. Hastings is engaged in several civic and charitable activities. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the Support Center for Child Advocates, and serves in a variety of positions for the Agnes Irwin School Parents Council and the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church. In Chicago, Ms. Hastings served on the Executive Committee for the North Shore Auxiliary Board of Lawrence Hall Youth Services.