Kathleen McCarthy

Honored by: Fred Beeston, Dawn Steffan, lawyers and employees of the McCarthy Law Firm, lawyers and others involved in the practice of family law in Arizona

Location: B4
Gift: Engraved Paver, Large

On September 18, 2023, Kathleen A. McCarthy, a local luminary in family law and in life, left this world peacefully at her home surrounded by her loved ones. Kathleen was a very gifted, intelligent and compassionate human being. She was a brilliant family law attorney and her work within the legal field impacted the foundation of family law in Arizona.

Everything Kathleen did in this life was with love…..for her family, her “firmily”, the legal community, and the community at large.

Kathleen was born in England into a military family. Kathleen’s mother served in the Army during WW II and met her father, a career military officer, when the war was over and got married. In the early years, Kathleen’s family was transferred a number of times to many places: England, Washington DC, New York, New Jersey, Alaska, Delaware, Alabama and finally settled in Tucson Arizona.

Kathleen was perpetually the student, and perpetually the teacher. She was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Salpointe High School in 1968. Even at that time, it was apparent (as she was actively involved in the debate team), that Kathleen’s talents and aspirations were leading her to pursue her passion for justice and the practice of law. After graduating from Salpointe, Kathleen attended the University of Arizona (graduating with honors in speech and communication). She then attended the James E. Rogers School of Law at the University of Arizona (graduating with honors in 1976).

At the time she graduated law school, Kathleen was in a male-dominated career field, and opportunities were scarce. She proved herself, and forged her way into the practice of law “hanging her shingle”, and starting her own business as a general practitioner. Shortly thereafter, Kathleen saw a particular niche practice area where she could bring her talents, her compassion and her pursuit for the ideal of justice, and that was to the arena of domestic relations (perhaps I am aging myself, as are you, if you remember that being the designation for what is now known as family law). Kathleen became a pre-eminent family law attorney in Arizona, and her firm (McCarthy Family Law) became one of the “go-to” family law practice firms in Tucson.

There are many accolades, accomplishments and specialty designations that Kathleen achieved along the way in her stellar career, but the professional ones that she was most proud of were her teachings; her impact on family law by working on some of the foundational court committees (i.e. one which formulated child support guidelines, another which created the spousal maintenance guidelines); creating the Spousal Maintenance Bench Book and teaching for the Judicial College on all things spousal maintenance; volunteering to create and teach a “Survivor’s Guide to Family Law” - a 16 part training on the practice of family law for the VLP program; her renowned “Through the Lawyer’s Lens” perpetually updating (for the past three decades) family lawyers and judiciary of the new case law and legislation that they needed to know (or, as she would say, you need to make sure you know, or be prepared to contact your professional liability carrier because you don’t know!)

Kathleen’s passion was the law, and one of her pillars was the drive to educate and make Arizona family lawyers more knowledgeable, and to make the field better (which, in turn, makes the community better.) She would do anything to promote this within the field: by mentoring, by teaching and by just being engaged with the community. Each and every one of us were sponges, sitting in a wealth of legal intelligence, love and compassion, hoping by osmosis to gain from the pool of knowledge that she imparted.

Every family law practitioner in Arizona has been made better by being in Kathleen's pupilage of case law updates throughout the years. In fact, her updates became an unofficial guidebook to family law in Arizona. She made us, and even challenged us, to be the better version of ourselves!...by expanding the breadth of legal knowledge, or her demonstration of practicing through love.

In a field filled with acrimony, Kathleen always found a way to bring light and peace to the situation. She was, and will always be the golden standard on how to help your client, and demonstrate kindness and compassion for everyone, clients and adverse persons alike. Through all the veils of anger, and hurt, she led people through their trials and tribulations with love, dignity and sound counsel. The tenet that she lived and practiced is that, even though going through the toughest of family law situations, it was her obligation to fulfill the duty to her clients in navigating them through the legal process while helping them to heal and maintain (or regain) their dignity, esteem, and honor.