Kathryn Birks Harvey is a visiting scholar at the American Bar Foundation. She holds a PhD in History from Northwestern University and a JD from Vanderbilt Law School. Her dissertation traces the history of the personal injury bar in the twentieth century and how the advertising regulations placed on attorneys intersect with tort reform.
Before she earned her PhD, Harvey practiced law for six years (usually on the side opposite the personal injury bar!). Her other research interests include professional regulation, attorney/client relationships, and the internal politics of the bar. Her article “Monopolizing Misfortune: A Story of Stratification in the Personal Injury Bar” was published in the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics in 2025.