Kate Mitchell established her practice on Cape Cod and Nantucket in 1993, representing individuals, businesses and families. Her practice focuses on construction law, real estate law, zoning and land use, business law, estate planning and mediation.
Distinctive Legal Background
A member of the Massachusetts Bar since 1972, her broad legal experience includes:
*Teaching at Boston College Law School
*Practicing as a staff attorney for the Vermont Legal Aid Society
*Fifteen years in the construction industry as a contractor concentrating in “residential and light commercial”.
*She obtained and maintains her Massachusetts Construction Supervisor’s license.
She began her construction experience in Boston’s renovation market where she learned carpentry, contracting, the State Building Code, and basic business skills.
In 1982 Kate relocated to Nantucket Island where she founded Island Women Construction Co., Inc. During her ten years on Nantucket, Attorney Mitchell put her license to practice law and her construction supervisor’s license to use
*running a business that built thirteen new homes
*completing hundreds of renovation projects, and
* hiring and training dozens of young women in the trade.
During her active constructive years, Kate was spotlighted on Bob Vila’s show “Home Again”.
It was on Nantucket that Kate gained experience in administrative law, often appearing before Town offices and committees seeking permits for Island Women’s construction projects.
*Served on the Nantucket Finance Committee and the Zoning Board of Appeals, broadening her knowledge of town government and zoning and land use laws.
Long Standing Commitment to Environmental Concerns
Kate has been a pioneer in New England construction with her focus on environmental concerns, land use and building practices,
*Kate is a member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
*Served on its Board of Directors
Committed to using advanced building techniques and practices to build energy-efficient homes, she continues to support using sustainable means of power and limiting our dependence on non-renewable resources.
*Kate welcomes as clients developers who choose to develop with environmentally sound and sustainable practices.
*Kate’s representation of Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod, Inc. reflects her on-going commitment to affordable housing solutions for her community.
“My practice primarily encompasses
anything having to do with land and real property.”
With “hands on” experience, Kate brings to her real estate practice practical business knowledge and construction experience. The result is an attorney who provides her clients with excellent legal advice, counsel and representation.
Additional Practice Areas Kate represents small businesses.
She advises in start-ups, choice of entity, filings with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and all aspects of contracts. This part of her practice arises from her own experience of running her own business and understanding how businesses interact with the law.
Kate offers mediation services as an alternative to litigation.
She came to the world of alternative dispute resolution, i.e. mediation and arbitration, through construction, understanding that litigation is not a viable solution for many of the disputes arising out of construction projects.
Kate appreciates the power of communication. She believes that many disputes are best settled at a negotiation table, by the parties themselves.
Kate’s practice also focuses on Family Law. Probably there is no area of law more suited to mediation than family law, particularly divorce and separation.
She has assisted many families, traditional and non-traditional alike:
to separate, examine their resources, divide assets,
care for their children and
establish communication in a fair and reasonable way
so that the best interests of the children and the adults are served.
Kate is a member of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation, Inc. and has established a mediation practice to serve her community, particularly Nantucketers. She has recently taken an Advanced Family Mediation course sponsored by the Strauss Institute at Pepperdine University School of Law.
Kate’s practice also includes estate planning services:
drafting wills,
trusts,
powers-of-attorney and
health care proxies.
She provides advice and counsel to individuals and families upon the death of a family member, next of kin, or friend and will probate estates.
Every client requires, deserves and receives Kate’s best attention to the details of the matter the client has brought to her.
Mediation is voluntary, with all parties being willing to participate in good faith. The outcome is controlled and determined by the parties themselves. From this perspective she encourages her clients to resolve disputes through mediation and likewise serves as a mediator herself to help parties who are not her clients to resolve disputes through this process.
