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Catherine Pugh

Senior Counsel

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Catherine L. Pugh is an experienced trial attorney whose practice is informed by a distinguished background in criminal litigation, constitutional law, and civil rights enforcement. Her career has included service in the United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, extensive courtroom litigation as a public defender, and teaching constitutional and criminal law at the university level. This diverse experience allows her to approach every matter with careful preparation, strategic judgment, and a deep commitment to protecting her clients’ rights.

Before entering private practice, Ms. Pugh served as a trial attorney with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, where she represented clients in hundreds of criminal matters ranging from misdemeanors to serious felony prosecutions. She regularly litigated contested evidentiary issues, constitutional claims, suppression motions, jury trials, and bench trials, developing the courtroom judgment and advocacy skills that continue to inform her practice today.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Pugh was selected through the highly competitive United States Department of Justice Honors Program, where she served in the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section. She participated in investigations involving alleged constitutional violations in state prisons, county jails, juvenile justice facilities, psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, and law enforcement agencies across the United States. Her work included analyzing complex constitutional issues, coordinating with nationally recognized experts, reviewing extensive documentary evidence, conducting witness interviews and on-site inspections, and helping develop findings and recommendations addressing systemic constitutional violations.

Ms. Pugh also served as a law professor at Temple University Japan, where she taught Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Civil Rights, Evidence, and Legal Research and Writing. She designed and taught the university’s groundbreaking course, African Americans: Equality and the Law, examining the constitutional development of civil rights in the United States. Her experience as both a litigator and legal educator enables her to explain complex legal issues in a clear, practical manner, ensuring clients understand their options and can make informed decisions throughout the legal process.