Katherine Donoghue

Professor Donoghue’s scholarship has appeared in the Cardozo Law Review, the Stetson Journal of Advocacy and the Law, and publications of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA). Her recent scholarship examines issues at the intersection of advocacy, constitutional law, evidence, and artificial intelligence, including the role of implicit bias in jury selection and the evidentiary implications of emerging technologies in litigation. She is also the author of multiple nationally distributed trial advocacy case files and educational resources used by advocacy programs throughout the country.

Professor Donoghue has been at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence into advocacy training. She develops AI-assisted educational tools that enhance—not replace—critical thinking and professional judgment, including custom GPT-based advocacy simulations and interactive learning resources to improve trial preparation, evidentiary analysis, and courtroom performance. Her work has been featured through presentations at the Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, the Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference, and other national programs devoted to the advancement of legal education. She has also discussed the future of artificial intelligence in advocacy education as a featured guest on the Big Sea Podcast.

Professor Donoghue's dedication to excellence in advocacy education has earned both national and institutional recognition. In 2025, she received the Edward D. Ohlbaum Professionalism Award, one of the nation's highest honors recognizing exceptional professionalism, ethics, and service in advocacy teaching. She has also been recognized as Stetson University College of Law's Employee of the Year and Trial Team Coach of the Year, and has twice been honored as National Program Director and Coach of the Year.

Before entering full-time academia, Professor Donoghue spent more than a decade as both a practicing attorney and trial advocate. She began her legal career practicing complex commercial litigation in New York before transitioning to public interest advocacy, representing abused and neglected children in juvenile court. She subsequently served for six years as an Assistant State's Attorney with the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice, where she prosecuted criminal cases ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies at both the trial and appellate levels, as well as served as both a Domestic Violence Coordinator and a member of Connecticut's Human Trafficking Task Force.  Professor Donoghue also taught throughout her legal career, including as an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at Fordham University School of Law and later as a Professor of Legal Studies at Keiser University, where she taught a broad range of substantive law courses, including Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Constitutional Law.

Professor Donoghue earned her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law, where she graduated in the top ten percent of her class and was elected to the Order of the Coif. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College, where she was an NCAA All-American and NESCAC All-Academic student-athlete, and Captain of both the women's soccer and lacrosse teams.  Professor Donoghue remains admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut and continues to write, teach, and present nationally on evidence, advocacy, legal education, ethics, and the responsible integration of artificial intelligence into the legal profession.