KATHRYN LEE BRUNS

Kathryn (“Katie”) Lee Bruns is a Rochester personal injury lawyer dedicated to helping individuals and families in Monroe County and throughout Western New York move forward after serious injury or loss. With nearly 30 years of experience, she provides compassionate counsel and skilled advocacy for clients facing the aftermath of auto accidents, medical malpractice, and wrongful death. More recently, Katie has been trained as an advocate for individuals and families needing guardianship appointments by Surrogate’s Court for their minor children, or for family members with developmental or intellectual disabilities. She is also developing an elder law practice, with an emphasis on estate planning and administration, the preparation of wills, durable powers of attorney, and advance care directives for end-of-life planning. 

Katie’s ability to connect with her clients in a meaningful way sets her apart and makes her a stronger advocate for the families who seek her help. She is honored to help families move forward after injury, pain, and tragedy by seeking compensation from those responsible and by offering practical solutions to help clients get back to what matters most in their lives. 

In 2019, Katie was recognized as a “Top Women in Law” by the Rochester Business Journal and New York Daily Record’s Excellence in Law honors. Katie has been repeatedly named in Best Lawyers in America in the area of personal injury litigation. She has also regularly been named as one of Upstate New York’s Super Lawyers.

Katie has extensive experience in all phases of civil litigation and handles cases in both New York State and Federal Courts. She has become an expert in Federal and New York practice and procedure, and is a skillful legal writer. She has been a lecturer on the topics of effective appellate advocacy and Federal Court practice and procedure at continuing legal education programs presented by the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers and the New York State Bar Association. 

Katie credits her love of procedure and written advocacy to the fact that seven of the first ten years of her practice were spent in two judicial clerkships. From 1997-1999, Katie worked for the New York State Appellate Division, Fourth Department, assisting the state appeals court on civil and criminal appeals. In 2002, she accepted an appointment as a confidential law clerk to the Hon. David G. Larimer, then Chief Judge for U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. During five years as a federal court law clerk, Katie gained invaluable experience working closely with the District Court in analyzing and deciding complex civil dispositive motions involving a broad array of New York and federal law. She also assisted the Court with managing all aspects of jury trials, including pre-trial motions, evidentiary rulings, jury instructions and verdict sheets. While working for the judiciary, Katie saw first hand the powerful impact skilled legal writing and thorough procedural knowledge had on successful outcomes for clients during litigation.

Katie is a member of the New York State Bar Association, Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys, the Monroe County Bar Association, and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. She has served on or chaired numerous committees, including the Monroe County Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee, GRAWA’s Women’s Health and Nominations Committees, and she acted as a Lawyers for Learning Volunteer. Early in her career, she enjoyed the mentorship afforded by being an active member of the Rochester Inns of Court, and served the Inn as its Secretary for two terms.

Katie is an active member of her community, currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory, a non-profit organization dedicated to ornithological research, education, and conservation, and served as Board Secretary from 2017 to 2025. Katie also was a development volunteer for Camp DayDreams, a program affiliated with the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester, that empowers Rochester’s youth to serve themselves, their families, and their community through its “Camp & Grow” program from 2005-2010.

Katie received her B.A. from the University of Minnesota and earned her J.D., cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law in 1997, where she earned the Robert J. Connelly Award for Excellence in Trial Technique and was selected for the Order of Barristers. During law school, she served as the Head Note and Comment editor of the Buffalo Law Review and as a member of the Buffalo Moot Court Board and the Jessup International Law Moot Court Board.

In her free time, Katie loves spending time with her husband and daughter, as well as hiking, birding, reading, working on crossword and jigsaw puzzles, and practicing mindfulness and meditation.