Kathryn J. Gainey is of counsel in Steptoe’s Washington office. She is a member of the firm’s Transportation Group, which has been recognized as a leading rail transportation practice by Chambers USA from 2008 through 2014 and was named "Law Firm of the Year" in Railroad Law in the 2014 edition of US News—Best Lawyers’ “Best Law Firms.” Ms. Gainey concentrates her practice on transportation regulatory and litigation matters, as well as regulatory and litigation matters in financial services, pharmaceutical, and energy industries.

Transportation Matters
Ms. Gainey provides regulatory and litigation advice to clients relating to transportation matters. Ms. Gainey represents clients in numerous railroad regulatory disputes before the Surface Transportation Board (STB), including unreasonable rule or practice cases, rate cases under the Stand-Alone Cost Test and the Three-Benchmark methodology, rulemakings, and other proceedings. She advises clients on issues involving the transportation of coal, agricultural commodities, crude oil, and hazardous materials. She advises clients on legal questions involving STB jurisdiction and licensing, preemption under the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, the transportation of crude oil by rail, and positive train control (PTC) systems. She also provides advice on cases involving contractual disputes relating to transportation. She has also represented transportation clients in court and arbitration proceedings.

She has written numerous articles and speaks regularly regarding regulatory and judicial developments involving transportation. She is the editor of the Railroads section of the Association Highlights publication of the Association of Transportation Law Professionals. She is also the Treasurer of the Federal Bar Association’s Transportation and Transportation Security Law Section.

Financial Services, Pharmaceutical, and Energy Matters
Ms. Gainey represents clients in state and federal courts throughout the country. She advises clients in connection with complex regulatory and litigation issues in financial services, pharmaceutical, and energy industries. She represents clients in cases involving the interpretation of federal statutes and regulations, preemption, judicial review of administrative action, jurisdictional issues, constitutional challenges, commercial disputes, contractual disputes, and challenges to legislation.

Ms. Gainey also has an active appellate practice. She has worked on briefs before the United States Supreme Court, six federal courts of appeals, and several state appellate courts. She has argued before the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and won reversal of a grant of summary judgment. Ms. Gainey worked on an amicus brief advancing a statutory interpretation that the United States Supreme Court adopted in its opinion in Clark v. Martinez, 543 US 371 (2005).