About Kate
Kate Zigtema earned a B.S. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law. Her academic path combined a broad undergraduate education with professional legal training in Kansas. That training prepared her for practice in multiple jurisdictions and for involvement in local and regional bar organizations.
She is admitted to practice in Kansas and Missouri and is also admitted to the Federal Circuit. Those admissions allow her to handle matters in state courts across two states and to appear in federal appellate proceedings when necessary. Since 2009 she has been a member of the Missouri Bar Association and the Johnson County Bar Association. Earlier, in 2007, she joined the Kansas Women’s Lawyers Association and the Kansas Young Lawyers Association.
Zigtema has been a member of the Criminal Justice Act Panel since 2010 and a member of the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers since 2011. Those roles place her in ongoing contact with the criminal defense community and with federal court processes. Her participation in both state and federal panels and associations indicates sustained engagement with courtroom practice and appellate work.
Colleagues describe her as a practitioner who has built a steady presence in regional legal circles. She combines courtroom experience in state systems with the procedural demands of federal appellate work. She has worked on matters that require attention to procedural detail and an ability to move between trial and appellate settings. Her bar memberships and panel affiliations underline regular courtroom activity over a number of years.
Outside formal memberships, she has maintained ties to local bar institutions for more than a decade. Those connections provide a network for referrals, continuing education and peer collaboration. They also reflect a practice that operates across county and state lines, engaging both local courts and federal dockets.
As of 2026 she continues to practice law in Kansas and Missouri and remains admitted to the Federal Circuit. Her current practice centers on criminal defense and on matters that involve federal court procedures.
