Katherine L. “Kitty” Dooley

Attorney at Law, The Dooley Law Firm, PLLC

By Samantha Cart

Growing up in Fairmont, WV, Kitty Dooley was surrounded by adults who led by example and taught her to prioritize improving her community. Her father, a coal miner, and her mother, a housewife, led faith-centered lives that left an indelible mark on their daughter.

“My parents always worked to improve our community and make the lives of others better,” she says. “It was important to them, and, as their child, it has always been important to me.”

However, it was the work of West Virginia University (WVU) professor and attorney Franklin Cleckley that inspired her to become a lawyer at the young age of 12.

“In the 1970s, my hometown was having its own civil rights movement,” she says. “We protested the failure of one of the most prominent department stores in the city to hire African Americans except to clean or operate elevators. During that time, there were criminal charges brought against an African American man for protesting. Leaders of the community organized and would meet at various locations.”

One of those meetings was held at Dooley’s house. She recalls her excitement about a man arriving who was so well-known, he had only one name—Cleckley.

“I was in awe of this man and the difference he was making in our community and communities across West Virginia,” she says. “During one of his trials, my father took me to court with him to observe. I sat on the corner of my aisle seat watching Cleckley operate. He took total command of the courtroom. It was then that I decided I would be a lawyer, and that dream stayed with me for the next 15 years.”

Dooley attended Marshall University, where she earned a degree in journalism while taking ROTC classes.

“As an ROTC cadet, I completed Army Airborne training at Fort Benning, GA, in 1979, becoming the first female ROTC cadet in the state to earn the Army Parachutist Badge,” she says. “Upon graduation, I received a commission as a second lieutenant and service for four and a half years.”

Following officer training at Fort Huachuca, AZ, and Fort Devens, MA, Dooley’s first duty station was in South Korea, where she served as a platoon leader responsible for 40 soldiers providing tactical intelligence. After leaving Korea, she was stationed at Fort Huachuca, where she served as the editor of Military Intelligence magazine, which gave her the opportunity to utilize her journalism degree. After marrying her husband, Chuck Green, Dooley was reassigned to Fort Ord, CA, as head of a military intelligence collection and dissemination office.

“It was an honor to serve in the Army,” she says. “It helped me strengthen my leadership skills and develop a world view that expanded my horizons far beyond what I could have ever imagined from my humble West Virginia roots. I believe this experience led to a desire to focus not on the differences or different opinions held by other people but on their humanity—the things we have in common, despite the different circumstances of our births.”

With this focus, Dooley returned home to chase her dream and enrolled at the WVU College of Law, where she was active in the Black Law Students Association and instrumental in establishing the graduate assistantship for minority recruiting and minority clerkship program.

She graduated from WVU in 1990 and held positions at Spilman Thomas & Battle and the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office before opening her own practice—The Dooley Law Firm—where she focuses on plaintiff personal injury, employment and administrative law.

“I struck out to not just earn a living but to also make a difference in my community,” she says. “I thought having my own practice would allow me to serve the community in a way I had seen modeled by Cleckley years earlier. I believe my heart for helping people and my desire to obtain a fair and just result for my clients has guided my practice.”

During the course of her career, Dooley has served on the West Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Committee and board of governors; as president of the Mountain State Bar Association, Inc.; and in the capacity of legal redress for the Charleston branch of the NAACP. She has been honored for her work with many accolades, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission Living the Dream Award for Human and Civil Rights, YWCA Women of Achievement and West Virginia Bar Foundation Fellow.

A long-time resident of Charleston, Dooley has worked to put her values into practice in her adopted community. She served as a member of the Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority board of commissioners for more than 20 years to improve public housing. In January, her application to have Court Street named for Martin Luther King Jr. was approved, and, most recently, she successfully worked with other community leaders to rename a city middle school originally named for a Confederate general.

“In many respects, I have remained at the grassroots of my community,” she says. “While there is still much work to be done until all people are treated fairly and equitably, I believe my work has positively impacted the lives of others.”

In 2015, Dooley was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and today she is grateful to still be here celebrating life and love with her husband of 37 years, who she counts among the people who have modeled for her what it means to have a servant’s spirit.

“The essence of who I am was birthed in my family, first and foremost, my church and my community,” she says. “Following Chuck’s example, I have tried to address the needs of my family, my community and my profession to make positive change. Justice Cleckley would often paraphrase a scripture telling us, ‘Those to whom much is given, much is required.’ I believe that and throughout my career have sought to give back a portion of what I have been blessed to receive. I wanted to obtain a law degree to make a difference in the lives of people because in the final analysis, touching the lives of others is the pebble that creates the ripple on the pond. I often tell people who thank me for something I have done for them that they can repay me by assisting others. Pass it on.”