Immediately after graduating from Whittier Law School, Professor Pounders worked as a law clerk to the Honorable Florence-Marie Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. After clerking, she spent one year as an associate in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the firm’s Orange County office. Professor Pounders returned to the Central District in 2007, serving first as a Capital Habeas Staff Attorney and then to serving as an elbow clerk to Judge Cooper. Beginning in September 2010, she will begin clerking for the Honorable Arthur L. Alarcón (Sr.) on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

During law school, Kathryn also served as a summer law clerk in the United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, and she was Valedictorian of her law school class. Prior to and during law school, she was a senior paralegal for leading law firms providing corporate immigration services and solutions for multinational employers. She has also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Russia.